Five Nights at Freddy's (2023) – Full Spoiler Review

Poster for Five Nights at Freddy's 2023 Movie — Official Poster Five Nights at Freddy's 2023 Movie

Can you survive five nights?

PG-13
1h 50m

Directed by: Emma Tammi
Screenplay: Seth Cuddeback
Premiered: October 25, 2023
Language: English
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000.00
Revenue: $297,242,145.00
Awards: 24 nominations total
Country: United States of America

Five Nights at Freddy's

7.4/10 (4668 vote)

★★★★★★★★★★

Production: Blumhouse Productions
Scott Cawthon Productions

Spoiler

In the chilling landscape of modern horror, "Five Nights at Freddy's" emerges as a visceral plunge into a world where childhood nostalgia curdles into nightmarish reality. Directed by Emma Tammi and released in 2023, this Blumhouse Productions and Scott Cawthon Productions collaboration, starring Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard, and Mary Stuart Masterson, delivers a potent blend of supernatural dread and psychological torment. The film, with a runtime of 1 hour and 50 minutes, grapples with themes of guilt, family, and the lingering darkness of unsolved tragedies, all set against the backdrop of the infamous Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

The narrative centers on Mike, a troubled young man portrayed by Josh Hutcherson, whose life is a precarious balancing act. Recently terminated from yet another job after a misguided act of vigilantism – tackling a man he mistook for a child abductor, only to discover it was the girl's father – Mike finds himself on the brink of homelessness. The eviction notice plastered on his apartment door serves as a stark reminder of his precarious situation. His sole focus is his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), whom he is raising single-handedly. Abby's world, as depicted in her drawings, revolves entirely around her protective older brother, a fact that becomes crucial in a looming custody battle with their Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson). Jane, it appears, is more interested in the government aid Abby receives than in her well-being, and seeks to gain custody to exploit this financial resource.

Facing the very real threat of losing Abby, Mike is compelled to accept a desperate offer from a career counselor (Matthew Lillard). The job: a solitary night security guard position at the long-shuttered Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The establishment, once a beacon of family fun akin to Chuck E. Cheese, has been dormant since the 1980s, its owner stubbornly refusing to sell. The sole condition for its continued existence, it seems, is the presence of a lone guard to deter vandals. The counselor, recognizing Mike's history of interpersonal conflicts and his need for isolation, believes this role is a perfect, albeit grim, fit.

Mike's initial reluctance stems from his deep-seated trauma. He is haunted by the abduction of his younger brother, Garrett, during a family camping trip in Nebraska. This pivotal event, which occurred when Mike was a child, shattered his family and led to the subsequent death of his parents. Mike's coping mechanism is a self-imposed ritual: he falls asleep to the sounds of nature from a cassette tape, gazing at a poster of the Nebraska forest where Garrett vanished. This ritual allows him to force himself into dreams, desperately seeking any clue that might lead him to his lost brother. His dreams, however, are a recurring nightmare, a vivid reenactment of Garrett's disappearance, where he is a helpless observer as his brother is driven away by an unknown assailant.

His first night at Freddy's is marked by an unsettling encounter. While attempting to secure the premises, a terrified security guard is seen attempting to escape through an air duct, only to be violently apprehended. The camera then pans across monitors displaying various rooms within the pizzeria, hinting at the surveillance that will become Mike's only companion. The guard's fate is grim: he is knocked unconscious and awakens to find a terrifying, gear-laden bear mask being lowered onto his face, his screams echoing in the empty halls. Mike, however, experiences a different kind of terror. He falls asleep at his post and is once again plunged into his recurring dream of Garrett's abduction. This time, however, spectral figures of children in animal or pirate costumes appear, fleeing from him.

The plot thickens with the revelation that Mike's babysitter, Max (Kat Conner Sterling), is complicit in Aunt Jane's scheme. Jane has enlisted Max to snoop through Mike's belongings, searching for any evidence that could jeopardize his custody of Abby. Max reports that Mike's only peculiar habit is his excessive sleeping, a detail that sparks a sinister plan in Jane and Max's brother, Jeff. They decide to ransack Freddy's, hoping to get Mike fired once more.

Their plan, however, unleashes a far greater horror. That night, Mike, seeking solace in his familiar dream ritual, falls asleep at Freddy's. The spectral children reappear, and Mike manages to confront one, only to be scratched by a pirate hook before waking. He is greeted by Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), a police officer whose patrol includes the pizzeria. Vanessa, who harbors a childhood fondness for Freddy's, notes the scratch on Mike's arm, a mark that mirrors the one from his dream. She reveals that the pizzeria was shut down due to a series of child disappearances in the 1980s. She then powers up the animatronics – Freddy the bear, Chica the chicken, Bonnie the rabbit, Foxy the pirate fox, and Mr. Cupcake – who perform a brief, unsettling song and dance before the power fails. Vanessa warns Mike that no security guard has ever lasted long in this job.

Following Vanessa's departure, Max, Jeff, and two accomplices break into Freddy's to carry out their destructive plan. Their vandalism awakens the animatronics, who begin to move with malevolent intent. The ensuing chaos is brutal: one friend is gruesomely killed by Chica and Mr. Cupcake, another by Bonnie. Jeff meets a grim end, his body later discovered amidst spare parts. Max, witnessing a child darting through the pizzeria, follows into a room where she encounters the Freddy animatronic. The child's voice emanates from within the suit, and as Max approaches, Freddy springs to life, brutally dismembering her.

The next day, Vanessa visits Mike, informing him of the break-in and subtly blaming him for leaving the doors unsecured. She also questions his sleeping pills, prompting Mike to confide in her about his overwhelming guilt over Garrett's abduction and his desperate attempts to find answers through his dreams. He explains his ritual, noting that his dreams have become more intense since working at Freddy's.

With Max no longer available, Mike is forced to bring Abby to Freddy's. He sets up a makeshift sleeping area for her and, after tidying the mess from the break-in, attempts to sleep. Abby, however, awakens and begins to explore. Mike's dreams take a new turn as he directly questions the spectral children, who confirm they are the victims of the 1980s disappearances. They reveal their abductor by pointing to a drawing of a rabbit. He is jolted awake by Abby's screams, only to find her surrounded by the animatronics. To his astonishment, they are not attacking her but are playfully tickling her. Abby, it seems, has a unique connection with them, offering hugs and sharing her drawings. She explains that the animatronics are inhabited by ghosts, the spirits of the abducted children.

The following night, Mike and Abby return to Freddy's, finding Vanessa already present. It becomes evident that Vanessa is aware of the animatronics' sentience. During a period of uneasy coexistence, Mike manages to speak with Vanessa privately. She expresses her anger at him for bringing Abby to the dangerous environment. To illustrate the animatronics' deadly potential, she leads him to a back room revealing the discarded animal shells and their internal mechanical skeletons. These shells are secured to the skeletons by a spring-lock mechanism, a device capable of inflicting fatal injuries if clamped onto a human. Vanessa sternly warns Mike to abandon his search for Garrett's abductor and to never bring Abby back to Freddy's.

Unwilling to abandon his quest for answers about Garrett, yet equally determined to protect Abby, Mike arranges for a babysitter. He returns to Freddy's, and in his dream, one of the spectral children finally reveals the truth: they are the abducted children, now the spirits possessing the animatronics. They offer Mike a deal: they will grant him happy dreams of his family alive and well, in exchange for Abby's companionship, forever. Mike initially agrees but has a change of heart. The children attack him in his dream, and upon waking, he is knocked out by Foxy. Meanwhile, Freddy appears at Mike's apartment and incapacitates Aunt Jane, coaxing Abby to accompany him to the pizzeria.

Mike awakens to find himself strapped to a chair, the menacing bear mask from the beginning of the film being lowered onto his face. He is rescued by Vanessa, who mysteriously appears. She reveals the dark history of Freddy's: William Afton, a man who donned a yellow bunny suit to abduct and murder children, including Garrett. He concealed some of the victims' bodies within the animatronic suits. When the children's spirits began to possess the animatronics, William corrupted them, making them believe he was their father. Realizing Abby is in grave danger, Mike implores Vanessa for help. Tearfully, she admits she cannot intervene directly but provides him with information on how to infiltrate Freddy's and a taser, explaining that electricity can incapacitate the animatronics.

Mike infiltrates Freddy's and witnesses Chica taking Abby to a back room. He incapacitates Freddy and Bonnie with the taser before pursuing Chica. In the back room, he finds Chica and Mr. Cupcake attempting to force Abby into a marionette-like animatronic. Mike intervenes, tasing the animatronics as Abby narrowly escapes being impaled by the spring-lock mechanism. The siblings share a tearful reunion.

As they attempt to escape, the yellow bunny suit appears. A brutal confrontation ensues between Mike and the yellow rabbit, while Foxy pursues Abby. Just as Foxy is about to capture her, Vanessa arrives and tases the animatronic. She then confronts the yellow rabbit, addressing him as "Dad." The rabbit removes his mask, revealing himself to be the career counselor, William Afton, who had assumed a new identity after Freddy's closure.

Vanessa pleads with her father to cease his violence, but William coldly stabs her. Mike urges Abby to remind the animatronics of William's true nature. Abby draws a picture depicting William's murderous acts. This act breaks William's corrupting influence, and the animatronics turn on him. In the ensuing struggle, the spring-lock mechanism is triggered, impaling William. As he bleeds out, he taunts Mike with the promise that he will return. The animatronics drag William's mangled body to the back rooms. Mike and Abby manage to pull the injured Vanessa to safety.

In the aftermath, Mike and Abby's bond has strengthened. They visit Vanessa in the hospital, where she remains in a coma. Abby expresses concern for the ghost children, now truly alone without William to pay security guards. She asks if they can visit Freddy's again, and Mike suggests it might be possible someday. Meanwhile, within the confines of Freddy's, William Afton, trapped within the yellow bunny suit, is still alive, his malevolent presence lingering.