Be ready for Freddy. The first teaser trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s was just unveiled on Youtube. The 49-second teaser is brief but does hint at what to expect in this first theatrical adaptation. More than ten years since it first debuted on PC, the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise takes a stab at theatrical R-Rated horror for the very first time and the teaser looks incredibly promising for what comes next.
Good Pizza
The teaser wastes no time in showing the visual aesthetic of the movie, which pulls right from the game. The trailer shows a quick training video interspersed with our first look at the protagonist, as well as the look of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. The trailer clearly has a retro 80s aesthetic that feels pulled straight from a Chuck E Cheese or Discovery Zone of the late 80s or early 90s. The restaurant’s newest security guard is seen getting the lay of the restaurant and coming across multiple animatronics. The rest of the trailer is quickly-edited chaos as the trailer shows the animatronic coming to life. Freddy and the others glow with red eyes and violent machinations. The imagery of nightmares, torture, and children in danger ensues. The last shot features a child hiding in a ball pit, only for an animatronic to be lying in wait with no escape.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is an adaptation of the famed game franchise. The movie is directed by Emma Tammi, who has helmed smaller horror films such as The Wind (2018) and Into The Dark (2020). Playing security guard Mike Schmidt is Josh Hutcherson, who famously played Peeta in The Hunger Games saga and voiced Markl in Howl’s Moving Castle (2005). Actor Matthew Lillard, who’s acting credits range from Scream to being the voice of Shaggy and several Scooby Doo movies, is William Afton. William is the main antagonist of the FNAF games. Accompanying Matthew is actress Mary Stuart Masterson, who is in an unnamed villain role but whose credits include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Rounding out the cast is Elizabeth Lail, who is also in an unspecified role, but has credit that includes the psychological thriller series You and the Disney fantasy series Once Upon a Time.
10 years of furry horror
The movie Five Nights at Freddy’s is based on the video game series of the game name. The franchise achieved overnight rockstar status in 2014 and has since exploded into a franchise. Five Nights at Freddy’s spans 23 entries across multiple platforms. The latest release, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach went on to be a solid success. The new game has a new DLC expansion announced for this year and launched on Nintendo Switch this past April. The franchise centers around a pizza restaurant not too dissimilar from Chuck E Cheese. At the fictional Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria, a horrifying mystery begins to unfurl involving murderous animatronics, a potential serial killer at large, and a security guard at the center of it all.
Perhaps more horrifying than murderous animatronics that may or not be possessed by the consciousness of murder victims is a troubled production cycle. Five Nights at Freddy’s was originally announced in 2015 by Warner Bros with creator Scott Cawthon set to produce and Ghostbusters: Afterlife writer Gil Kenan set to direct. Scott mentioned unfavorable conditions in cinema and in 2017, Warner Bros put the movie in turnaround. In 2018, Scott tapped Harry Potter and Home Alone director Chris Columbus to direct. After some time, Scott announced the project would continue but Chris was no longer involved. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop was selected to create Freddy and the Gang of Animatronics to give the movie the right flare and style. By this time, Blumhouse Productions and Universal were set to produce and distribute. Emma Tiel was announced as director shortly after.
A mystery unfolds
There is much that is still unknown about this theatrical adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s. Presumably, it will follow the simple plot of the first entry, making it accessible for viewers. The story has gone in various directions and paths over the past decade. It has been hinted that Five Nights at Freddy’s is the first in a trilogy of films. Whether this follows the game’s story beat for a beat or goes along its own path remains unclear. Even the possibility of an R-Rating is unknown at this time. Furthering possibilities is Scott Cawthon’s involvement. As the creator of the franchise, it appears that certain deviations may be made. His words suggest the movie will go in a familiar but different direction.
However, Scott was embroiled in controversy in 2021, when Twitter users took screenshots of public donations to The Republican Party. This revelation created an uproar within the LGBTQ gaming community and indie game horror scene. Scott endured doxx attacks and threats of violence, as well as a scathing video by Youtuber James Steph Sterling. Scott retired from game development amidst the controversy. It’s unclear if there will be a campaign against this movie in the same vein as RPG Hogwart’s Legacy.. So far, there has been little of such commotion with genuine excitement for the movie circulating through social media. What happens next remains to be seen, but be sure to come hungry for pizza.
Five Nights at Freddy’s releases Friday, October 27th, 2023 in theaters and exclusively streaming on streaming platform Peacock.
