Five Nights At Freddy's Review

I saw Five Nights At Freddy's on October 29, 2023! Based on the popular video game series, I was interested in seeing this simply because of the cool characters in the universe. I see why kids gravitate towards this series as there's such a compelling story involved. The movie could have just coasted on the aura of the characters, but what I really enjoyed about it is that it delves deeper into storytelling and creating an intriguing dynamic to connect with both kids and adults on different levels. 

The emotion in the movie has an authentic feel to it, particularly around the family dynamic with Mike and Abby. Josh Hutcherson gives one of his best performances here as Mike Schmidt. I've always found Hutcherson to be underrated, but this definitely shows how much he gets into his characters for the sake of the audience, and he was fantastic here. Traumatic events from his past plague his mind, and Hutcherson captures that vividly here. You can tell how much it weighs on him. His whole story is about the preservation of his family, ameliorating wrongs in the past and ensuring a positive future for himself, and more specifically, his sister, Abby. 

The highlight of the movie is Piper Rubio's performance as Abby. It's an exceptional young actress performance that helps provide so much of that natural emotion that emanates off the screen here. The chemistry with Rubio and Hutcherson feels so real. You definitely get a familial bond from their interactions. Rubio's dialogue had me laughing or crying depending on what was happening on screen. She really is the heart of the movie, and helps heal Mike in many ways. She's his light that keeps him from drifting towards the darkness. Her artistic mind is integral to the story, and also indicative of how all children's minds work differently. 

Along with the deeper family story, the Freddy Fazbear's Pizza aspect is a great mix of frivolity and fright perfectly blended for all audiences. The visuals of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy are extraordinary. As each character was created using Jim Henson's Creature Shop, all of them felt more authentic than they would using CGI. It helped tell a better story. I was so impressed with the movements of the animatronics. The puppeteers, stunt actors and detailed imagery really worked together to create something truly special.

Through two excellent lead performances by Josh Hutcherson and Piper Rubio, two compelling storylines combined to create a deeper, more complex movie, the aura and actual representation of the robotic characters and solid supporting performances by Elizabeth Lail and Matthew Lillard, this movie has me belting out Talking In My Sleep, wanting a slice of pizza from Freddy Fazbear's and hoping for another movie from this universe, because it's such a compelling world to explore, as well as being one of my absolute favorite movies of the year!