I watched the FNAF movie
And I have some thoughts. This won't be a proper review, more like, some thoughts on the movie.
First of all, I should start off by saying that, I am NOT an unbiased critic. I got swept up in the FNAF fever during the height of its popularity, between 2014 and 2015. The main reason I even watched the movie was just for a bit of nostalgia. Secondly, I watched the movie with a friend. As we all know, even the shittiest most boring movies of all time can still be fun to watch if you're with a friend. So with all that said, unto my "review". Oh and yeah, there will be some spoilers up ahead, so if you haven't seen the movie yet, you've been warned.
Pros
The effects
As a licensed CGI hater, seeing an actual set, with actual costumes, in a movie in 2023, was huge, HUGE breath of fresh air! The Freddy Fazbear's Pizza looked awesome! It looked like an actual rundown arcade/restaruant. And the animatronics! My god the animatronics, they were perfect, just perfect! If there's one thing to praise about this movie, it's the effects, hands down!
The references
The movie isn't a 1 to 1 adaptation of the FNAF lore, it's more so just loosely based on the lore, but that didn't stop the writers from throwing in a few lines that hardcore FNAF fans would appreciate, such as William Afton saying "I always come back".
The campy feel
Whether it was intentional or not, the movie has a campy feel, which is quite fitting considering most of the FNAF lore takes place in the 80s. The only thing that would've made this point better is if the movie actually took place in the 80s, which unfortunately doesn't. While never stated what year it takes place in, one can assume it must be either the 90s or early 2000s.
The cameos
Some people found these cringy, but I did not. I for one think it's cool to see Hollywood show some love to YouTubers, instead of trying to shove them into a locker like they used to do.
Out of all the cameos, the one I cared about the most about was MatPat's! I don't really know much about the other guys, I'm sure they're fine YouTubers, I know a lot of people really liked CoryxKenshin's cameo, but I won't pretend like I know much about them.
So now, going back to MatPat, his cameo was a big highlight of the movie for me! I mean, that guy pretty much laid down the full FNAF lore out of the bits and pieces that Scott Cawthon provided throughout the games, and it's safe to say FNAF wouldn't be as big as it is without him! So I think his cameo was well deserved. Not only that but, as some of his long time fans may know, MatPat's original dream was to become a movie star, so seeing him get his time in the spotlight I think is pretty cool.
The biggest missed opportunity here was Markiplier, whom is arguably just as important as MatPat for the proliferation of FNAF's popularity! It's a shame he couldn't be in the movie, but the fact that he was supposed to be on it still shows me that the writers clearly understood his vital role in the success of FNAF.
Cons
Not enough violence
For being a movie about a franchise centered around dead children possesing animatronics, there sure is a lack of violence... Ok, ok, I get it, the movie was rated PG-13, and seeing as how FNAF mainly appeals to teenagers, they most likely didn't want to risk an R rating, but man, it still feels like a missed opportunity.
Not enough scares
Perhaps this is more subjective, but I didn't find the movie that scary. This is coming from someone who isn't a big fan of horror movies, so I assume someone who's more into horror would find the scares here very lackluster.
Some poor writing
Perhaps I'm not the most qualified to judge writing quality, however there were some writing choices here that annoyed me.
Mike seemed to accept "dead children are possessing the animatronics" fairly quickly, a little bit too quickly. You would think he would've at least stopped to question whether ghosts are even real to begin with, let alone the ability of ghosts being able to possess animatronics. But even worse than Mike's unrealistic reaction to possessed animatronics, is how the female cop (don't remember her name) is one of those "info dump characters".
One of my most hated cliches in any movie, book, or TV show, is when they have scenes where it's just some character explaining to the main character (and by extension the audience) everything, and that's what the female cop does. She just info dumps on Mike that: the animatronics are possessed by dead children, the person who killed the children, and why the children act the way they do. It's just such a lazy way of getting the information explained to the audience. It's such an overused cliche that I can immediately pinpoint it the second I see it being used.
Conclusion
I wouldn't say the FNAF movie is a great movie, but I wouldn't say it's a terrible one either. I enjoyed my time watching it, even with some of its flaws.
As a horror/thriller, I give the FNAF movie a 3/5.
As a FNAF movie, I give it a 4/5.