Courtesy of Blumhouse Productions
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” movie poster.Editor’s note: Spoilers for “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”
During the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home, I found myself sucked into a world of haunted animatronics in a video game called “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
Then came the movie version in 2023. It follows Michael “Mike” Schmidt, who takes a job as a security guard at an abandoned pizzeria in order to keep custody of his little sister, Abby.
There he discovers that the sentient animatronics are possessed by the souls of children who were murdered years ago by the founder of Freddy Fazbear’s, William Afton. Vanessa, a police officer who seems to know a little too much about Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, is revealed to be William Afton’s daughter.
The sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” (FNAF 2) was released on Dec. 5. It is set two years after the events of the first movie. Now, Mike is trying to move on with his life, Abby wants to fix the animatronics (who she considers her friends) and Vanessa is haunted by the actions of her father. The movie brings us to the original pizzeria where Vanessa’s childhood friend, Charlotte, was killed 20 years earlier. Charlotte now returns as the animatronic Marionette, seeking revenge on those who did nothing to help her.
The atmosphere of the pizzeria is as haunting as the one in the last movie. The opening scene immediately draws viewers in with the image of the Marionette holding Charlotte’s body. Kudos to the set designers for masterfully depicting the pizzeria; the animatronics look very close to their video game counterparts.
Vanessa has more of a character arc in this movie than in the original. In the previous movie, she does little more than give exposition on Freddy Fazbear’s. Having her struggle to break away from her father’s dark legacy gives her character much-needed depth.
However, the writing feels contrived at times, and it’s downright weak in other parts. It is unrealistic for the parents to do nothing in the opening scene when Charlotte yells at them that a boy is in danger. Abby’s elementary school teacher, Mr. Berg comes across as an overexaggeratingly awful teacher, and the effect is unintentionally comedic.
Arguments between Vanessa and Mike seem forced. The writers fail to develop their relationship properly in an effort to push the plot forward.
The killings follow a similar pattern in the last movie, with a random group exploring the abandoned pizzeria being the first to be killed by the animatronics. There is hardly any blood, but the movie has well-executed jumpscares that keep viewers on the edge of their seat.
My biggest criticism is that the ending is rather lackluster. The whole movie makes much of an event called “FazFest,” a festival built around the legends of the haunted animatronics and murders that have formed in the past few years. In the end, though, we don’t spend more than two minutes at FazFest, and instead the climax occurs at Mike’s house. It felt like all the buildup was for nothing.
The surprise character reveal at the end of the movie felt shoehorned in to shock video game fans who have a deeper understanding of the lore. There was no hint at all in the first movie that this character existed at all in the film continuity until this movie. So when he suddenly appeared, it was exciting to see at first, but it ultimately fell flat for me.
If the movie had spent more time developing the character, it could have been an amazing addition, but unfortunately, even with the reveal, he felt comedically two-dimensional.
While the horror in this movie made it a fun watch, both the plot and writing are lackluster. I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 Falcons.
