writes on media, pop culture, and morality. They worked as a staff correspondent at the Daily Dot before coming to Vox. As a 2019 National Critics Institute fellow, they are regarded as experts on the internet, fandom, and the culture wars.
Although it may not seem like a movie that would sell well, Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally receiving a much awaited theatrical release on October 27. The plot revolves around a group of creepy animatronic pizza parlor robots that regularly kill children.
With a lot of fanservice, the 2014 film, a Universal and Blumhouse production, appears to be a faithful adaptation of the popular video game series. As a relatively uncommon independent game entered popular culture, its appeal expanded with time. Many iconic nostalgic horror tropes are included in the game, like jump scares (many and lots of them), eerie abandoned buildings with a labyrinth of passageways, and spooky kid’s toys that look innocent during the day but turn evil at night. Possibly lurking around every corner, the titular Freddy is a massive animatronic teddy bear who want to murder you along with all of his entertaining animal companions.
You are correct if you think that everything above is a rather simple parody of vintage horror films. Also, considering that Five Nights at Freddy’s already has every element of a horror film incorporated into its location and plot, it is odd that it took this long to adapt the novel for the big screen.
Freddy’s, often known as FNAF (pronounced “finaff”), isn’t just a scary game; it’s more than that. The franchise profoundly influenced YouTube culture and the gaming community. It also perfectly embodied the current widespread appeal of games that keep players guessing not just about what will happen next but also about the meaning behind it all. With eight major games, one in virtual reality, five spinoff games, hundreds of books and graphic novels, and now a movie, the game’s worldbuilding and capacity to take you through a typical horror scenario have only grown over the years.
As a result, FNAF’s so-called “lore” is quite deep now, almost ten years after the show’s debut. Many of the game’s admirers also see the tale of a group of enormous, terrifying robot beasts as a gigantic, homicidal puzzle box.
