You clock in for an overnight shift at an abandoned pizzeria, where supposedly it’s haunted and kids have gone missing. As the security camera pans onto the stage, the monitor reveals smiling animatronics with glowing eyes staring right back at you. In a second a cupcake flies at you through the vent, resulting in your death. Despite being under the genre horror, a cupcake portrayed as a murderer isn’t necessarily terrifying, is it?

Blumhouses’ Five Nights at Freddy’s film which came out in theatres on October 27 didn’t manage to capture the essence of the game itself. While the video games convey the gut-wrenching terror without blood or gore at all, the movie focuses on other aspects of the game. The movie incorporated parts of the background and history, but it rather differs from the gameplay and focuses on a different storyline. 

The protagonist, Mike Schmidt is offered a night shift at an abandoned pizzeria named Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria in an effort to keep custody of his sister. However, the horror that unfolds before him brings him back to the past, where he experiences his brother’s kidnapping. While this plot doesn’t follow the original storyline of the game, it opens an alternate reality with different scenarios.

Regardless of the contrast, the characters portrayed by Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, and Matthew Lillard are more than developed keeping viewers at the edge of their seats. With the superb acting along with the nostalgia, realistic animatronics, and stunning set designs the movie does a successful job of increasing the viewer’s attention span. Similarly, the cameos in the movie are a throwback to old players who have enjoyed the game in the past. Youtbers MatPat and CoryxKenshin appear in the movie as a surprise bringing back memories of the gameplay and theories of the franchise. These scenes did excite viewers but felt like fan service to keep audiences engaged in the cliche mystery plot which was completely unrelated to the game.

As a fan of Five Nights at Freddy’s, the release of the movie was long anticipated and lived up to its potential. The movie captured the aesthetic of the franchise, the thrill, as well as humor. As a movie to trap newcomers into the series, it definitely does its job.

While the movie doesn’t exemplify its genre of horror, it definitely is a blast to the past.