PLOT: One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Former security guard Mike has kept the truth from his 11-year-old sister, Abby, 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.
REVIEW: The first Five Nights at Freddy’s movie may have been slammed by critics, but it still ended up a major win for Blumhouse, even with a same-day streaming/theatrical release. Fans showed up in droves. Fandom carried it like a badge of honor, and whether critics got it or not, the franchise was officially alive again.
When Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 rolled around, expectations were naturally high, especially for fans like me. I’ve been obsessed with this universe since playing the first game one late night in October 2014. I spent many a late-night watching security cams, jumpscares which made me throw my controller, endless lore holes on Reddit, and MatPat videos at 2AM. I’ve been there for all of it. I know the difference between Toy Chica, Nightmare Chica, and regular ol’ Chica. I even 3D-printed a Plushtrap (check it out at the bottom of the article). Let’s be honest, this already puts me in one of two audiences this movie is catering to. That’s really what these movies do: split viewers from the superfans who speak fluent Fazbear, and everyone else who just wants some solid scares without needing a wiki open.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 feels like it wants to be built for both groups at once, for better and worse. If you know the history, you’ll catch references and Easter eggs and let out a little cheer once you see it. If you don’t know the deep cuts, the movie attempts to reward that ignorance by simplifying big chunks of backstory and exposition rather than diving deeper. It keeps newcomers afloat, but at the cost of depth.
We pick up after the first film with Mike (Josh Hutcherson) quietly holding it together. He fixes up the house, takes care of Abby (Piper Rubio), and doing his best to move forward. Abby, though, misses the spectral kids she befriended. She’s more tech-savvy now, more ghost-obsessed, drifting away from everyone at school, even frustrating her science teacher played by Wayne Knight. Meanwhile Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) is still drowning in trauma tied to her father, William Afton (Matthew Lillard), who created the animatronics and left a trail of dead children behind. She’s arguably the most psychologically interesting character here, yet the script doesn’t let her breathe, which hurts her performance.
And that’s where the world of Freddy’s gets weirdly bigger. The town embraces Fazbear mania like a pop-culture event. Enter a crew of ghost hunters led by Lisa (the criminally underused Mckenna Grace), with her co-hosts tagging along. They get invited to the original Freddy Fazbear’s location by a mysterious figure named Michael (Freddy Carter). You already know how that goes. They poke around, things creak, spirits stir, and The Marionette is unleashed, bringing a whole different flavor of nightmare to the table.
Now here’s the sad part: on paper, this should be awesome. The new animatronics look fantastic. The shiny Toy versions, the Withereds and even the OG’s all are wonderfully brought to life by the magic of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. You feel the weight of them when they move. The Newton Brothers’ score slithers through scenes like static on a monitor, weaving in familiar series motifs. Josh Hutcherson shows real depth when he’s given space. And even the voices of Toy Chica (Megan Fox), Toy Bonnie (MatPat), and Toy Freddy (Kellen Goff) are inspired. Performances aren’t the issue… to an extent.
The writing is.
Scott Cawthon took on solo screenwriting this time, and while I respect the creator wanting full control over his story, the script plays like someone trying to cram every game, book, and theory into one movie. It jumps from 1982 flashbacks to modern-day (2002) trauma to ghost kids to new animatronics to side characters with barely any connective tissue. Scenes feel like puzzle pieces forced into shape with duct tape. Characters enter with intrigue and exit forgotten. Some choices swing from confusing to unintentionally funny. There’s a robotics-fair scene with Abby that feels ripped straight from FANT4STIC 4’s awkward opening. It’s frustrating knowing how good this could be with tighter focus. Watching talents like Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich (one of the BEST stunt casting I’ve seen in years) reduced to glorified cameos is borderline criminal.
And when the story finally builds toward something meaningful, instead of payoff, we get setup. Not a closure. A damn tease. The Marionette plot resolves like someone saying, “Don’t worry, the real story is in the next movie.” It’s a problem with franchises these days, by ending a movie like a cliffhanger to a TV show. Fan service becomes the main course instead of the seasoning.
As a ride through nostalgia, sure, I had fun. I smiled at the animatronics. I jumped once or twice. I felt that old Freddy dread crawl back up the spine like it used to. But when the credits rolled, it didn’t linger. It didn’t haunt. It didn’t stick. I sat in my seat as the screen went black, baffled it ended the way it did.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 isn’t as terrible as the beating it’s going to receive from other critics. It’s simply a messy film that loves its mythos but struggles to shape it into something compelling. It needs sharper writing, stronger pacing, and characters with emotional weight. Video games thrive on mystery and interactivity even when plot is thin. Movies don’t have that luxury. They need clarity.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: Scott Cawthon built a fantastic world over the years. But next time, the screenplay should return to a collaborative writer’s room where ideas can breathe and structure can tighten.
For fans? It’s worth the watch. Knowing me, I’ll see it again.
For casual viewers? Probably not so much.
It’s frustrating because the potential is right there. And damn, I hope the next one sticks the landing.
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