Five Nights at Freddy's (REVIEW) | Projector | Surviving one of 2023's worst films 

Apologies for my absence of late, it was not by choice: ever since LFF, I was sick and was in no shape to get in front of the camera. If I still sound a little congested here, that's why, but I'm feeling much better now (only taken two weeks!).

The protagonist trying to enter a lucid dream to figure out a memory of a past crime is unironically something that I could totally see pop up as a minigame in a FNAF game. I would not be surprised if Scott Cawthon wrote that part.

I get they anted a higher body count, but I don't think they needed such a contrived subplot to explain why a bunch of people would want to break into an abandoned building. People will do that, film it and put it on RU-vid for kicks

Should have just kept it simple. Act 1: Desperate security guard who can't afford to miss a paycheck is assigned by his security company to Freddy Fazbears for the next 5 days. Blitz through the first few nights just establishing tension and showing that the animatronics aren't where they should be until on night 3 it's blatantly obvious they are moving about. Act 2: The Guard seeks out the owner or caretaker of Fazbears and asks him WTF is going on. This is where it's revealed that the animatronics do move about sometimes but they are harmless along with some good ol' googling/library newspaper reels for some backstory about freddy fazbears. Have the end of Act 2 be night 4 where the animatronics try to attack him for the first time. Act 3: The guard tries to get reassigned but no one believes his story and he'll be fired if he doesn't go back for the final night. So, he gathers together some weapons and prepares for his last shift. The rest of the movie is night 5 where the guard is running away, hiding and fighting off the murderous animatronics. He dies or lives, who cares. The End. Make it no longer than 80-90 minutes and boom done. Add the increasingly silly lore stuff in the sequels.

My major question: what on earth happened to Emma Tammi? The Wind is such an overlooked gem, how did she go from that to this? I don’t think I’ve seen a director go from such unique indie fare to an awful video game adaptation since Duncan Jones and Justin Kurzel gave the one-two punch of WARCRAFT and Assassin’s Creed.

If i wanted a horror film about a character named Freddy and dreams, i'd stick to Elm Street, least it's not as boring.

This movie sounds so awful, I'm giving you a tip for having to endure it.

Hello Mr. Brain! I'm glad your video appeared in my recommend. I haven't seen your face in awhile, not since the Channel Awesome days (I don't hold any of that against you). Please continue to make content and keep on feeling ready to roll!

If this movie was not connected to the FNAF IP, nobody would be talking about it. It's very similar to the Super Mario Bros movie, very safe and mediocre, but successful due to the franchise it's based on.

After seeing this, I might understand why exactly this took so long to become a movie. I felt like someone took a 90s Disney Channel film and stapled a few bits of a Blumhouse film into it at random.

Wait, this film does nothing with its premise? Wow, it really is faithful to the game, then!

Funnily enough, the Gravity Falls episode Soos and the Real Girl was also accused of being a Freddy's knock-off despite coming out around the same time.

And that cold open sequence, what the hell was that Saw-esque trap? Like, THAT was the biggest horror concept they could have worked with, yet it somehow goes entirely unexplained, and it doesn't even have being part of the game lore as an excuse! The one creative risk they actually took, and it amounted to jack all.

People who want a Bad Movie Beatdown can finally stop asking!

Unlike Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey, At least this movie has an ending.

Wife and I watched this over the weekend. We both kept asking for ANY explanation of some of how things happen (keeping this spoiler free) and it just got more frustrating the more we watched. As if the creators got up trying to think of reasons or any process.

So I guess that banana splits horror movie and the one that Nicolas Cage was in was better.

Given this movie has already been crazy successful [making $136.8 million on a $20 million budget at the time of writing] it's inevitable sequels will follow. Hopefully they'll listen to feedback and improve next time.

My bit of trivia is that the woman playing the mom character in this was also the mom from that terrible action game The Quiet Man Anyway, nicely done. Always appreciate you talking about a stinker

I actually like how the aunt's death was offscreen. SPOILERS By that point in the movie, the animatronics had built up a rapport with Mike and Abby, so we don't think much of their focus on Abby... right up until Mike had unintentionally offered up his sister as a sacrifice to learn more about his brother. I like how Golden Freddy just appears, being friendly towards Abby and dismissing Aunt Jane's death as her sleeping. That's honestly the creepiest part of the movie, because we know Abby is being doomed but she doesn't.

I was concerned we wouldn't get your reaction to "Five Nights ..." -- yet I refused to listen to anyone else's until I got yours. Looks like this one won't find a place on my to-watch list.

It's no Willy's Wonderland. Despite all the money Five Nights At Freddy's made over that other, better, movie.

Hey, don't hold back Matthew. Tell us how you really feel.

I really miss game fans commenting here "Well, You need to be a FAN to appreciate a movie!" which is such a funny thing to say.

I greatly disliked the transformers movies but I at least understood why the first few made money, this just baffles me. It’s an IP world and we’re just living in it.

Bravo, Mathew! A fine and entertaining breakdown! "A nice long nap" sounds like a better idea than watching this film, indeed.

What's up brain how you been.glad you still create content

It was so boring. Looked great! But when you’re making a fort to a montage with the villains, there’s no horror there. 5 days with some guy.

They enter his dreams cuz they are the ghosts of the missing kids.

I know the FNAF fandom is all about the "lore" but this movie focused on too much of the "lore" and barely on the scares. I'm not the biggest fan of jumpscares but man, at least give us something with this thing.

Really enjoyed this. Your really mattering the Video Essay format and being very entertaining+informative.

Already dreading the prospect of FNAF fans chest-beating about the box office like the second coming of Snyder Stans...

Brain is laying it down! 13:40 one thing I still stand by is Mike's whole backstory was treated seriously and tragic, I did feel for Hutchinson/Mike 18:20 that shade though lol

Long story short: It's yet another live action IP mascot movie where the mascot doesn't do shit.

Thank you so much for your review. I admit, I was deeply disappointed by this movie. Sure, the lore of the games is overly convoluted and contrived, but there is a lot that could have been done with the property that we didn't get here. They say it was "made for the fans", but they disregard so much that made the lore inside the games interesting. Vanessa was wasted here, Afton was an afterthought, and Mike barely reacted to the world around him. The kidnapped brother subplot made no sense; the five kids somehow knew who killed him but didn't know who killed themselves? They only killed during the day and they were randos that nobody reacted to or missed. The aunt subplot went nowhere, and they just left her body on the floor, unexplained for them to just find later I guess?! Won't Mike be in trouble for these people around him disappearing/dying?! He was a guard for a defunct restaurant, not an active one in the game which called for a guard. Hardly any hauntings. And by having the changes they did to the game lore, they can't really expand on the mysteries from the game because they didn't follow the rules the game establishes at all. I believe a compelling movie could have made from this IP; they could have leaned into the lore hunter aspect, since the that is what made it so popular. Have it be a investigator, looking into the events at the different locations, like small flashbacks of the game happenings through interviews, investigations and such. The animatronics and environments were awesome, but the story was awful. Severely disappointing.

man, you always give the best context when you talk about a movie. I totally missed the connections between the Nicholas Cage movie and I haven't even heard of the Banana Splits movie (Did I wake up in the past? what year is it??)

The first two games were pretty atmospheric

Careful, Matthew; I'm not a fan of the games and respect your opinions, but I know plenty of people who are that probably won't. IHE didn't call the fanbase the worst ever for nothing

I honestly disagree with everything you have to say about the movie I watched it I enjoyed it I understand the small changes and the aunt is there to force him to keep the dangerous job and the baby sitter getting killed gets the sister fully involved

Spot on as always Mathew! I'm right there with you on the production design, personally the stained glass in the pizzeria was the movie highlight for me. The way I put it to everyone is it is a PRIME example of a creator not really understanding how to adapt their work to another medium. While I realize this wasn't just Cawthon's script, his name is there and I do figure that has quite a bit to do with why the film is the way it is. Iirc there's a post floating around about the various different iterations of the plot he went through (might have been around 8 different versions), and because they vary so much, I expect more time was dedicated to rewriting the script from scratch than actually refining the initial story they had. I also fully agree about the jumpscares/horror of it......this really felt like it got a PG-13 for being a "horror" movie than anything actually in the film. Glad to have you back!

Mathew we are on the same page on this one. Double Tosted also felt the same. 👍

I bet this movie would've been the topic of a Bad Movie Beatdown episode if you were still doing that show. 😂

Honestly I think this movie would have been better if the main characters where those thieves the aunt hired to trash the Freddy Fasbear's Pizza to get the security guard in trouble.

This is why I knew the lead actor that they got was not the right person for the movie

I don't know if you caught 57 Seconds, also out this year, which Hutcherson plays the lead in as well. Honestly, I think the guy's just not leading man material. I mean the movie is abysmal, in a kind of baffling way, but he gives a similarly sleepy and less-than emotive performance. I think it's just his thing?

I couldn’t agree more as someone who was finishing primary school and entering into secondary when the original game came out I was really into theories and other stuff about fnaf. So when I heard about this movie coming out, I reignited my love for the brand by watching people react to the games for the first time and the jump scares still make me want to piss my pants and that says a lot considering I watch a lot of horror. So yeah I was excited for this only to be absolutely bored and stopped watching halfway through I feel bad for the fans that wasted their time and money on this lame thing because it doesn’t deserve it!

WHAT??? It's NOT campy?! That, and jumpscares, were the two things at minimum I would think they would do in this movie so I'm really surprised that they didn't do either wow

Thanks!

So Mathew Lillard is in it?! 1 good thing about this movie🙂

Despite being a long time fan of this series I was extremely underwhelmed and disappointed by this film. It just fell flat and didn't really do much with what was given. Even if it was branded as a film made for fans I was just left confused as to how low the bar has been set. Especially if this kid friendly horror was any indication of the kind of audience being catered to. All that's left to say is that the Haunting of Bly Manor did it better as far as ghosts go.

Thank goodness. I thought i was in the minority with hating this film. Glad I'm not the only one. This film fails for me as a lore fan, a fnaf fan, a horror movie fan and a movie overall.

So wait mattew lillards character who is suppose to be the main villian of the game william afton is barely in this movie!? Thats really dissapointing.

The scariest thing about this movie to me was the audience. I saw this on an early Thursday screening and I was baffled by how the younger ones ate this up. The very front two rows were full of ten-year-olds shouting and cheering at the screen when a particular connection or nod to the video games happened. I can't remember the last time I had such a rowdy crowd in a long time. Granted, there were some middle aged people and college students close by, but they were tame compared to the nightmare in the very front. Taking that out of consideration, this is a really bad adaptation. I know the video games on basic levels, but enough to understand the lore. And you are right. This movie has been digesting for such a long time that it should be something unique. It almost reminds me in a sense when James Cameron was doing The Abyss and you had these other underwater sci-fi moves trying to beat his oceanic alien film. What really killed my enjoyment was the unlikability of the main character. If you are going to igive him this PTSD, why introduce him by letting this guy mistaken a rough father moment as child abuse? It's a cliche and if your going to have him go on this dark venture, you got to make us understand and care. I swear, because of Hutcherson's age, I kept thinking he was Abby's father. So it felt awkward when he kept calling, "little sister," because the building relationship didn't feel like brother and sister by how they act. There was so much time spent trying to come up with a story, build these puppets, and figure things out. Yet THIS is the best they can do? If your going to adapt something, keep the mainstream viewers in mind. Early in the year, we had The Super Mario Bros Movie which played to enthusiasts and mainstream viewers by not overloading itself on so much lore. It was basic, easy to follow, and didn't overcomplicate itself. Here, we got ghost children possessed robots that kill people and make table forts. What a waste.

Even with some knowledge of the brand, I'm surprised how bad this ended up. Security Breach and Sister Location give some good examples of more movie ready fnaf material. This feels...very rooted in the older games

If you want a good FnaF story just read the book series starting with The Silver Eyes. It had a way better plot than this movie with a huge twist at the end I never saw coming. I can't figure out why they didn't just pull from that.

Please please please do a review on ‘Downsizing’, by far the worst film ever made!!!!

Honestly, I didn’t find the movie not even remotely close to as bad as you claim. However, to each their own.

The few good things in this movie are the animatronics themselves for the look, and the end credits (FNAF 1 song by TLT playing was a great way to end the movie because the song is lit and the boredom was finally over) The little bits of blood here and there barely qualify for pg-13, this movie could easily have been a pg movie. lol

Hopefully the sequel is even better

I watched this last night and I couldn't agree more. I said out loud, "this is convoluted and not fun!" It's a film about killer animatronics!? It is peak schlock territory!

Ummm I disagree about it being one of the worst movies there were worst out there but you do bring up some good points in the review

Making back seven times its budget in three days? Someone knew what they were doing.

Tbh i enjoyed the movie a lot while watching it The funny thing is that i know who MatPat is but i didn't recognise him while watching the movie

Well said, brother.

Not going to lie I see your point but if you think the dream concept in the movie is stupid trust me the actual lore of the franchise is even more stupid trust me it's not worth looking up the lore at all.

Nice review I know you didn’t like this film but for me, I am the first comment to say this… I Actually Liked this film.

Development hell for a reason it seems lol

hey film brain

considering how old the franchise is, do "younger" fans even exist? shouldn't they be in their 20s now?

Yeah i geuinely think people calling this movie "The worst of the year" is a really bad over exaggeration, it has its problems don't get me wrong however its not worst of the year by a long shot

Man its been a while since I've seen Projector as a series but in terms of critique that is incisive and scathing to the film's overall quality. You've still got it Matthew. Great work man.

The Movie is for the Fans so i can understand how some casual viewers Can not like it but Lets be real its original and I’m kinda glad that its not Gore and actually creative Honestly its a guilty pleasure For fans thats all Audience Who are fnaf fans enjoyed it while critics don’t get it no offense just my unbiased opinion

Regarding your point about RU-vidrs having cameos, I must admit if I was watching a movie and you showed up and said something like “it’s time for bad movie beatdown” or to go way back “symbolism!!!” I’d probably cheer

Well, R.I.P. Mathew Buck, who will doubtlessly be physically ripped to shreds within seconds by rabbid FNaF fans.

I still can't believe I sat through this movie. Awful stuff.

Well I liked it

Willy wonderland is 10 times better.

Found it absolutely boring, repetitive, dull, it's repetitive, not scary, devoid of any fun or humour, it's repetitive, and it's repetitive! Could not wait to leave once the credits rolled. It really is a film for fans that live and breathe and clap and drool for the MatPat theories and the endless inconclusive lore and will shout "I KNOW WHAT THAT IS!!!! 😱🤯😱" at the screen when they see things they recognise. Would've worked FAR better as a short film, set it around ONE night of the phone guy instructing a silent security guard and load up on jumpscares, without any of the padded daytime drama nonsense. And the fact that this is getting TWO MORE FILMS as part of a trilogy, it's gonna be a tragic repetitive unscary mess that will still make millions, all because Markiplier said it was the scariest game he ever played eight years ago, and the children who now live online follow MatPat's meal-ticket of unfocused obsessive nonsensical ramblings..... Baby's First Horror Film With Unlikeable Family Drama 2/10

Agreed, complete and utter cack.

But ... what did you think of the movie? :D

I will give you a fun fact about this movie there are about two RU-vidrs that actually do make a cameo in this movie the only one I could think of is matpat from Game theory he has about three RU-vid channels but on his main channel he actually did a lot of FNAF lore videos.

I think you need more "I" statements instead of "no one cares" statements. Just saying.

You say “actually” too much. It’s distracting. Other than that, I agree with your review. This movie bored the hell out of me.

Hard disagree.

Ugh

Worst film? Umm no. They took great care and time to make a faithful movie. They considered all the lore and used it to create a cohesive story. If you're not a fan of the games then you can't appreciate the movie.