Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is Hilariously Awful Fan-Pandering at its Finest!

Image Courtesy of Universal Pictures

The Halloween season may be over, but its spirit still lingers on this holiday season. It seems Universal had one last scare to pull out, and thought the sequel to the box-office hit, Five Nights at Freddy’s, would be the perfect way to do so. The video games were a smash hit with audiences, particularly children, and despite the first film’s largely negative reviews, it grossed almost $300 million against a $20 million budget. With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 penned by the game’s creator, Scott Cawthorn, I thought it best to venture out to the restaurant and see what all the fuss is about. 

The story shows former security guard Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) struggling to move on from the events of the first film as he moves into his new home with his sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). Abby struggles to fit in at her new school, finding solace in making replicas of her animatronic friends in her robotics class. Both Matt and Abby continue to struggle with this environment, especially when Mike’s relationship with former police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) takes a turn for the worse. 

Meanwhile, a reality TV crew called Spectral Scoopers pays a visit to the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location for their TV show. Their visit awakens a dormant spirit known as Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Marie), who possesses an animatronic called the Marionette. Charlotte awakens the other animatronics as well, luring Abby to set them free from the restaurant. With the animatronics on the loose, it’s up to Mike and Vanessa to team up once again to take down Charlotte and put her back to sleep for good!

The story initially started on a good note, with the first third showing Charlotte’s origins as well as the progression of Mike and Abby’s relationship. This film had a much better set-up than its predecessor and features drastically improved character dynamics. Unfortunately, it all comes tumbling down once the story actually gets rolling and just turns into an immensely stupid, drawn-out mess that was more fun to watch than scary. 

The majority of the film is very nonsensical and choppy in its execution, with so many characters making unfathomably dumb decisions that no rational person would make in their shoes. The plotting is also really scattershot, with different plot threads thinly stitched together, so it just feels more like watching a compilation of cutscenes from a video game. The movie also goes overboard in setting up another sequel in the last few minutes, ending on a cliffhanger that was unintentionally more funny than it should have been. 

The cast, unfortunately, falls flat as a whole, with Josh Hutcherson once again struggling to deliver a compelling performance with the script he’s given. Hutcherson is just not talented nor deadpan enough to make these lines work, falling into the same trap as many of his co-stars. The same can be said for Elizabeth Lail, who is clearly trying her best to make these awful lines work but ultimately can’t save them. In fact, Piper Rubio was probably the only main cast member who not only brought a believable performance, but one that was also funny and memorable. 

The cinematography is technically better than its predecessor’s, showing some improvement in atmosphere and visual flair. With that said, though, the film just looks like any direct-to-streaming movie produced today. The composition and scale are too intimate and not wide enough to work in a cinematic landscape, making it appear cheaper than it should look. This is a similar problem its predecessor had, and this one fails to escape it yet again. 

The only real silver lining is that the film is a good case for “so bad, it’s good.” The first film was a boring slog to watch, featuring repetitive plot points and stupid character decisions that left me more drained by the end. This one at least has some entertainment value in its unintentionally funny dialogue and jumpscares, making for a really memorable viewing experience. This is not high praise, but between the two films, I would sooner watch this again over the original film from 2023. 

By the time the end credits began to roll, my whole theater erupted in immense applause and cheers for the crowd. Perhaps it might have been dumb enough entertainment for them to laugh at and enjoy—like I did—or perhaps fans just had fun catching the easter eggs and reliving the nostalgia for the video game. Whatever it is, there is clearly an audience for these movies, and they are sure to keep coming back for more. Moving as gracefully as a busted animatronic, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a hilariously awful follow-up that is more of a guilty pleasure than a genuinely enjoyable film to watch. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is now playing in theaters. 

Rating: ★ ½ of five