These days cinema and video games are so integrated that we see multiple media adaptations of the franchises we love. While earlier video games used to be adapted from popular franchises and comics, these days we see a bucket load of video game live action/anime adaptations. Latest one added to this list is Emma Tammi’s Five Nights At Freddy’s. The film stars Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Matthew Lillard, and follows a troubled security guard who accepts a night-time job at an abandoned family entertainment center, where he discovers its four animatronic mascots move and kill anyone that is still there after midnight. Well, today we have some troubling news for the fans of the franchise.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Reviews Are Largely Negative
With the film’s release being just a couple of days away, the review embargo for Five Nights At Freddy’s has finally lifted. As many of the fans expected, the reviews aren’t good and so is generally the case when embargos are delayed till the end. Although, they’ve just started coming in and might get more positive, here’s what critics have to say about it so far after the UK premiere.
The Independent (Clarisse Loughrey) – What should’ve been an intricate, twisted, and absurd treat is demoted to generic horror movie sludge. Instead of catering to the in-built audience ready and waiting, Five Nights wastes time trying to win over people who couldn’t care less. Rating – 2/5
GameRant (Neil Smith) – With robot heads containing flesh-mangling chainsaws, faces resembling that of battle-scarred Terminators, and the lumbering gait of Romero zombies, Freddy Fazbear and his pals would seem precision-tooled for terror. Sadly, though, they are about as scary as Barney the purple dinosaur in what is ultimately a ploddingly predictable, gore-lite yawner. Rating – 2/5
Digital Spy (Ian Sandwell) – It’s possible that after so long, fans might just be glad to see Five Nights at Freddy’s recreated so faithfully on the big screen. You’re left wishing that the filmmakers just leaned into that aspect more, relying on that to draw newcomers in rather the bland story we’re left with. Rating – 2/5
The Irish Times (Donald Clarke) – This bewildering exercise’s only other notable achievement is to make Willy’s Wonderland seem an underappreciated masterpiece. It really wasn’t. Rating – 2/5
The Hollywood Handle – While ‘FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S’ may trip on its own fragile & at times jarring screenplay, It leaps above it to deliver a satisfying, fun & thrill worthy good time at the movies, offering a solid lease on life for any potential sequels that may already be making the corridors to us. Rating 3.5/5
The Rotten Tomatoes score for the film isn’t out yet as most top critics haven’t voted yet. We’ll keep updating this article as the new reviews pop up! Five Nights at Freddy’s is all set to release in theatres and on Peacock on October 27, 2023.
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