The Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 movie released in theatres December 5th. Starring Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, and Elizabeth Lail, the events of this movie take place a little over a year after the first that was released in 2023. This movie has been heavily panned with a whopping 16% rotten tomatoes from critics, while lifelong fans of the game consistently praise it.
Mike’s little sister Abby is mourning the loss of her animatronic friends. A whole year after the original nightmare, Abby decides to run away from home and find them. She sets out on a dangerous adventure, finding her friends and uncovering wild truths that could put everyone’s lives at risk. Mike and his friend Vanessa must navigate their complicated relationship while also trying to save Abby.
The acting in this movie was a bit tough to watch. It felt forced and was hardly captivating. There were humorous moments that had the audience laughing but mostly because the humor was corny and awkward. This movie mainly focuses on the Marionette character, just like the second game does. While I thought the idea of incorporating the Marionette more was interesting, the execution was poor. Despite Blumhouse and Universal doubling their budget, the quality of the visuals were tough to enjoy. The Marionette “stealing” people’s identity and faces could have been compelling, but it was terribly executed.
All this being said, as a fan of the game, I appreciated the movie for what it was. I loved how they used the same animatronics from the second game for this movie while still going off of the original lore. Despite the poor reviews, the movie did significantly well in theatres, currently having made 231 million in box office sales, which makes sense for its enormous fan base. Most of the positive reviews I saw on this movie were from avid game players and fans of the game, explaining why this movie is doing so well but is being rated so poorly.
Overall, this movie is great for people who love the game. For those who are unaware of the lore of the game or did not enjoy the first movie either, this is not a good watch. Since I am not heavily involved in the fanbase but used to enjoy the games when I was younger, this movie was simply okay. The quality as a whole lacked, but the plot line is entertaining, and it is interesting to see all the parallels between the game and the movie.
