Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a better film than the first in all aspects: a faster pace, more scares, and some fun additions to the cast. Unfortunately, that’s not much of a compliment, as I felt the first film was pretty close to bottom of the barrel when it came to quality. This sequel attempts to correct many of its predecessor’s mistakes, but it becomes more of an exercise in quantity over quality than anything of substance. A fantastic cast attempts to inject life into the movie, but they are ultimately betrayed by the script. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a fascinating film because there is clearly a lot of love and passion put into the carefully placed lore and references — I just wish that same effort had gone into crafting a coherent story.
I never played the FNAF games, but I respect the dedication and loyalty of the fandom. Their passion for the lore is what made me so interested in checking out the first film — a movie that shattered expectations and became a surprise hit, grossing $300 million worldwide despite releasing on Peacock simultaneously. That achievement all but guaranteed a return to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza for more animatronic scares.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 takes place a year after the events of the first film as we’re reintroduced to former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio). Mike is attempting to move on from the horrific supernatural events of the first movie but finds it difficult now that what happened has been twisted into an urban legend, with the town’s youth rallying around the lore and hosting its first “Fazefest.” On top of that, Abby still wants to reunite with her friends: the ghost children possessing the animatronics — leaving Mike struggling to regain normalcy while trying to help his sister move past it all.
Meanwhile, police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) struggles with PTSD after learning that her father was a monster and being stabbed by him in the first film. Mike tries to get her to process her trauma and confront her past, but her lingering guilt may be her undoing. More terrible secrets haunt Vanessa, and her inability to trust others not only drives a wedge between her and Mike but also sets into motion a chain of events that may destroy them all. This is especially true for Abby, who while trying to reconnect with her friends, unleashes a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades with strong ties to Vanessa’s past.
I genuinely enjoyed the returning cast. Josh Hutcherson remains extremely likeable as Mike, and I found myself invested in his relationship with Abby. Speaking of Abby, young Piper Rubio is once again a standout. The character isn’t written particularly well, but Piper does a fantastic job making you understand her choices. She brings just enough youthful naïveté while remaining sympathetic. Elizabeth Lail is also giving it her all, but the script does her no favors. Vanessa is just poorly written, and she makes decisions so infuriatingly laughable that you end up rooting against her at times.
A saving grace for the film is the addition of Wayne Knight. He crafts a wonderfully miserable character who acts as perfect fodder for the campy animatronic monsters.
The biggest sin of this film, though, is that it promised me Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich. And while it technically delivers both, I was severely disappointed in how little the movie uses them. The two Scream alums reuniting was a HUGE part of why I was invested in this sequel, yet both are ultimately just there to tease future installments.
Lillard returns as the villainous William Afton, but somehow his role in FNAF 2 is even smaller than in the first. He mostly appears to haunt Vanessa as she tries to overcome her father’s monstrous legacy. I was most excited to see Skeet Ulrich, a legend of genre projects like Scream and the TV series Jericho (yes, I love Jericho and just wanted to remind people it exists). Ulrich plays William Afton’s former business partner, Henry Emily. Tragedy strikes and his world is changed forever…or so the film insists. He only appears in one scene, and that scene barely reveals any of this. It’s a genuinely disappointing experience for fans hoping to see Lillard and Ulrich share the screen.
Most of the team from the first film returns — which is both good and bad. Director Emma Tammi tries to course-correct the lack of thrills from the first movie by adding much more animatronic action. Unfortunately, most of it is lackluster, consisting of bland jump scares and tame violence. The PG-13 rating doesn’t help, but the real issue is a total lack of tension or suspense. Tammi attempts to make this film more visually interesting but never quite nails the tone needed for a story like this to work.
This movie suffers from many of the same problems as the first: it takes itself and its lore far too seriously. The tone does not match the film’s inherently campy premise, which is a huge issue. Scenes that embrace the absurdity and silliness of this world absolutely sing, and that’s what the movie should lean into. It’s just hard to take these animatronics as seriously as the script wants us to.
These films would benefit greatly from studying the playbook of Don Mancini, the creator of Chucky, who revitalized Child’s Play by adjusting the tone as the series evolved. It’s clear that FNAF creator and screenwriter Scott Cawthon put a tremendous amount of effort into injecting Easter eggs and lore into this film. I just don’t think he fully understands how to shape all of that into a functional feature-length narrative. The balance is off, and FNAF 2 simply doesn’t work as a movie. Ironically, I think Five Nights at Freddy’s would thrive as a TV series much like Chucky did.
I am very curious to see how the core fandom responds to this film. While I understand this movie isn’t made for me, I can’t imagine it will be wholly enjoyable for them either. Maybe I’m wrong, though. Maybe the Freddy fandom will shock the industry for a second time. Only time and box office will tell.
1.5/5
Leave a Reply