'Five Nights at Freddy's' review: A mixed bag of horror and nostalgia

Video game’s screen adaptation teeters between cult viewing and a missed opportunity for broader appeal

KARACHI:

For long-time fans of Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, a film adaptation of the beloved horror video game had been on the horizon since April 2015. Crafted by a trio of creators – Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi, and Scott Cuddeback – it unfolds with a charm more appealing to its dedicated fanbase, if only for the culture. For newbies and other horror aficionados, FNAF is a forgettable film that takes itself too seriously.

The film attempts to infuse a psychological depth into the game's protagonist, Mike, that its central plot cannot sustain. Josh Hutcherson plays the security guard Mike who reluctantly takes on the responsibility of overseeing Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a family-friendly establishment that was shuttered in the 1980s following a series of baffling child disappearances.

Mike's aversion to working the night shift at this decaying "Chuck E. Cheese"-esque venue is evident, especially when he confides in the friendly yet enigmatic cop, Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail).

Failure to maintain his job could result in his scheming aunt, Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson), taking custody of Abby solely to collect child support payments. Adding to Mike's anguish, he is plagued by recurring lucid nightmares involving the abduction of his younger brother, Garrett (Lucas Grant), which intensify during his employment at Freddy's. Furthermore, the pizzeria's animatronic animal mascots have a habit of coming to life at night, possibly possessed by vengeful spirits.

Director Emma Tammi, whose 2018 horror feature debut The Wind displayed her craft at textured storytelling, is unable to capitalise on the bizarre possibilities of its source material, from the game lore to its fanfictions. It also barely summons the gore of Freddy’s dark universe which, in the absence of other eerie registers, makes it an underwhelming horror.

Helmed by Blumhouse Productions, the film’s predecessors include Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Get Out, and The Invisible Man. Jason Blum is a dependable partner in making low-budget ‘camp’ horror flicks or more masterful productions but FNAF can claim the former only by a slight margin.

Running over a 110-minute mark, its pacing and lack of focus make it hard to justify its duration despite having the game’s sinister ambiance and the ever-expanding meta-narrative at its disposal. While it partly succeeds at re-creating that immersive uncanny, it regrettably falls into formulaic storytelling more often than desired.

For many millennials and zoomers, Hutcherson himself brings out nostalgia for fantasy combat with previous films like The Hunger Games and Journey series. Conversely, his tormented, sullen, and completely off-the-rails character is hardly likable from the outset. Throw in some anger management issues originating from a traumatic past, we end up with a hero too narcissistic in his suffering.

The repeating flashbacks slash dream sequences fail to achieve anything besides dragging the pace; at its halfway mark, it’s hard to care for Mike’s psychic redundancies when there are more interesting things happening with the film’s main guys aka the animatronics.

Lial is openly tasked with guiding his character and mostly serves as a bearer of cryptic warnings, a complementary role that makes her emotive performance appear excessive. Until she becomes integral to the pizzeria’s evil schemes and its eventual takedown, a revelation that means nothing after enduring over 90 minutes of no suspense.

Matthew Lillard of Scream and Scooby-Doo has an interesting filmography of slasher hits and low-budget spooks but his character as the career counselor slash owner of Fazbear Entertainment could definitely have used more screen time to set him up as a more relevant antagonist.

FNAF, despite its generous runtime, has no room for character-driven storytelling. Mike's personal story is justifiably overtaken by imposing animatronics, led by the lumbering Freddy (Kevin Foster), and his companions, Bonnie (Jade Kindar-Martin), Chica (Jess Weiss), Cupcake, and Foxy.

Those familiar with the game know that most of the plot unfolds in the control room and our furry evil animatronics promise a good number of jumpscares. But FNAF film disappoints most strikingly here. While the control room where Mike works is a recurrent setting, the cameras show animatronics to be surprisingly well-behaved.

The film’s horror is sourced exclusively from Mike opening cabinets and running into shelves - to no effect. There is virtually no rising tension to preface the few jumpscares that prop up. This only accentuates the missing gruesome action that dominates the game.

To its credit, however, whatever gore is present is neatly executed. The film creatively makes use of shadows and flickering lights to stage the animatronics’ deadly encounters with humans.

It could have definitely played upon its strengths as a camp indie horror; instead, the film tries to achieve a psychological or atmospheric horror that’s difficult when your ghosts are oversized animal mascots which are easily the best feature of the film.

Creative designer Robert Bennett brings the iconic villains to life with real-size suits that look just the same as their game counterparts. For a plot point heavily reliant on themes of embodiment and mutation, the lack of CGI is helpful.

Stylistically, the film occasionally throws in evocative visuals. One animatronic killing plays out entirely in shadows on a wall that bypasses the need for tacky murder scene props. Mike’s dreams always feature a close-up of spilled soda dribbling down the table’s edge reiterating his character’s belief in dreams as a warehouse of memory. Sequences of the lit-up pizzeria with music blasting and animatronics performing to empty chairs are both creepy and tenderly haunting.

While the central narrative feels lacklustre, the film does maintain a certain level of solidity, thanks to the creators' careful adherence to familiar dialogues and story beats, which is satisfying for hardcore fans. Within its gaming fandom, the film has a comfortable tradition to nestle it despite its many faults and feels more like a prototype to a more developed spin-off.

For others, however, it remains to be seen if Tammi’s rendition might climb the ranks of a cult viewing someday, though I would not count on it.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.