‘Terrifying horror masterpiece’ with nostalgic feel now streaming on Netflix

A horror film that’s been declared a ‘masterpiece’ of the genre by fans has officially landed on Netflix.

Since its release in 2023, Five Nights at Freddy’s has received glowing reviews.

The supernatural horror/mystery flick is based on Scott Cawthon’s 2014 Five Nights at Freddy’s video game series, which has expanded into a multimedia franchise spanning novels, graphic novels, and films in recent years.

This growth has included almost 20 games, with the first long theorised to have been inspired by the real-life 1993 Chuck E. Cheese tragedy, where a former employee, aged 19, shot and killed four workers.

Starring The Hunger Games actor Josh Hutcherson, Once Upon a Time’s Elizabeth Lail, and Scream (1996)’s Matthew Lillard, the newest big-screen adaptation certainly isn’t one for the faint-hearted.

Its plot follows a troubled security guard named Mike Schmidt (Hutcherson), who takes a job at an abandoned pizzeria.

During his—you guessed it—five nights on the job, he discovers its animatronic mascots are possessed by the souls of murdered children.

It contains jumpscares, frightening themes, and all the elements you know and love in good horror movies, with critics and viewers alike praising its ‘heartpounding’ storytelling and sprinklings of ‘nostalgia’, what with many growing up playing the mightily successful original video game.

As for figures, Five Nights at Freddy’s has an 86% score from audiences on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which is a stark contrast to the 33% from film critics, suggesting one group recognised something the other didn’t.

While the more negative reviews claim it is neither ‘fun’ nor ‘scary’, those who are fans can’t get enough.

‘I don’t play video games and usually avoid movies based on them but I took a chance on Five Nights At Freddy’s and I really liked it. The story, the cast, the direction, the cinematography, everything is top notch. It’s now in rotation as one of my favorites that I regularly watch’, writes Clarence H.

‘Amazing movie for the fnaf/non-fnaf fans, critics are delusional to think this isn’t a good movie’, blasts Yovani H.

Others were surprised at how it ‘exceeded [their] expectations’ and hailed it as a ‘guilty pleasure’ watch.

Meanwhile, plenty of commentary acknowledges the references to wider aspects of the franchise and past video games, which, while likely to go over the head of non-fans, is surely a treat for those who have been waiting a long time for the film.

‘One might argue the film leans too hard into fan service, with Easter eggs galore for game devotees, but that’s also its strength—it’s a victory lap for a franchise that turned a niche indie game into a global obsession’, praises Marissa Hill of Shade Studios.

YouTuber Cody Leach agrees that ‘the FNAF movie will likely work better for hardcore fans than it will for newcomers’.

And there’s more good news for Five Nights at Freddy’s followers, as a sequel is due later this year.

Titled Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the film, directed again by Emma Tammi, will be hoping to replicate the success of the first instalment, which grossed $297million (£220m) at the box office against a $20m (£14.8m) budget, making it Blumhouse’s highest-grossing movie of all time.

This time, with a $51m (£37.8m) budget, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 welcomes back cast members Hutcherson, Lail, and Lillard and is scheduled to be released in the US by Universal Pictures on December 5.

While you’ll have to wait and see as far as the plot is concerned, Blumhouse Studios has released the mysterious tagline: ‘Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.’

Five Nights at Freddy’s is now streaming on Netflix.

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