Animatronic Halloween movie Five Nights at Freddy’s is PANNED by critics (but viewers can’t get enough of the video game adaptation!)

By James On Oct 30, 2023

Five Nights At Freddy’s is the latest video game adaptation to hit theaters but is being criticized with terrible reviews.

The film currently has a shockingly low critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, at 26 percent out of 136 reviews.

However, bad reviews don’t always indicate a doomed future for a film. In fact, the film grossed $130 million worldwide in its opening weekend, making it a surprise box office hit.

Furthermore, moviegoers who are fans of a franchise have proven to be much more forgiving of the shortcomings of a film adaptation of their favorite video game.

Five Nights At Freddy’s is the latest video game adaptation to hit theaters, but it’s not off to a great start

Although critics considered the film a colossal failure, audiences gave it a high score of 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

For example, the Super Mario Bros. movie received a splat score of 59 percent from critics, while audiences gave the film a favorable 95 percent.

The same seems to apply to Five Nights At Freddy’s – although the gap is even wider.

Although critics considered the film a colossal failure, audiences gave it a high score of 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Five Nights At Freddy’s is based on a video game franchise of the same name that was first released in 2014.

The film follows a security guard (Josh Hutcherson) during his first shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.

As the week progresses, the creepy animatronics come to life and he realizes he is fighting for the lives of himself and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio).

Despite the success of the video games, reviewers found this film ‘boring’ with a ‘convoluted’ plot.

Frank Schek The Hollywood Reporter called the movie a nap The guards Benjamin Lee claimed that the film “is somehow a task to get through and will be quickly forgotten by morning.”

The film follows a security guard (Josh Hutcherson) during his first shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. As the week progresses, the creepy animatronics come to life and he realizes he is fighting for the lives of himself and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio).

Despite the success of the video games, reviewers found this film ‘boring’ with a ‘convoluted’ plot

Soren Andersen out Seattle Times directly compared the video game to the movie and how one is significantly more exciting than the other.

“In the game, the players are Mike, and the goal is not to get killed. The pace is fast, the threats are many. It’s all about staying alive. The problem for movie audiences is staying awake,” they wrote.

After complaints of boredom, reviewers’ biggest problem with the film was its confusing plot that strayed too far from the original video game.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s has absolutely no idea what kind of ride it wants to be,” Justin Clark wrote Slant magazine.

“The convoluted story feels like it’s been reverse-engineered from the game, and the scares are too mild to have an impact,” said Rafer Guzman of Newsday said.

“Expanding the game’s simple, primary premise with an abundance of character melodrama, it’s a Five Nights at Freddy’s that operates on the bizarre assumption that its loyal fanbase wants lots of strange plots surrounding the fun-center horror,” wrote AA Dowd for IGN Movies.

While the film went for a horror tone with some comic relief, reviews found the film to be neither scary nor funny.

After complaints of boredom, reviewers’ biggest problem with the film was its confusing plot that strayed too far from the original video game.

While the film went for a horror tone with some comic relief, reviews found the film to be neither scary nor funny

‘There are scary moments, but no real tension. There are jokes, but there are no real laughs,” said Dylan Roth Observer wrote.

‘Despite a playful, nostalgic kick from the setting, including some impressive robot design and puppetry, it’s neither consistently scary nor exciting,’ Cinemalogists said Todd Jorgenson.

“Unfortunately, this adaptation of the hit 2014 video game fails to deliver scares or cheeky laughs, resulting in a dull experience that relies heavily on horror’s most clichéd tropes.” Tim Grierson for Screen International written.

Some reviewers attribute the inability to create a satisfying tone to the PG-13 rating.

“Caught between PG and R, but also lost at the intersection of unintentional comedy and horror, the PG-13 Five Nights at Freddy’s must go down as one of the poorest films in any genre this year,” says Mark Kennedy of Associated press written.

“Scrubbed and cleaned up to score a PG-13 rating, this horror film isn’t scary, silly or campy enough, sucking every last drop of fun straight from the killer premise,” says Louisa Moore. Screen Zealots said.

However, fans are singing the film’s praises to a very different tune, leaving one to wonder if critics and fans were listening to the same song.

‘Best movie of all time. My new favorite. FNaF4ever!’ exclaimed one fan of the film.

‘I really enjoyed the film, felt a touch of nostalgia. Great to finally see this on the big screen,” another enthused.

Someone else said the film had been in development since 2015, but it was worth the wait.

‘IT IS AWESOME!!!! I’ve been waiting for this movie for nine years and the plot is just perfect,” they wrote.

Most of the people who enjoyed the film seemed to be long-time followers of the franchise.

‘Good movie! Fans of the game would definitely love it,” said one fan.

“As a long time fan of the FNAF crew, I absolutely loved the movie,” wrote another.

‘As a fan of the franchise, I was very impressed! I thought it was a very entertaining movie that kept me waiting for the next scene again and again. Highly recommended for everyone,” says a third enthusiastically.

Some moviegoers admitted that it was definitely “dedicated to the fans” and that others may not have enjoyed it as much.

‘IT WAS SO GOOD! Everything I could have hoped for with an FNAF film dedicated to the fans,” they wrote.

‘Definitely a film for the fans. However, it’s (sic) not scary or really gory. It was good 4/5,” another added.

Some moviegoers admitted that it was definitely “dedicated to the fans” and that others may not have enjoyed it as much. However, some really thought it was a great movie for everyone

However, some really thought it was a great movie for everyone.

“Great movie for fans and newcomers alike,” one fan wrote.

“I never played the video game, but as a movie I thought it was very well done,” another added.

‘I think they did a great job of explaining the entire Lore, yet creating a new story for people who don’t follow the Lore, it was really very welcoming to newcomers and it was really well done, and the fact that There’s no CGI and real animatronics, it made me so happy,” said a third.

Social media users on X, formerly known as Twitter, also gave the film rave reviews.

‘I SAW THE FIVE NIGHTS IN FREDDY’S MOVIE. Loved it 10/10 OMG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” one fan tweeted.

Another user wrote: ‘I just finished the fnaf movie and I have to say, DON’T LET CRITICS TURN YOU OFF, IF YOU’RE A FAN OF FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S YOU NEED TO SEE THIS MOVIE (sic).’

“Everything I could have wanted in a Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie. Easily 8/10, very cheesy,” a third user honestly commented.

‘But that makes Fnaf, Fnaf. The story is not perfect, but it is fun. Very true to the lore of the games. Scott, Blumhouse. You all did a great job.’