Five Nights At Freddy's Gets Rotten Tomatoes Reviews That Will Scare Fans

The "Five Nights at Freddy's" video game series has a passionate fanbase online. Many people adore the franchise and eagerly awaited a big-screen adaptation. Perhaps the film will satisfy any cravings from die-hard fans because, as of right now, professional film critics aren't taking too kindly to the newest horror extravaganza. 

As of this writing, the new film has a 25% positive rating from 67 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Its reception isn't much better on Metacritic, where it has a score of 29 out of 100, meaning it's viewed as "generally unfavorable." It's a tad disappointing for such a hotly anticipated movie, and the lackluster reviews seem to come down to the movie not satisfying anyone who isn't already intricately familiar with the video game lore. Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press felt "Five Nights at Freddy's" couldn't strike that balance between horror and comedy, "Caught between PG and R, as well as lost at the crossroads of inadvertent comedy and horror, the PG-13 'Five Nights at Freddy's' has to go down as one of the poorest films in any genre this year."

It's a good case for why the sequel should pursue a more intense R rating. A similar sentiment was shared by Radheyan Simonpillai of The Globe and Mail, who wrote, "'Five Nights' is at its best when it's leaning into the jokes, which doesn't happen enough." Fans may feel differently, but for anyone looking in from the outside, this horror romp should go out to pasture like ShowBiz Pizza Place. 

One critic who likely won't return to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza any time soon is Looper's own Alistair Ryder, who had this to say. "The jokes fall flat, the scares are nonexistent, and there's so much focus on the protagonist's comparatively sincere journey that it feels actively cheapened by the genre elements rather than complementing them," he observed.

Of course, with such a massive fanbase already, there's a chance "Five Nights at Freddy's" was never trying to add something substantial to the horror genre. It may simply exist to tickle those who have played the games for so many years. That's how Adam Graham of Detroit News feels, as he wrote about how the movie would likely alienate anyone else. "Only fans who come to hear the game's catchphrases and callbacks will feel seen, anyone else is better off bellying up to the bar at their local Chuck E. Cheese," Graham opined.

Others view the movie's dedication to its fans as an admirable aspect. Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting wrote a far more positive review of "Five Nights at Freddy's," stating, "It's the type of adorable gateway horror that'll play well at slumber parties or rowdy theaters full of obsessed fans, which is precisely its target audience." Ultimately, everyone's free to see the movie for themselves to make up their own opinion, and with it being available in theaters and on Peacock for its opening weekend, there are plenty of avenues to check it out. But if you're not already a "Five Nights at Freddy's" zealot, it may be a bit tough to get into.