Five Nights at Freddy’s is a video game franchise made by Scott Cawthon on Aug. 8, 2014, and through YouTube, it became viral in the horror scene. Many YouTubers popularized the game as it progressively became tougher to survive the night with the animatronics jump scaring when the player failed.

Despite how scary the games were and that their target audience was teens, eventually, children were watching other gamers playing the games. Many YouTubers would create analysis videos or theories surrounding the game’s lore and story of the killer, Purple Guy, and his victims, which evolved from the seven main sequel games and 26 books, adding to the excitement the movie release is now generating.

Fans have waited nearly a decade to see these characters on the big screen, and now thanks to the Blumhouse production company, they will. Fans can count on a true-to-the-lore movie because one of the writers is the creator, Mr. Cawthon. He worked diligently, creating and scrapping nine screenplays in the past eight years. This one must be perfect, and you can see it tonight at a local theater or on the streaming site Peacock.

The first teaser trailer dropped on May 16, 2023, which generated excitement from the thrilling practical effects of the psychical Animatronics and a cameo from YouTuber Cory Williams, also called CoryxKenshin, with 17.3 Million Subscribers. However, the trailer also created a backlash from fans over some of the new and artistic choices.

The creative advertising for the movie has been on point with a pop-up location in Los Angeles that looks like an 80s-themed Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria on the outside. At Blumhouse Behind The Screams, you can look at the animatronics in person at a Dreamworks Theater. A treat for the more keen fans was a secret video they saw after solving a puzzle from the recently released spin-off game “Freddy and Space 3: Chica in Space,” for more frightening and lore-filled clips of the movie with the Missing Children Incident at the pizzeria and references to the mysterious animatronic, Golden Freddy.

From the trailers and TV spots, other characters from the sequels have appeared in the movie, such as the animatronic Spring Trap or Vanessa A. as another Security Guard. The main character, Mike Schmidt, now has a more prominent role in the movie than in the games, as he just stays in his office and makes sure the animatronics do not get in with the cameras and doors. However, a new character, never seen in the source material, is the secondary lead named Abby, the younger sister of Mike Schmidt.

With Mr. Cawthon already announcing his ideas about making future movies based on the sequel games, the FNAF (a common acronym used in the fandom) movie will surely be a success as my generation relives their childhood one jump scare at a time. It’s finally time for the Happiest Day.