Review: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ - A Bigger, But Not Better, Bite
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Freddy Fazbear is back. The iconic gaming franchise returns to the big screen with a sequel to the 2023 hit that became one of Blumhouse’s most profitable films to date, and I doubt this follow-up will be any different. In the film, One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) has kept the truth from his 11-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), concerning the fate of her animatronic friends. When Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, she sets into motion a terrifying series of events that reveal dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy's.
Before diving any deeper, I want to make it clear that I’m approaching this strictly from a film perspective. I’ve never played the Five Nights at Freddy’s games — though I’d like to — so my viewpoint comes from someone who has simply seen the first movie (twice now). So if you are one of those gamer fanatics that could care less about what a critic has to say, then please take everything I say with a grain of salt. That said, I think the original is fine. Not great, not terrible, just serviceable. Fans clearly embraced it far more enthusiastically, which makes sense considering it was marketed as a film by fans, for fans. If nothing else, the first installment succeeded in delivering exactly what its core audience wanted. Or so it seems.
Right away, it’s clear the filmmakers want to raise the stakes. The set pieces are larger, the action is dialed up, and the animatronics, the real stars of this universe, feel more physically imposing than ever. Whenever Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, or Foxy take center stage, the movie shows glimmers of the potential embedded in this franchise. Their presence holds weight. Their movement has menace. And the design work remains top-tier, especially for the newer animatronics on display here. If there is one thing that Blumhouse clearly put in the budget, it’s the sets and animatronic designs. However, the issue isn’t how they look…in fact, it’s how little the story actually uses them.
The biggest problem in FNAF2 is the writing. The script feels patched together, more interested in teasing lore and setting up future sequels than crafting a story that fully engages in its own runtime. Character motivations are muddy. Emotional arcs don’t pay off. Scenes rush by, often relying on jump scares (yes, I know that is a part of the games) rather than tension or atmosphere. Considering the immersive, slow-burn terror that defines the games, the choice to prioritize spectacle over suspense feels like a huge missed opportunity.
The cast does what they can with the material, and there is some real talent here. Josh Hutcherson is once again solid as our main hero, Mike, who is actively trying to move on from the events of the first film. Elizabeth Yail is also stellar again as Vanessa, who we found out in the first movie is the daughter of William Afton (Matthew Lillard), who is also trying to reel in from the events of the last one as well. Speaking of Mathew Lillard, he has maybe two scenes of screentime during this one, and he’s fine, he is never usually a worry of mine because he is always solid in what he’s in. If it disappoints you to hear that he’s not involved in it a lot then I’m sorry to break that news to you, but don’t worry - there is a set up at the end that will absolutely bring him back for the inevitable threequel. All that said, it’s just frustrating that the performances for the most part come across as lackluster since almost everyone on screen has delivered stronger, more memorable performances in past work. There are glimpses of charm and chemistry, but they’re buried under exposition dumps and inconsistent character development. It’s hard to invest in these people when the movie itself doesn’t seem fully invested in them either.
One of the strengths of the first film was its sense of contained substance — it contained a character who was trying to find work, really any work so he could continue to care for his younger sister. Mike is a character who is also dealing with the loss of his little brother and we witness how he is trying to piece everything together on what might have happened. On top of all of that, he is thrown into the world of the pizzeria when he accepts the position of the nightly security guard. Once he enters, it’s the idea that the unknown was always lurking in the dark corners of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. In this one, the mystery becomes less intriguing because the narrative tries too hard to explain everything and simultaneously not enough to make those explanations satisfying. The result is a film that feels bigger but somehow emptier. However, I understand entirely why fans may still enjoy this. There’s a thrill in seeing beloved characters brought to life, and there are a few standout sequences that capture the creepy absurdity of animatronics turning murderous. The film isn’t without entertainment value - it just doesn’t live up to its own ambitions or to the potential of its world.
In the end, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 left me wanting more; not in the hopeful, excited sense, but rather in the “there’s a better movie buried inside this one” sense. I went in hoping this sequel would build on what the first got right. Instead, it highlights what could go wrong when style overtakes the story. A disappointing follow-up with flashes of what could have been.
RATING:
⭐⭐1/2
