{"id":38697,"date":"2023-10-26T16:35:46","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T14:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1914941"},"modified":"2023-10-27T02:56:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T00:56:20","slug":"five-nights-at-freddys-review-solid-shocker-risks-disappointing-diehards","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/five-nights-at-freddys-review-solid-shocker-risks-disappointing-diehards\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Nights at Freddy\u2019s review: Solid shocker risks disappointing diehards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Tammi brings Five Nights at Freddy’s to the big screen with some interesting consequences. <\/p>

By Terry Staunton\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 26 October 2023 at 14:35 PM<\/p>

\n\n
<\/div> 3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div>

The makers of any film adapted from, or inspired by, material in another medium routinely have to brace themselves for a backlash. Fans of, say, a beloved novel or stage play may not take kindly to any changes deemed necessary en route to the cinema, and, in modern times, those voices of dissent or derision are rarely louder than when the source is a hugely popular computer game.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understandable, if you consider the personal, even emotional, connection gamers can forge with their favourites. Unlike a book, consumers of a console or online-based franchise engage directly with a product and the folkloric universe that builds around it, able to steer the narrative along myriad different paths.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not an option when it\u2019s turned into a movie, and that\u2019s where frustration can set in.<\/p>\n

Consequently, savvy thinking would suggest the big screen version should tick as many punter-pleasing boxes as possible, embracing specific traits familiar to the devotees who made the game a big enough hit to warrant a film in the first place. Sadly, it\u2019s a philosophy the folks behind Five Nights at Freddy\u2019s<\/a> don\u2019t appear to have grasped.<\/p>

The original game surfaced in 2014, created by tech developer Scott Cawthon and taking its lead from family-friendly themed restaurants like the American pizza chain Chuck E Cheese, where customers\u2019 dining experiences are enhanced by children\u2019s play areas and cuddly animatronic creatures. In this instance, the chief \u201cmascot\u201d is Freddy Fazbear, who, along with his fellow furry pals, becomes hostile and homicidal after business hours.<\/p>\n

Taking on the role of night watchman, the gamer has to combat the beasties\u2019 menacing behaviour with sundry tools and alterations to lights, doors, ventilation shafts, etc, via buttons on a console or a computer keyboard. Several scenarios are lifted from recognisable horror movie tropes, so it was perhaps inevitable the premise would itself be reupholstered for the horror genre.<\/p>\n

Therein lies a bugbear with the film version. It\u2019s arguably too in thrall to the traditional conventions of horror cinema (jump scares, nightmarish screams and the like), to the point where it has a tendency to dilute some of the game\u2019s bespoke elements. Time and again the personality of Cawthon\u2019s vision is sacrificed in favour of generic fright fest tropes \u2013 bafflingly so, seeing as Cawthon is one of the three credited screenwriters.<\/p>\n