Five Nights at Freddy’s
Josh Hutcherson and Piper Rubio star in FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S. (Photo: Universal Pictures)
For moviegoers of a certain generation who grew up on Skee-Ball and arcade tokens, Five Nights at Freddy’s might seem like a nightmare come to life.
Let’s face it: Those animatronic creatures covering pop hits on the stage at your favorite childhood pizza parlor were more creepy than charming. Unfortunately, this film adaptation of the titular video-game series fails to capitalize on that premise.
Despite a playful nostalgic kick from its setting, including some impressive robotics design and puppetry, it’s neither consistently scary nor suspenseful.
Mike (Josh Hutcherson) can’t hold a steady job while caring for his conveniently naïve preteen sister (Piper Rubio). After being fired again, his supervisor (Matthew Lillard) steers him toward an overnight, low-paying security gig at Freddy Fazbear’s, an abandoned pizzeria.
During his first shift, red flags hint at why there’s been so much turnover. Meanwhile, he’s having persistent nightmares about lingering childhood trauma, exacerbated by kid-friendly surroundings.
“This place, it gets to you,” warns a police officer (Elizabeth Lail) who patrols the area and seems to know more than she initially lets on. “It’s one of the reasons why you’re gonna quit.”
Once the babysitting budget runs out, desperate Mike brings the youngster with him to work, where she naturally becomes enamored with lead-singing bear Freddy and his cohorts. And she also uncovers a sinister secret that’s not about fun and games.
The disjointed screenplay tries to weave together multiple subplots about missing children and fractured families while dialing back the violence and gore that — considering the narrative roots — fans of the source material would expect.
In particular, Mike’s back story feels contrived and derivative in an effort to establish a rooting interest. For genre aficionados, the excessive exposition simply delays the start of the game.
That drains the suspense from a film that preys on fears of being alone in the dark, but is really more about what’s happening inside Mike’s head and the far-fetched series of twists to address that.
As directed by Emma Tammi (The Wind), Five Nights at Freddy’s struggles to maintain tension as the body count accumulates amid the obligatory parade of gimmicks and jump scares. You’d be better off redeeming your tickets for a toy soldier or a roll of Sweet Tarts.
Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.