“Five Nights at Freddy’s” came out on Oct. 27, 2023, around nine years after the release of the original game. Scott Hawthon, the creator of the game, produced an insanely large game with incredible love from its fans. With all the support the game accumulated, the release of the new film garnered a lot of excitement.
When the original game was released, it immediately caught the attention of horror game enthusiasts before finding its way to YouTube, where it blew up into an incredibly popular video game. Not only did the game grow in popularity because of YouTube, but it also helped grow the YouTube channels of many aspiring creators. Some of the most influential YouTubers that benefited from the game include Coryxkenshin, MatPat (Game Theory) and Markiplier. Hawthorn decided to highlight seven YouTubers who have had a large impact on the game into the movie, allowing them to make cameos in the film.
Since the release of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF), fans have brought their disappointment and complaints to Twitter about the horror aspects that have kept fans in the franchise for so long. The FNAF games include advanced mechanics that make horror game enthusiasts utilize their senses of sight and hearing, as well as intuition. Fans stormed social media, constantly referring to the lack of horror in the FNAF movie. Instead of the terrifyingly loud jumpscares that show the true terror of animatronics, the movie portrays horror with low-quality and even laughable jumpscares and gore.
In opposition to the negative reviews, many fans have praised the unique perspective the FNAF film brought. The movie brought nostalgia to older fans who played the original game when they were young. Many appreciated seeing more modern versions of their favorite animatronics alongside cameos of significant YouTubers, all culminating in a celebration of a long-beloved videogame that invokes nostalgia in many, regardless of imperfections the movie may have.
