10 Horror Movies You Really Wanted To Like (But Actually Couldn’t)
7. Five Nights At Freddy's
After Five Nights At Freddy's made a fortune and spawned dozens of follow-ups, it was only a matter of time before it received the Hollywood treatment. So, when the film rights were purchased in 2015, the FNAF feature seemed good to go.
To the dismay of fans, the project fell into limbo for almost a decade. It was in development hell for so long, a rip-off called Willy's Wonderland got released before the official Five Nights' adaptation saw the light of day.
But in 2023, Five Nights at Freddy's finally released in theatres worldwide. So, was it worth the wait?
No, not really.
Though the games are renowned for their disturbing content, the movie's gore was diluted by the PG-13 rating. Although the source material emphasises jump-scares, they rarely felt gimmicky, since they were flawlessly built up. But here, jump-scares are thrown in at random intervals, robbing the scenes of any tension. Rather than focusing on the plot of one game, the film blends stories and lore from multiple titles, leading to a muddled narrative.
Even though Freddy and his robot pals are game's biggest selling point, its movie counterpart focuses more on the protagonist's backstory and trauma. It's nice to see the filmmakers humanising the characters like this, but fans wanted more scenes of animatronic mascots eating people.
With a sequel in the works, Five Nights At Freddy's is officially a movie franchise. Nevertheless, it's off to a rocky start.