Five Nights at Freddy's

⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5)

Five Nights at Freddy's is based on the popular video game franchise, this film will haunt the lives of those who grew up on Chucky Cheese and disturbingly themed pizza parlours. Memories of animatronic mascots will never be the same as Jim Henson Creature Shop designed these disturbing throwbacks to a different era of family entertainment.

Audiences enter the pizza emporium alongside the newly appointed security guard, Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson). Since he is the primary caregiver for his sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), he has been desperate to find work. Even though the role means he will be working overnight, Mike takes the job and sees it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep. The restaurant has been closed for years, and he assumes there isn’t much more damage that can happen to the property anyway. One night, the local police officer, Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), stops by to check on the new security guard. She shares the dark past of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, primarily about why it had shut down as it was the focus of investigations behind the disappearances of children from the area. Over the ensuing nights, strange things begin to happen in the hallways and back rooms of the building as Freddy and his four friends seem to come to life.

This latest Blumhouse production maintains the look and feel of the era when these pizza parlours came into prominence, the 80s. Even though the film is set in the modern era, the stylings, animatronics, and plot line exude the decade they were brought to life. This aspect has its positive and negative effects on the overall production. On the positive side, the setting and work of the team at Jim Hensen’s Workshop provide the unsettling creepiness needed for the film inspired by a video game series. As these creatures come to life, they bring a humorous element to the horror they inflict on their victims. The scares are more farcical than terrifying, and each member of Freddy’s team has the potential to deliver as many laughs as screams.

The rest of this critique is reserved to the challenging components of this nightmare involving children's abduction. Each disturbing layer becomes more burdensome as the historical truth comes out about the pizzeria. Granted, Mike’s insomnia is a creative vehicle to help connect his family to the crimes associated with the establishment. Yet, the predictability of every other aspect of this screenplay takes away from the precisely mentioned positives. Each twist is telegraphed early in the process, diminishing the various reveals that occur. There are enough jump scares and gruesome murders to satisfy those who love horror, but Freddy’s does less to scare its audience than to keep them off pizza for a while.

REEL DIALOGUE: How is kidnapping a crime against humanity?

You shall love your neighbour as yourself. - Matthew 22:39

To be honest, I can’t stand films that involve child abduction. Yet, they continue to be made, and audiences keep paying to see these egregious acts against mankind. It may seem obvious, but some may ask why kidnapping is considered one of the most offensive sins against society. It has been an unfortunate part of the human experience throughout history. The realities of Five Nights at Freddy’s are played out on Facebook feeds or on the latest daily newscast.

Since the beginning of human history, we can see that even in the Old Testament, it was a crime that would have been punishable by death, ranked in association with murder. In the words of Jesus, this topic is addressed broadly by his second commandment, love your neighbour as yourself. It would be hard to find anyone who would not see that kidnapping is an abomination, but there is another question to consider. Why are we being entertained by this act against humanity?

Other Bible passages that address kidnapping: Exodus 21:16, Deuteronomy 24:7, 1 Timothy 1:9-10

If you would like to discuss morality and God, reach out to us at Third Space. We would love to chat with you about this and more.