After the release of The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, the designs, acting, and composition are simply splendid, yet the plot is a little much at times. After two weeks of arguments, the horror movie has had a mixed reception by its critics along with part of its audience, with curious points brought up.

    The horror movie follows the main protagonist, Mike Schmidt, as he gets a new job as a Security Guard to watch over the abandoned pizzeria filled with killer animal-themed animatronics. During the time at the pizzeria, the story surrounding the animatronics and family discourse unravels. With the help of his misfit little sister, Abby Schmidt, his chill friend/babysitter, Max, and a determined police officer, Vannesa, they all assist Mike in his journey to realize the truth of what happened all those years ago.

    The primary location, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, resembles a worn-down 80s-themed arcade pizzeria down to the set design of the pizzeria using old monitors, retro arcade games, colorful lights, and authentic janky animatronics. The horror movie pays tribute to the fans of the video games, who have been waiting for nearly a decade, but it slightly detracts from the experience overall. It can be overwhelming to keep up with the story hinted at before in the games, but delightful for avid viewers who played or grew up with the games.

    With a critic review of 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, many do not see eye to eye about the movie not being scary enough by not having enough terrifying scenes or being too predictable about the twist. However, the Audience reviews gave 87%, and many noticed the problems present in the movie but focused on its take on mixing its lore, frights, and references. For the fans, one of the most memorable moments was a cameo from a game theorist on YouTube named Matthew Patrick, with 18.1 Million Subscribers, who has talked about the lore from the beginning.

    There were many references to various parts of the video games and books to make a movie not exactly lore-accurate but used the different parts of the franchise’s history to create this story. Some references made are the non-functioning Showtime Button from the game “Five Nights at Freddy’s Help Wanted” actually utilized, the Ella Doll known from the book “Fazbear Frights #3: 1:35 A.M.” but originating from the Novel trilogy prior, and an easter egg in the background with the iconic poster of Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, and Chica performing on stage from the source material.

    Blumhouse Productions, the creator Scott Cawthon, and the animatronic designers at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop all worked to make this movie full of love and dedication. The creators made this horror film an experience without being fully lore-accurate but not too far from the games despite some muddied storytelling. This decision paid off with over $251 million worldwide at the box office and is one of the most successful video game movies ever made.