STARRING: JOSH HUTCHERSON, ELIZABETH LAIL, PIPER RUBIO, MARY STUART MASTERSON, MATTHEW LILLARD
DIRECTED BY: EMMA TAMMI
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 27, 2023
Can you survive five nights at Freddy’s? Created by American video game developer, Scott Cawthon, the infamous video games series has made it to the big screen. Released on October 27, 2023, this 109-minute film was directed by Emma Tammi. Tammi’s domain consists of Horror and Thriller movies as she has most recently directed The Left Right Game (2020) and The Wind (2018). The cast features Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Matthew Lillard. This film was distributed by Universal Pictures, and it was produced by Blumhouse Productions and Scott Cawthon Productions. With a budget of $20 million, the film has amassed $222.7 million so far.
Mike Schmidt (played by Josh Hutcherson) is in desperate need to find employment to continue obtaining custody of his little sister Abby (played by Piper Rubio). After losing his position as a mall security guard, he accepts a job as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, a formerly prosperous but closed family amusement restaurant. What seems to be a simple task of watching the monitors and keeping people out of the establishment, he soon learns that the only task that matters is staying alive.
I am quite disappointed with the film as I had big expectations. The memories I have from playing the game as a child delivered more horror and suspense than the movie did. It was missing the fear factor that the game provided so well. The backstory to Mike’s life was interesting, but it took the attention away from the overall idea of the franchise.
Five Nights at Freddy’s received 30 percent from Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.5/10 from IMDb and I agree. Despite the lack of horror and boring plot, I was satisfied with Josh Hutcherson’s portrayal of Mike. His acting seemed to be the only great and adequate thing about the film.