2023 has been a remarkable year for the movie industry. We have seen innovative ideas and even adaptations of old ideas into something new. However, this year we have seen the world of gaming collide with the entertainment industry in remarkable ways. Firstly, we had Illumination team up with Nintendo to bring us the Super Mario Bros Movie that changed the animation world with its remarkable animation and amazing musical score. However, it is not only the animation industry that saw amazing features. Live action movies have been good and included today’s discussion topic. This movie is live action and an adaptation of a popular video game franchise sweeping the nation. Today’s topic of discussion is the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie which came out October 27th, 2023.
This film follows Mike Schmidt (played by Josh Hutchinson) who works at the family restaurant known as “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria” as a nightguard. However, after staying there for a couple of shifts things start acting weird. The animatronics are the prime example of weirdness as they are trying to kill Mike during his shift. Can he survive five nights at Freddy’s and make it to 6AM? The film also features a revolving mystery with Mike that has him trying to figure who kidnapped his little brother.
This film had a remarkably interesting story revolving around Mike who is not only trying to figure out who killed his little brother, but is also trying to raise his little sister, Abbie (played by Piper Rubio), who is at risk of being taken away. The movie is closely accurate to its original source material and is clever with its storytelling elements. Another thing I enjoyed in this movie was the animatronics design mainly because they were designed by the Jim Henson Creature Shop, which is responsible for making puppets and animatronics for projects like Sesame Street and The Muppets. Overall, this film was good to watch, however the pacing can be slow at some point.
One thing to know about the development of this movie is that it took years to be made into a film. The film was announced in 2017, but due to directors leaving the projects and studios backing out, it was delayed and nearly cancelled. Blumhouse luckily came in to save this movie and it slowly grew into the film we see today. Ross Cline, a student at Concord University had this to say about the film finally coming out this year:
“I was really excited for this one to come out, I know the development team went through a lot to get it where it is.”
Ross Cline
The film has seemed to not please critics, but fans of the gaming franchise seem pleased with the film. Ross Cline had seen the movie recently and this was his thoughts on the project:
“I thought it was alright, but I’m always down to support a video game to movie release.”
Ross Cline
It is my opinion that films based on popular intellectual property have come far from corporate sources of stable revenue. This year serves as a reminder that creativity can be used to influence an audience and bring innovative ideas to the table of already existing media. If you are looking for a bloody and terrifying mess this film will not be for you. However, if you are a fan of the original franchise or like lightly tame horror movies, I recommend you stay at Freddy’s for more than just five nights.
by Kaleb Watson