Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s is playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock at the time of writing. Rated PG-13. Common Sense says 14.
STORY: B-
A solid background story anchors a ridiculous narrative.
First, I want to make my feelings clear about dumb-by-design films (which is a different thing than films that aren’t trying to be dumb but wind up being dumb anyway). There are few things in life I enjoy more than laughing at movies that are full of ridiculous characters, decisions, and story lines. I absolutely adore dumb-by-design films.
Dumb-by-design films need to walk a narrative tightrope. If a film decides to be all dumb all the time, it often begins to bore its audience by the halfway mark. But if the movie decides to introduce weightier, more serious subject matter, it risks destroying all of the delightful dumbness it’s worked so hard to achieve.
Five Nights at Freddy’s bounces back and forth between two plots. In one, folks are terrorized by scary robotic animals bent on chopping up every person who crosses their path (which is dumb-by-design for sure). The other plot is a surprisingly affecting story of loss and anguish. That second plot line smartly doesn’t try to outshine the first one’s stupidity. Yet, it adds enough emotional substance for the audience to keep rolling through all five of the film’s ridiculous nights. It’s a perfect balance.
PEOPLE: C
Josh Hutcherson, thankfully, is on a whole other level.
In the sports world, there’s a never ending argument over the definition of MVP. Should the award go to the best player in the league, or the player most valuable to his/her own team?
If we go with the latter, Josh Hutcherson may very well get my vote for the fictitious 2023 MVP Acting award.
Hutcherson (Peeta from The Hunger Games) carries the emotional plot line I referred to earlier. That half of the story is well written, but it probably doesn’t work without Hutcherson. The story’s emotional punch comes more from the sorrow and humiliation he carries in his eyes than in the details.
Sometimes, having one person who stands out (even if, like in this case, it’s for being way more talented than everyone else) can work against a movie. Here, it’s a stroke of genius. It’s not the best performance of the year, but no film depends more on one person’s performance than this one.
FILM NERD STUFF: D+
When information is withheld to create suspense, it better have a good payoff.
There are a bunch of tricks a movie can use to hold our attention. A common one is not sharing the full story with the audience. Sometimes, this results in an epic twist (like The Sixth Sense). Most of the time, what happens is that the moment the information is revealed, the story gets a big bump of energy and excitement.
But that trick doesn’t work 100% of the time. It certainly doesn’t work here. Josh Hutcehrson’s character, Mike, keeps asking people what’s going on. He’s met with an uninspired chorus of “I can’t tell you”’s, “Please! Just listen to me!”’s, and “I told you to leave!”’s.
There’s no good reason within the world of the story for people not to tell Mike what’s going on. You get the idea that the only reason no one tells him what’s going on is because the movie needs to last at least 90 minutes. The effect all those empty denials has on us feels similar to seeing how the trick is done while a magician’s performing it. All the magic completely disappears.
STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES (Elective Class): B+
Sometimes all we want from a movie is some dumb fun.
As a critic, I’m supposed to be looking closely at a movie’s parts. I analyze the ways they work together to create the magic we feel from a story well told.
The trouble with examining films so closely is that not every movie demands this much focus. Five Nights at Freddy’s isn’t gunning for a basketful of Oscars. Sometimes, we just need to sit back and bask in the golden glow of all the dumb-by-design while it showers over us. That’s what I suggest you do with this film.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Five Nights at Freddy’s has a clear vision of what it wants to accomplish, and it does so rather well. If you’re looking for a silly movie that may (or may not) make you jump out of your seat a couple times, I most definitely recommend this film.