Review - Five Nights at Freddy's 2

What does it mean when you can’t tell if a movie is bad, or if you’re just not familiar with the property’s lore?

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is the sequel to the 2023 adaptation of the popular video game franchise about a Chucky-Cheeese-esque restaurant and its creepy animatronics. I watched the original film without having played Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) at all and being very minimally aware of the game in general. I've since played a bit of the OG game. I don't think it helped at all.

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The movie starts in the ‘80s at a party at the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location. There we witness the murder of a young girl named Charlotte. The parents at the party are unrealistic and unhelpful when Charlotte initially notices a young boy being abducted (this trope happens way too often). The movie then flashes forward to the present to continue the story of Mike (Josh Hutcherson).

FNAF 2 can be intense and eerie at times, particularly the beginning. A marionette character is a creepy addition. The gameplay from the original game focuses on simply flipping through different CCTV security channels at the restaurant to track the evil animatronics. It’s nerve-wracking, as the characters pop up at random. Why then, did they not recreate this in this film?

I've always been a bit on the fence about Josh Hutcherson but I think he's finally won me over. Mike isn’t a particularly complex character as far as horror films go, but that’s fine.

One of my biggest problems with the film is the logic, or lack thereof. For instance, why are the Freddy Fazbear's locations closed but still around? How is Abby (Piper Rubio), Mike’s young sister, able to ride her bike around town so fast? Does she have a rocket bike? Or are we to believe the Freddy locations are that close together? Most notably, there’s a Michael character in addition to Hutcherson’s Mike, and he also works at a Fazbear’s. Giving different characters similar names is a no-no, but there may be some sort of in-world reason for it? Again, I’m not sure if it’s bad writing or just the lore.

This film also doubles the “Scream” factor, with Matthew Lillard’s antagonist returning in a dream and now Skeet Ulrich appearing in a brief role. I was expecting the two horror alums to somehow share some screen time but it didn't happen. Another cast highlight is Wayne Knight as Abby’s teacher Mr. Berg. His character gets attacked towards the end of the film and suddenly I was nine years old again watching him get eaten in Jurassic Park. 

At the end of the day, I would watch more of these. They’re harmless and definitely have a fun vibe. I may try to play some more of the games, to catch up on that lore if nothing else.