How FNaF made history as a gameplay and movie

Despite its simplicity, five Nights at Freddy’s, or simply FNaF, is considered one of the greatest games ever developed. It was created after game developer Scott Cawthon had a nightmare that fuelled the idea of a game that all kinds of players could enjoy. After its release, FNaF was met with success by only a niche in the gaming audience. Still, it later got much more recognition in the middle of a bubble burst on YouTube when everyone was famous, and watchers were incredibly engaged in watching these videos.

Markiplier, an extremely loved YouTuber who plays mostly horror games, contributed to FNaF’s growth considerably, given its massive audience. This led the developing team to continue the game and increase its complexity, feeding on the expanded fandom to make a great deal about it.

Lately, FNaF became a movie, and it was surprising to everyone how well it performed as another form of entertainment. So, we’ll analyse what made the franchise so loved in the mainstream.

What’s Five Nights of Freddy’s about?

Although based on a bad dream, FNaF is so much more than that. The storyline includes animatronic bears like Freddy and Bonnie, who live in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzaria. The mascots seem to be involved in crimes that the player must learn more about by spending five days in the game memorising patterns and playing challenging rounds. Besides the game, the story evolves through dialogue between the bears, but fans still wonder what the game’s true meaning is.

The game appeared at the right time when the internet was at its peak in terms of video games, AMVs, and Creepypastas. The game’s story is so intriguing that it leads to massive fandoms, events, and tons of merch. If you’re a game fan, you can buy FNaF action figures by Funko that come in exclusive designs to complete your collection.

FNaF was remarkable for its low-quality design

There’s something about the mainstream media from 2014 that modern audiences don’t understand. Things changed considerably on the internet in only ten years ―we got enough attention span to watch YouTube clips analysing our favourite game, movie, or concept, and the entire community delivered ideas and suppositions about the development of a certain piece of media.

Nowadays, things are more fast-forward, with platforms like TikTok that allow you to engulf some content in less than ten seconds. Of course, it might have its own spark for the younger generation, but FNaF is unique to those who grew up with it when it was released. One of the best things about it was the low-quality design that made it so scary. This made the difference between the success and failure of the FNaF movie.

Why was the FNaF movie loved and hated?

The movie adaptation of the FNaF game was released at the end of 2023 and was expected to hit the records, which happened, but the in-between was genuinely horrific. The movie was indeed made for those who weren’t knowledgeable of the games, but this affected its quality and storyline for the fans who adored the franchise.

Initially, the father of the game rejected numerous ideas for a movie for years until he received a decent project in 2022 that suffered a reckless production. The cast included Josh Hutcherson as Mike, Matthew Lillard as a career counsellor and Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa, but it somehow was a disappointing performance.

The movie lacked the horror lore present in the games, even though the high quality of the scenes was impressive. A good amount of special effects was introduced, but the main idea was to make it look realistic rather than a game. However, the dry humour and poor horror quality did not impress fans. Experts state that the movie was neither for the fans nor appropriate for the non-fans since the film didn’t take a specific direction.

Still, the games are exceptional

Although at the franchise’s beginning, you only play the role of the guard and flick between security cameras, the story becomes considerably complex, and the viewer is bombarded with ideas that create a creepy puzzle of abominations and crimes. However, what makes FNaF that great is the lack of a specific storyline that allows players to develop their own theories.

This movement is also fuelled by the Easter eggs scattered around the games that drive fans crazy with different theories. Hence, there’s more than enough material to analyse regarding the game’s intention and backstory, which is an unlimited source of content for fans who thrive on the old gameplay.

Indeed, anyone can pick up on the game, especially the first one, due to the basic design of the game design, but mastering it is what keeps the audience thrilled about the play. The horror comes from the tension, suspense and even hesitation sometimes since you need to move fast to complete the task, so you’ll lose focus on the danger.

Will there be a second FNaF movie?

The public was fairly disappointed, even if the movie had an overall good performance, with an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a $130 million global debut. Considering the so-called success, people are wondering if a second movie will happen at some point due to the post-credit scene.

If the film follows the game, it may be possible for FNaF to receive a prequel showing how the bears became animatronics. The sequel hasn’t been announced for now, but if it gets approved, fans will have it delivered quite fast since the first movie took less than a year to finish.

Bottom line

FNaF made history in the mainstream culture by bringing true horror in its purest form ―putting the viewer to work and catching their attention. The fandom became enormous after YouTubers heavily promoted the games, and now there’s also a movie about the first part of the story. Although fans were disappointed by the creation, non-fans took the film to the next level, for which a second movie might appear in the near future.