Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) lands a cushy security gig at a local pizzeria, and now all he has to do is surviveFive Nights at Freddy’s(FNaF).The Hunger Games’Hutcherson portrays the role of the newest employee at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and director Emma Tammi’s horror film is based on the video game franchise of the same name. As it turns out, Hutcherson’s performance is one of the high points inFive Nights at Freddy’s, which does include all four of the game’s original characters: Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. Oh, and one of the Cupcakes is thrown in for good measure.
Mike Schmidt is a deeply troubled man whose trauma comes to life in his new job as a security guard at the pizza restaurant. All is not as it seems there, something indicated by Vanessa, a police officer whose route includes Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. She knows something, and she has seen things.
Five Nights at Freddy’sleans heavily into the supernatural elements which highlight the film’s haunted house — in this case a haunted pizza joint — and ghostly themes. Yes, there are several animatronicM3GAN-esque killing machines populating the Blumhouse production, but audiences will need to suspend disbelief because Tammi’s movie is more of a ghostly mystery than anything else.Five Nights at Freddy’sis being lambasted by most critics (currently having a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes), but Hutcherson’s performance, the intelligence of the screenplay, and a nasty little twist make the video game’s big screen adaptation worth watching.
Josh Hutcherson Shines in Five Nights at Freddy’s
Josh Hutcherson gives one of his best performancesinFive Nights at Freddy’s. The actor is tasked with bringing the film’s complicated lead to life in an authentic way — and he knocks it out of the ballpark. Mike Schmidt is emotionally compromised, and he continues to deal with a childhood trauma that haunts him in adulthood. 12-year-old Mike watches helplessly as an unknown serial killer kidnaps his younger brother. In fact, Mike is so deeply disturbed that he can’t even hold down a job. And as if the poor guy didn’t have enough obstacles to overcome in the movie already, Mike is responsible for raising his little sister, Abby (Piper Rubio) — their mother has died, and their father abandoned them.
Related:Five Nights at Freddy’s Cast and Character Guide
Hutcherson flexes his acting muscles and exercises every emotion possible inFive Nights at Freddy’s. Audiences are introduced to a prescription pill-popping mess who flies into a violent rage as a mall security guard. In this early sequence, Mike relives his brother’s abduction because he witnesses a young boy being whisked away by what he perceives to be a threat. Hutcherson brings all of Mike’s trauma to the forefront as the character violently assaults the perpetrator, but it turns out the “kidnapper” is the boy’s father — just trying to hurry his son along.
Hutcherson shows here that he can play the so-called hills of the character, but he continually grounds his performance in the valley of realism. Throughout the picture, Mike struggles to provide Abby with the love she deserves. And — no spoilers here — Hutcherson pays off the critical “realization” scene he shares with Rubio near the film’s conclusion: Mike and Abby finally bond amid the chaos coming down around them at Freddy’s. This might be just another horror film to some, but Hutcherson’s thoughtful, nuanced performance helps sellFive Nights at Freddy’s.
A Thought-Provoking Script
One gripe that will obviously come up, in terms of the fans of the video game, is that there is a lot of character development occurring outside the confines of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. True, the movie might have been more appealing to enthusiasts of the source material had the entirety of the film occurred at the pizzeria. Nevertheless, the collaboration between Scott Cawthon (the game’s creator), Seth Cuddeback, and Emma Tammi (the director) on the screenplay results in a “haunting” mystery. And that approach is much more conducive to creating the PG-13 atmospherics rather than what could have easily been perverted into a completely different, R-rated bloodbath of a film.
The intelligence of the script is clearly evident by the mystery that unfolds throughout the movie, but the character of Vanessa, who is portrayed byYou’sElizabeth Lail, also benefits from the way the story is structured. Lail is another shining star in the horror flick, and her performance is nothing short of stellar. And there are a couple of moments where her character remembers what happened to the children who were kidnapped in the 1980s. It’s a subtle choice by the screenwriters to trust the audience to put the pieces together, and there’s a clear revelation in the “screams” Vanessa hears.
The audience will cringe and ask the inevitable question: “Dear god, was she there?” She has witnessed something horrifying, and the script reveals it in such a heart-wrenching way. So, the screenplay is yet another standout forFive Nights at Freddy’s, but some fans of the video game are obviously going to wish that more emphasis and time were devoted to the animatronic characters in their natural element.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Will Be the October Horror Hit No One Expected
Despite a late October debut & a day-and-date release on Peacock, Five Nights at Freddy’s could become the biggest horror hit of the month.
And the Killer Is… (SPOILER ALERT)
SeeingScream’sMatthew Lillardsitting unassumingly behind that desk will raise the ole reg flag for those watchingFive Nights at Freddy’s,and rightfully so. Mike desperately needs a job, so he meets with career counselor Steve Raglan at the beginning of the film. And just like Lillard’s character Stu Macher in the originalScream, Raglan isn’t what he seems. No, his real identity is William Afton (another of the video game’s alums), and Lillard’s character is the serial killer who also kidnapped Mike’s brother.
Many good horror films include a jaw-dropping twist or sudden scare that shifts the perspective at the end of the film, such asCarrie(1976) andFriday the 13th(1980). And while audiences won’t be jumping out of their seats when Lillard takes off the animatronic mask of Spring Bonnie, which Afton hides under, it is an unexpected surprise. Again, kudos to the script; Afton’s identity is hidden beneath the guise of the quirky career counselor Steve Raglan. But it’s great that Lillard’s cameo turns out to be a much meatier role worthy of the thespian’s acting acumen.
FNaF Conclusion?
Throw in the film’s fantastic and imaginative production design, particularly where Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza joint is concerned, and director Emma Tammi pulled off a solid horror film for Blumhouse and Universal Pictures. Lillard’s twist ending, an intelligently written script, and Josh Hutcherson’s wonderful performance all bolsterFive Nights at Freddy’s.
But is it enough to warrant paying full price in theaters? If you’re going to see the film during primetime, with an auditorium full of Freddy Fazbear fanatics — then absolutely! However, if you’re able to live without the fun of experiencingFive Nights at Freddy’sin what is more of a public and family-friendly setting, thenFNaFis available to stream on Peacock thanks to its day-and-date release.
From Blumhouse and Universal Studios,Five Nights at Freddy’sis now in theaters, or you can watch it onPeacock here.
