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Join UsStar Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, McKenna Grace, and Matthew Lillard.
Director: Emma Tammi
What’s Good: There are some cool and creepy sequences with the iconic animatronics, but other than that, I can feel the film struggling to get out of mediocre territory.
What’s Bad: The script makes the characters more annoying than ever, and the overall plot feels like a waste of time.
Loo Break: The movie is short, but you can go to the loo at any point during the second act, and you won’t be missing much.
Watch or Not?: I would only recommend watching it if you’re a fan of the video game franchise, if not, better stay away from it.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 104 minutes.
User Rating:
Opening:
Hollywood is having a hard time, and they are definitely looking for the next big thing. Now that superhero films are basically dead in the water and trying to recapture their glory, video game adaptations seem to be the new trend, and with a first film overperforming expectations, it was a matter of time before a new Five Nights at Freddy’s was on our way, and it is here, right now, but sadly it is not the improvement we wanted over the first installment.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Movie Review: Script Analysis
It is hard to adapt a video game to the screen because video games, as a medium, have the advantage of being interactive. That element basically dethrones many from film, as the audience feels like they are part of the stories and worlds, and that their actions have consequences. In contrast, in a film, the audience can place the blame on the character on screen instead of themselves, which diminishes the risk and horror factor that horror games can generate.
And so, when writer and producer Scott Cawthon manages to fail in achieving that sense of risk in his script, well, everything else follows, as the script doesn’t know how to create interesting characters that the audience can root for, with several moments in the film actually making the characters so annoying and boring that you might wish that Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica could actually take them from the story and have this film over with.
In fact, while there are certainly a lot of Easter eggs and lore dumping for fans of the games, these elements don’t really make the story better as a film. They actually might alienate some new audience members that might want to get into the franchise, the execution is just too sloppy. It lacks any sense of passion, resulting in a film that feels like just a setup for part 3, coming soon.
The video game adaptation curse has been present for decades, but it seemed to have been defeated recently, at least for a while. However, it is very clear that jumping from medium to medium makes these video game stories lose a lot, and if the filmmakers don’t have the passion to actually come up with solid and reasonable reasons for their character to take action throughout the story, then these are going to have a hard time working as more than just an advertisement for a pre-existing product.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Movie Review: Star Performance
Josh Hutcherson has always been solid, even in the first film, which lacked tension and overall horror factor, Hutcherson managed to feel like a pillar where the entire film could rest upon, and it is the same situation here, as the actor places himself as a force of reason within the cast and plays his character as well as he can, taking into account the quality of the script.
The same cannot be said for the character of Vanessa, played by Elizabeth Lail, who is betrayed by the script, transforming her into one of the most annoying characters ever and, for some, even the real villain of the piece; and while Lail is trying to do her best, the script doesn’t let her. This might lose more than one audience member, as the script just goes from bad decision to bad decision without much logic behind it.
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Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Movie Review: Direction, Music
Emma Tammi returns to the franchise as director. While the film has the look of a film with a higher budget, Tammi’s vision as a director doesn’t get the same treatment, and it feels like she struggles to create an interesting angle around camera composition, pacing, and even atmosphere, everything just feels too tame, as if the ideas were not exciting for her, so there is no reason to improve them, so while it might also be a lack of ability, the direction feels very lackluster.
The score by Taylor Stewart and Andrew Grush has some nice tunes here and there, but it doesn’t really manage to enhance the overall experience; in fact, it might fade away and go unnoticed as the audience watches the film.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Movie Review: The Last Word
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 doesn’t go bigger and better, which is the job of any sequel; instead, it goes into setup territory, which makes the time spent here a waste of time. The script doesn’t help the actors who are trying to deliver their best, but the material is just too weak, and while the animatronics look cool, we wish there were more character to them instead of just serving as horror props. This film is certainly not the best video game adaptation out there.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Trailer
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 released on 05 December, 2025.
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