#6: The Fan's Appeal

     Note: This does contain some spoilers from Blumhouse's Five Nights at Freddy's

    On October 27th, 2023, a long awaited adaptation of a popular horror game franchise had finally been released in theaters and on Peacock, Universal's primary streaming service. Five Nights at Freddy's is based off the game franchise of the same name, following the harrowing experience of working the nightshift at Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. In this universe, the iconic animatronic mascots of the restaurant are sentient and move around, and also commit the occasional violent act against the player, or a character for purposes of its convoluted lore.

    With over half a dozen games, multiple books, and respective merchandise, being released since 2014, it's no wonder that FNAF (acronym) has been a hit in the horror genre, even popularizing a niche of horror games called "mascot horror" that fall on a similar genre that FNAF fits into. When it was in its early years of popularity, the idea of a movie was always welcomed by fans, but whispers of development were nowhere in sight.

     That was until Blumhouse, a television and movie production company, took the reins and enlisted in the help of Scott Cawthon (the game's creator) and the Jim Henson puppet company to help bring the animatronics and the haunting story that surrounds it to life. As production continued and the movie date loomed closer and closer on the horizon, a certain buzz around the movie built as the fans, new and old, awaited to watch this movie.

     Upon the first hours of showings, it was clear that the finished product itself became a subject of controversy. Rotten Tomatoes critics panned it with a frighteningly low score of 25% for the first few days. Despite the critics reviews striking fear into those who have yet to have seen the movie, plenty of fans from the game were pleasantly surprised and raved about the contents and heart that was put into the movie.

     The story of the movie follows Mike Schmidt, an unemployed man who lands a night security job at the infamous pizzeria to keep his home life stable amidst a selfish aunt's desire to take his younger sister away from him. It becomes clear to Mike that this abandoned building holds many secrets that go beyond the children that went missing, especially amidst the altered dreams he keeps trying to conjure memory of. Through encounters with Officer Vanessa, who holds secrets of her own, and the animatronics themselves, Mike and the audience come to find out the secrets behind what happened to the place, the nature of the animatronics, and who was behind it all.

     The biggest complaint many viewers had about the movie was that the story was lacking in many places. Many also believed that it didn't feel like a horror film with its PG13 rating and limited amount of jump scares hindering the fear aspect of it. There were also plenty of places where character choices and dialogue felt strange, unnatural, or downright corny. If there were this many complaints about the movie, and the critic scores to match it, why was the audience score, at 89%, so high? And why do people rave about it as the movie raked in more viewers and money from the box office over its opening weekend?

     It comes down to the fan appeal. A pre-existing franchise that is awaiting an adaptation into film typically has more hype surrounding it than films without pre-existing source material to adapt it from. This is also a bigger case in terms of video-game adaptations. With many video game adaptations failing abysmally, only a recent trend of decent movies and shows that stick well tothe heart of what made fans love the game so much have changed the game. Compared to plenty of other movie adaptations, this movie prioritizes appealing to the fans, which is what many have thrown away to change or condense a story and world for a more general audience.

     The FNAF fanbase also is vast and fairly committed. With a wide variety between the children that consumed it, to the teens and adults who have stuck with it for years and appreciated the horror aspects of the games, it covers a wide range of people. They all share their love for the universe and the appeal of haunted animatronic trying to kill the player. Keeping the dedicated fanbase, with all the work they put into theories, fan games, art, and cosplay, the creators of the movie made choices to make sure it was a fun experience for them, a love letter of sorts.

    There were plenty of easter eggs and references that were snuck in to surprise and spark joy in the fans. From cameos of people who shaped the fandom through their content surrounding the game, to references from a glimpse of a character that was solely a joke, to famous phrases, audios, and artwork styles taken directly from the game, it left fans in delight of pointing out each clever reference to a game or theory that came before.

     It was the appeal to the fans that made Five Nights at Freddy's such a success despite all of its flaws and downsides weighing it down. This movie was a lesson for all future adaptation of existing material t strive to appease the group that will put the most love and money into it, the existing fanbase.