WARNING: CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS
In 2023, Blumhouse presented the Five Nights at Freddy’s, or FNAF, franchise in a new medium: film.
The first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” wasn’t exactly critically acclaimed, and now, in 2025, the second has completely faltered.
Both films have the same highlights: the animatronics, practical effects and effective use of in-game lore all appeal to fans of the series. However, the sequel is, frankly, running on pure hype.
A wisp of Shadow Bonnie and a peek at Ballora, while exciting, does not make up for the complete lack of quality screenwriting. It’s interesting because the first installment utilized series creator Scott Cawthon along with short film writer Seth Cuddeback, who is nowhere to be seen in the production of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
It shows.
“FNAF 2” somehow feels rushed and simultaneously difficult to sit through. The first 15 minutes were promising; between Charlotte’s death sequence, Michael Afton’s introduction and the glorious, brutal murders of the TV ghost hunters, it felt like this could be a real formidable horror picture.
Instead, right as tension is peaking, the film introduces a terribly strange body-hopping mechanic for the Marionette. Typically, the Marionette, under possession of Charlotte’s soul, works as a compassionate guide for other murdered children, giving them life as animatronics. In the second film though, she is able to take over human consciousness and conduct wicked business.
On top of the poor, overly villainous portrayal of Marionette as an essential character to the series, the CGI effects of her killing and overtaking one of the ghost hunters leaves a lot to be desired.
The rising action of the film would have been greatly improved if it was shot at a frequency humans can’t hear. Somebody get Josh Hutcherson a glass of water because his lines could not be any drier.
Much like its predecessor, “FNAF 2” drops the ball on the juxtaposition of fear and fun. In moments where the characters should be at ease, they try to play up the events of the previous picture; in times of immense conflict, they try to be funny. Nobody – and I mean nobody – cares about the orange gummy candy right now, Abby.
Speaking of conflict, why are those scenes the shortest out of anything? We get ten minutes of a faux dinner date, but it takes the animatronics just 30 seconds to rip each other apart?
In reality, that could be a bit of a dramatization, but that’s what it feels like to watch. Just because a fight happens quickly does not make them intense.
Furthermore, when the main characters are finally, actually in the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, the entire basis of the plot, remember, it’s like they want to die. Somehow, Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) managed to dispatch four robots and a middle-aged psycho in the first movie, but they can’t even work a damn computer in the second.
It’s unbelievable that “FNAF 2” was such a fumble because they already had an entire universe laid out for them, complete with subplots and Easter eggs; all they had to do was turn it into a motion picture.
What they used of the source material was great, but everything in between stunk bad. It doesn’t matter though, because the film recouped 300 percent of its budget within 48 hours.
Go watch “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and then go home and watch “Willy’s Wonderland.” The two will merge together in your mind and create a pretty good film.
