Ever since the release of the video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” it has gained popularity throughout the world, becoming a new hobby and interest for many people. So with the highly anticipated FNAF movie coming out Oct. 27, 2023, will the movie meet the game fans’ standards?

Many people have seen or played the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” games, either by watching gameplays through streaming platforms or having the full experience playing on a device. With the announcement of the game becoming a movie back in 2015, many fans are excited to finally watch and experience its debut this weekend. 

The “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video game first came out on Aug. 8, 2014, and since the game’s release, multiple variants of FNAF have been created that have branched out to new gameplay and lore, growing the series as a whole. 

In the film’s trailer, audiences see that a man named Mike, played by “Hunger Games” Actor Josh Hutcherson, is on a phone call, saying that he wants to accept a job offer as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. The pizzeria was well known in the 80’s within the community; however, it was shut down years ago for a suspicious reason. Several kids went missing after visiting the restaurant, and although the police searched the pizzeria top to bottom, they never found them. Now with his new job, all Mike has to do is to keep his eyes on the monitor. And survive. 

Mike’s younger sister Abby is seen waiting for her older brother inside his car as he finishes his night as a security guard. Audiences learn that the animatronics are possessed by the spirit of the kids who went missing. Now the animatronics want Mike’s younger sister Abby to become one of them. 

Although this is just a trailer, fans seem to be thrilled with the idea that Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally coming to cinemas. However, as many fans look forward to the premieres, some seem to be dissatisfied. Despite the fact that the movie has tried to stay true to the original story, many people have compared the lore between the original game and the movie trailer and deemed it to be bland and untrue to the story. 

Several arguments have begun trending in several multimedia apps posing the question whether the trailer is true to the game or not. Fans have been doing side by side comparisons of the traditional lore and have held onto the opinion that the movie is not similar to the game.

Recently, Universal Pictures released a photo of the movie, an image of Abby right next to Freddy Fazebear, her head leaning against the arm. Many fans don’t want the animatronics to befriend the main characters as it’s not a part of the original game.

Many fans were surprised by the fact that the FNAF movie is PG-13. Many fans thought it would have been rated R due to the game’s disturbing lore and graphics. Emma Tammi, the director of the movie, mentioned that the reason behind its rating comes from the fact that she didn’t want to exclude the young audience who love the series. 

While there are many dark elements to the lore, the depiction of violence is largely dependent on the execution. The aim was to strike a balance between showing enough to insinuate what was happening while still fitting into the PG-13 category, which was a creative approach that ensured the right that it reached its targeted audience.                                                                               

I have high hopes for the movie once it is released in cinemas. I have seen many fans claiming that they won’t enjoy the movie due to leaks, although the leaks may or may not be true. But I think I will just have to watch it in cinemas to find out. 

Due to the leaks that have been going around in multimedia apps, my expectation has lowered slightly. As I compared the game and movie side by side I noticed several differences. For example, Mike and Abby were never mentioned until later released games. But it is still understandable how director Emma Tammi has changed the original game and deemed it untrue to traditional lore. 

Even with all the criticism, the FNAF movie is set to release on Oct. 27, just in time for the Halloween weekend. Make sure to go watch it in theaters and add the movie to your list of spooky films.