WARNING: SPOILERS! DUH!

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Before my review, I just want to preface this by saying the following:

I have been waiting for a Five Nights at Freddy's movie since I was 16! Being a fan and hearing how over the years scripts were written and later scrapped, new projects announced and later cancelled, creative differences with Scott, etc. The news disappointed me and also concerned me that it might never happen. I ended up feeling differently as time went on because I knew Scott Cawthon really cared about the quality of his film. I admire how much he genuinely cares about his IP.

If it was anyone else, a shitty movie would have been released like The Banana Splits or Willy's Wonderland films (Willy's was a fun parody but you know what I mean lol).

I have heard some mixed opinions before I saw the movie - like Willy's was better or simply put that the FNaF movie was "trash." That made me a bit worried but I chose to remain optimistic.

I have successfully managed to avoid spoilers up until today and I am happy I got to go in blind. The same for Andrea.

If the film was a disappointment or "trash" I would have dived into some reasons why. Take my M3GAN review for example. XD A movie I was initially excited for but ended up seriously hating it.

Batty Bats, as a FNaF fan I couldn't have been happier. As I watched the movie with Andrea, we were theorizing, getting excited making connections to some books and the games, and were surprised by the new directions this movie took. The theatre I was in was full of FNaF fans that were all equally excited and responded well to the movie. Adults, teens, and children. The energy in that room really made my night. We all responded with laughter, shock, and there were even some fellow Samurai in the room (to those that don't know, CoryxKenshin fans ^_^)! The end credits received even more excitement and resulted in theorizing and clapping. I witnessed both fans and newcomers come together to love FNaF. Overall, an experience I will forever cherish and further reminds me why I love this community so dearly. <3

Finally, My Review:

First off, the film's opening was such a nice touch for fans to be reminded of the 8-bit minigames we all love so much. Those mini-games always rewarded us with new pieces of the lore in interesting ways. Seeing the main story of how the five children disappeared in this medium was a nice touch in my opinion. Also, this served as a great way to show newcomers the main part of the lore. I even wondered if Scott Cawthon created those animations himself. If he did, that's awesome! ^_^

The beginning of the film did treat us with a security guard being murdered. XD I loved it. Seeing the FNaF office come to life and taking in the details was just unreal. Seeing the animatronics was even better. Another aspect of this film that I appreciate was the use of practical effects and only using CGI when necessary. I felt if it was all CGI it wouldn't have been the same. Blum House Productions taking the time to create the suits and props is respectable in a world where that craft seems to be slowly disappearing.

One of many things that surprised me was actually seeing Chica's cupcake in action. XD That wasn't something I was expecting to see. I wonder how that works? Is Chica able to manipulate it by will? Is it soul splicing? Perhaps it's possessed by another spirit entirely? Now that I have seen it, I want to play a FNaF game where the cupcake crawls through the vents or something. XD

After the nightguard fails to escape the clutches of killer animatronics, he ends up tied up to a death chair with a killer Freddy mask. I don't mean killer as in 'cool' but a literal death machine ready to tear his face apart. XD Andrea and I theorized this could be William Afton's new 'scooper' if you will; let's call it shredder instead. XD

This "shredder" could be a way he is collecting remnant/souls.

Another detail that surprised me was seeing Sparky in the background and later on as the name of a diner. Boy that fan-made creation ending up in the movie as an actual suit and fun easter egg was nice to see. I bet the creator was ecstatic. :D

Being introduced to Mike Schmidt was pretty cool and Scott went in a direction I didn't expect him to. This isn't Michael Afton at least in name, but seemingly in role. Josh Hutcherson did a great performance as Mike. You could feel how haunted and troubled he was by his traumatic past.

Mike takes care of his little sister Abby. We also learn he had a little brother by the name of Garret, who I suspect could be taking on the role of the crying child. I found it interesting his name started with a G like Gregory, who also seems to tie in with the crying child.

We witness the "first murder" (presented as a kidnapping) event happen through Mike's recurring nightmare. Similar to how Charlie was murdered in the FNaF 2 mini-game as a car slowly pulls up. William Afton was truly psychotic just going around and targeting any child he could get his hands on.

Mike's dilemma in initiating these lucid dreams was heartbreaking. He played a nature tape to mimic the great outdoors and stared at a poster of Nebraska trees. All this to trick his mind into thinking he was back in camp with his family. As a viewer you feel for his character. He relives this nightmare in hopes of finding any clues he missed over and over again. Desperately hoping that he could somehow change the past.

On a side note, seeing the Nebraska poster, I wondered if this movie took place in Hurricane, Utah like the books. I still haven't figured that out. I didn't see any details of location in the movie. If there was a reveal, I missed it. The end credits revealed filming locations to be New Orleans and Louisiana.

In addition, the 'Dream Theory" book was a nice callback to the FNaF 4 theory. Mike later discusses this book with a friend. I felt Scott was talking directly to us when Mike said some people believe in the Dream Theory. It's up to interpretation.

Mike works as a security guard in a mall. The one concession stand was pretty cool in design. We got to see the rainbow from FNaF World as a mascot for an ice cream company lol.

One scene that ended up being my favorite was Mike witnessing a man hastily grab and drag a child away. Acting on pure instinct, Mike sprints to action and tackles the man in a fountain where he proceeds to strike him over and over. To me this further cements the Michael Afton role as he aims to prevent what happened to his brother. He carries that pain with him and acting on impulse has gotten him into trouble before. He ends up fired. Providing the perfect excuse for Mike to meet a certain someone with a certain job opportunity.

The film reveals Mathew Lillard taking on the name Steve who works as a Career Counselor. Mike meets with him for a chance at a new job, even with a poor resume. He's pretty much screwed. Pretty cool detail having William in that position since he handpicks his victims/sacrifices. XD I thought if anything he would be named Dave Miller like in the novels. Steve is fine too lol. Steve offers Mike a job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria where the pay is terrible but the hours are worse. XD A man with no choice has to take the job. Otherwise, no sane person would.

This reveal highlights something critical. William Afton and Mike Schmidt are not related. I was surprised by this change and wondered where it would go in terms of story.

There being no mention of Henry or Charlie also surprised me. The only possible hint of Henry is when William tells Mike that the pizzeria wasn't torn down due to the owner possibly being sentimental. That piece of dialogue could be referring to Henry or Steve himself. We won't know until the next films. However, I want to believe that's a hint of Henry being in this universe. I imagine he is isolated away and haunted by what happened in his pizzeria.

We then follow Mike on some of the solo nights he works. Homie fell asleep in there and lived. I joked with Andrea that he better watch for those minireenas. They sure do love warm intestines. XD Jokes aside, I kind of liked that we didn't see a nightguard having to survive five nights. I can see why some fans might have been disappointed by this. Honestly though, the games already provided that experience and can be played or watched if that's what's wanted. If the movie ended up being a rehash of this it wouldn't have made for an interesting movie. I'd be questioning the reasoning for going back to the job for the next four nights even more so than the games lol. I really did like how the story continued to progress after each night.

Mike was busy dreaming for most of the nights. He did get a nice souvenir from Foxy in the form of a gash on his arm, which he also dreamed about receiving from the spirit. Now startled awake, Mike hears the doorbell go off and he answers the door and meets...Vanessa! Yes, the Vanessa from Help Wanted + FNaF: Security Breach. Truly a big surprise seeing her this early on in the story/timeline. Interesting details about her is that she is a cop, certified EMT, and knows the establishment very well.

Vanessa gets to meet Abby and the trio stick together throughout the movie as more events and secrets are revealed.

The song "Talking in Your Sleep" by The Romantics plays a few times in this film as Freddy and the gangs performance song. The lyrics make so much sense in context:

"I hear the secrets that you keep
When you're talking in your sleep"

Nice foreshadowing and more references to dreaming. I still kind of wished an original song was created for them so they could perform it at least once.

Mike took on the job to provide for his sister who he is at risk of losing thanks to his scheming aunt. The aunt tries to frame him as an unfit caretaker in order to gain custody. She seems to hunger for checks every month. She had sent Abby's babysitter - Max along with Max's brother and other accomplice to trash the pizzeria and get Mike fired. Things don't go so well as they are each picked off by the animatronics.

The deaths were pretty fun to watch. The cupcake tearing a guy's face apart, watching a big dude scream like a girl (there were teenagers mimicking his screams which was pretty funny), a dude gets crushed in the supply closet by Bonnie, and Max the babysitter gets bodied by Freddy as her body is bitten in half. I love that it was both a tease to the Bite of '83 and a short story in one of the Fazbear Fright's books. Max had gotten up on a chair as Freddy's spirit lured her in. Her face got closer to the mouth and we saw an arm pull her in for the kill. I loved it and the crowd gasped.

This aspect of the movie did show some blood and although not really gorey, did provide some horror elements fans wanted. The movie is not scary in the traditional sense, it is very story-driven and focuses on providing the lore in an easy to understand way with great callbacks and easter eggs for fans. Overall, I feel it did the best it could to provide some balance in horror and still keeping it somewhat family-friendly.

Now that Max is dead, Abby has no babysitter. Mike gets to take Abby to work! Yay! XD

While Mike is asleep, Abby is called upon by the spirits and leaves the office against Mike's demand. Mike has been having strange dreams since he started working at the establishment. He can communicate with the spirits of the dead children. They are presented to him wearing their mascots' colors and respective props. One detail I liked, was in one scene we see one spirit cry black tears. A nice nod to the black tear streaks they have in the 8-bit mini-games. From the group, one child sticks out from the main four, later revealed as Golden Freddy. Funnily enough, he states he's "Not Freddy." These spirits bait Mike with knowing about Garret's death and ask Mike what he will provide them with. Mike doesn't think and responds by saying anything. You can guess from there what their intentions might be.

Mike wakes from his dream to Abby's screams. He rushes over to see her surrounded by the animatronics and she reveals she was being tickled. XD XD This is where the film starts to become strangely comedic and wholesome in a disturbing way. lol

Before Abby stepped foot in the pizzeria, she had been talking to her apparent imaginary friends and drew pictures of them that matches up to the five dead children. I don't really understand how that's possible honestly. The pizzeria seems to be quite the commute. I question how and why are they communicating with her in the first place. Was this a tactic William used for using them to lure children to him? If so...just wow. Nothing like making spirits play fetch on the living huh?

When the animatronics were moving about in front of Abby, Mike, and Vanessa I was kind of laughing at how absurd that was. They were bonding and even built a freaking fort. You actually see the animatronics lift tables and lay down with everyone on the floor. XD I'm never getting that out of my head man. Admittedly, I felt like that was silly but at the same time I at least could see how they interacted with other children. In the games, it was said that they loved children. It was the adults they had a problem with. Understandably so.

Abby continues to want to be around the animatronics and Vannessa kind of had an unusual change in attitude that sort of felt out of nowhere. She was okay with building a fort with haunted animatronics, but once Abby accidently electrocuted herself by touching Bonnie's guitar, she kind of gets aggressive towards Mike and orders him to keep her away.

It's apparent her character is traumatized by something and Mike questions her on that. As a result, we hear a girl's scream play. Was that Vanessa as a child or someone else? I will get back on that later.

Mike ends up feeling terrible for what happened and in an act to protect Abby, he invited over the aunt and tries to convince Abby she's better off without him. She doesn't respond to that well. He takes off, back at the job again. Mike dreams once more and it's different than what he's used to. He comes across his parents and his little brother Garret waiting for him at camp.

He meets the spirits of the dead children who try to convince him that this is what he has been seeking all along. They try to make him forget about his need to find answers. Instead of worrying about who took his brother from him, he could get lost in a fantasy instead. Mike had a lapse in judgement and when the children offer this fantasy in return for Abby..he agrees.

He snaps out of his stupor and tries to correct his mistake but the children have already made their move. They become aggressive and swarm him, each striking him by slashing his flesh. Weakened, he awakes in the same chair the previous nightguard died in. Thankfully Mike escaped with an inch of his life. Running down the hallways, Foxy starts hunting him down. He manages to get the door open.

Abby is visited by the spirit and suit of Golden Freddy. Batty Bats, we get to see Golden Freddy move! I really wanted to see him appear more ghostly than the rest. Abby and Golden Freddy or "Not Freddy" take a damn cab to the pizzeria. Yes, seriously. That CoryxKenshin cameo as the cab driver was seriously cool. I bet Cory had lots of fun doing that. XD

"Why do I always get the weirdoes?" - Cory

We next see Mike awaken with Vanessa bandaging him up. She took him to a police station supply area. As he reveals to her they attacked him and he accidently offered Abby to them, she begins to reveal her secrets.

Vanessa gets worked up and explains to Mike Abby's fate. The animatronics want to make Abby like them. She also describes the killer as a cruel yet clever man who has done terrible things. Who is Vanessa exactly? She's the daughter of William Afton!

I couldn't believe they did this. I guess it wasn't too far fetched since people kept connecting her to the Afton family anyway; especially when it came to Elizabeth. Once again, Vanessa exhibits signs of trauma. You know the scream I mentioned earlier? What if Elizabeth Afton still exists as her sibling? That could have been a death she witnessed whether that was her scream or Elizabeth's. I'm hoping Elizabeth Afton exists in this universe because the origin of Circus Baby is just too cool to skip honestly. Another possibility is that William used Vanessa to lure more children. Vanessa could be haunted by the screams of her victims.

Vanessa devises a plan to get back into the pizzeria and Mike manages to get inside through a vent. Mike is also equipped with a taser gun and animal control taser. He watches Abby being led by Chica off stage. Freddy and Bonnie perform the same song as Mike crawls through.

One thing I couldn't believe was that Bonnie didn't see him crawling right in front of him. XD I liked how Freddy went into killer animatronic mode when he thought he saw or heard something. The way he went back into performing was kinda funny. I'm wondering if the spirits need to fight off their programming or not. Freddy and Bonnie get their toes wet with water and tased. They just collapse. XD

Mike finds Abby as Chica tries to forcefully shove her into a weird baby doll animatronic that was shown in an earlier scene. Vanessa had shown and warned Mike of its spring locks.

It looks just like this thing (I haven't read this book yet):

Mike is a good shot and tased Chica's eyeball. Trying to escape, Mike gets his leg munched on by the cupcake. Urging Abby to run, Mike fights off the cupcake and tases it using the larger animal control taser.

Abby is back near the stage and Foxy stalks toward her and corners her in the arcade. This was a moment I really liked as well because it reminds me of the opening of Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes. Where Charlie is hiding in the arcade with Foxy hunting nearby. One thing I wanted to see, that didn't happen, was Foxy break and throw some arcade machines around to make it more intense.

Andrea and I got hype when Abby hid in the ball pit. We kept wondering if a time traveling ball pit was legit in this universe. XD I half expected Spring Bonnie to appear from there as well. Didn't happen either. :p

Vanessa takes down Foxy by giving him a controlled shock and saves Abby. Mike enters back to the main area and faces a new enemy entirely.

Enter Spring Trap.

Spring Trap attacks Mike and is quite OP in the suit tossing him around like he weighs nothing. That initial reveal was so creepy the way he slouched forward like he doesn't have much mobility in the suit. The guttural growl he made was the perfect pitch if that makes sense. It's something I feel closely resembles what he sounds like in the games.

However, the more he talked the voice filter felt somewhat inconsistent and I wish it was deeper to sound more menacing. Some of the lines ended up sounding a bit comedic than intended. If it sounded just a bit deeper I think it could have sounded more menacing. Mathew Lillard's performance in the suit was fun to watch. I think he nailed the movement and gestures of the character. I cannot wait to see what he's like as a walking corpse in a bunny suit. XD

Now onto the iconic moment in this story. The death of Spring Trap.

The spirits of the dead children have forgotten the circumstances of their death. They had seen the "Yellow Rabbit" as a friend. They all had served him in his evil plans. Mike orders Abby to reveal what has been done to them. Abby does so in the form of a drawing. I was confused about this element. William pulls out a big knife.

Vanessa tries to defend Mike and Abby from her father. William unmasks himself and yells at her about how she had one job. She threatens to shoot him and he mocks her that she wouldn't dare shoot her own father. Vanessa proves him wrong and takes a shot.

As Abby runs towards the wall of drawings to post her picture up, William motions toward her. Vanessa rushes to prevent him from getting near her. William surprisingly started choking his own daughter to get her to back off. She tries once again to keep him away and he stabs her with his knife. Vanessa is out.

Abby took down a kid's drawing of Spring Bonnie holding the children's hands. Did William draw this or a kid? XD Abby replaced it with her drawing of Spring Trap wielding a knife and five dead children.

I can believe that the children's spirits were lost and confused. Thus they were manipulated. I can't understand why it took a drawing to reveal the ugly truth though.

Anyhow, this immediately makes our favorite gang turn on William and they slowly begin to close in. Just like how I imagined his death in the minigame, he mocks them. Chica sends her cupcake to attack him which sets of the spring locks in William's suit.

The scene from then on kinda played out differently than I was imagining. William didn't scream once as each spring lock was being set off. I'm one for dramatic and intense screams. I guess what I'm saying is I wanted to hear horrific screams and have this death scene be something horrifying to watch. I love crazy deaths like that in horror films lol. I suppose it wasn't made in such a way as to scare children too bad. Bummer but I get it.

I loved how Foxy dragged him by his hook and the animatronics dragged him away as he twitched in pain.

Mike and Abby escape while saving Vanessa.

Mike and Abby got their happy ending as they remained a family and worked on healing together. Abby still wants to see the animatronics despite them trying to kill her. XD Mike doesn't agree or deny, but hints at a possible reunion. lol

They both end up visiting Vanny who is on a ventilator. Mike promises they'll both be there when she wakes up.

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Soundtrack & Secret Credits Easter Egg:

The FNaF song from The Living Tombstone played and when the audience heard it, we all got excited! God that took me back to 2014. Made me relive the excitement of hearing that song. Amazing their song got in the movie! 🖤👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Just like in some of the FNaF 2 mini-games you hear a robotic voice spell out words.

What was spelled out:

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"Come Find Me"

I suspect this could be coming from Spring Trap. This makes me think of two different scenarios.

Scenario 1: Is this hinting that the second movie will skip over to Fazbear Frights? Will a crew accidently discover the secret room as they're looking for props and valuables and unknowingly unleash evil?

Scenario 2: Could Spring Trap be sending a message to a son, if he indeed has one in this universe? Does Michael Afton exist?

If so, I am guessing Mike Schmidt's role of hero might not happen. If it does, Michael Afton might be evil. Who knows maybe they both take him down.

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Funny Moments/Cameos:

Balloon Boy appeared as a small figure three times in this film. He scared Mike when he first opened his locker. Second appearance was in the supply room or parts and service room (can't remember which one).

And the third time..

The end credits shows Cory sleeping in his cab. There's a knock on his door and he tries to turn the customer away. His car door opens and closes. He looks up and gets jumpscared by the tiny Balloon Boy figure. XD

I caught cameos in the form of employee of the month photos on one of the walls of the pizzeria. I saw Dawko, Ryan, and Other Ryan.

MatPat was the charismatic waiter at Sparky's who revealed lunch was considered an important part of the day more than breakfast. But hey, that's just a theory!

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What I Wished Happened & Putting Pieces Together

I wanted to at least see a picture or some mention of Henry. Just so that I could know whether or not he existed in this universe.

Spring Trap's suit being damaged kinda gave me mixed feelings. I suppose it isn't bad to see it damaged, but I kinda wished it was not damaged just dirty at most. I wanted them to save that appearance for when he dies in the suit and comes back later. Just a nit pick on my part honestly. Not a big deal.

Balloon Boy appeared. In this movie, I believe it takes place sometime in the 90s. If true, this matches up with the timeline of the first game. We know that FNaF 4, FNaF 2, and Sister Location are earlier in the timeline with FNaF 1 coming in afterwards. A lot of events have taken place if things align with this parallel universe of course. Crucial moments.

I suspect that the second movie will take the events from FNaF 3. The third movie could be setting us up for the Security Breach universe with the reveal of the Pizzaplex. That's just my little theory and wishful thinking that I might get to see Glamrock Freddy come to life. XD Like seriously that would be so sick!

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Critics & Ratings

I knew this movie wouldn't do well with critics. That's just the way things work unfortunately. Last I checked, on Rotten Tomatoes, this was scored 23% Rotten.

Honestly? Who gives a F what they think? I always choose to listen to the audience. What do critics know about the games and lore? Jack , to be blunt.

Scott Cawthon and Blum House made the best movie they could. It is evident. I believe most fans will appreciate this movie in their own ways. <3

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If you made it this far, I apologize for the loss of brain cells! :P You are officially declared NSaNe. Congratulations! :D

If there is anything else I forgot to add, I might make another post about it if I think of anything else. I'm sure I missed something I wanted to talk about at some point. :p

Thanks for reading!