“They can see you now.”

Story: Brother and sis Mike and Abby are doing their best after tragedy upon tragedy hit their family. When their Aunt Jane threatens to take custody of Abby, a desperate Mike takes a job at a derelict restaurant/arcade. Night shift, bad pay, huge creepy-ass puppets, troubling history. Paradise! What’s that sound?

Scares: Jumps scaaaaares, baybeeeee!
Splat Factor: PG-13. So, very little. But it’s effective.

Subgenre: Video Game Adaptation Horrors
Year Released: 2023
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Based on the video game series (and other assorted connected stuff) of the same name.

Trick or Treat?: I’ve watched a few YouTube videos where folks play FNAF…and that’s all I know about this crazy story. Apparently there’s a ton of lore in FNAF. And I know none of it. If you’re a huge FNAF junkie? Based on the moments where fans of the games were cheering and screaming their approval during the screening? I’m gonna say yes. But what about n00bs like me? I liked it. It’s a creepy location, with creepy animatronic puppets doing creepy things, and a story that’s simple (brother and sis gotta stick together) but works very well within the lore. Would I seek it out? Probably, if only to watch with my nieces and nephew, who know more about this kinda stuff, and would turn me on to things I wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. But as a fun, easy to stomach – it is PG-13 after all – horror during Hallo-month? I dig it.

Writer/director Emma Tammi seems to know this franchise inside and out, if the squeals of joy I heard while watching FNAF are anything to go by. (One of her co-writers is FNAF game writer Scott Cawthorn, which I’m sure was a big help.) This film uses characters from the game – Mike, the obligatory creepy puppets, and several others – to create a cinematic story that doesn’t have much meat on the bone, but honestly? It doesn’t need to. This is a haunted house spookfest, and we get just enough back-story for us to understand why the characters are doing what they’re doing at any given time.

As Mike, Josh Hutcherson delivers an admirable performance as a beleaguered trauma survivor. Piper Rubio’s Abby is suitable adorable, and is able to skirt the dreaded precocious vibe way too many child actors stumble into. Mary Stuart Masterson’s Aunt Jane is villanous, and stick a pin in that, I’ll be getting back to her in a tic. Special shout-out to one of my favorite movie guys, Matthew Lillard, as the career counselor Mike goes to when he’s desperate. It’s always wonderful to see Lillard in anything, so I’ve gotta give props. (I’m also trying very hard not to spoil any cameos, but there are a few here, and even my clueless tuchas knew what was going on. So keep your eyes peeled.)

Okay, about Aunt June. She’s bombastically evil at the start, trying to do anything to get custody of Abby. (There’s a throwaway statement from Mike about how June only wants the monthly government check Abby gets for her welfare, but it’s quickly forgotten.) Much later in the film, she’s sitting down with Mike and seemingly ready to have a Meaningful Family Discussion, rather than plotting his destruction. It’s strange, and even though Masterson is always fantastic, it felt as if this was a hiccup the creators didn’t pick up on, or paid no attention to. June is the catalyst for a lot of the mayhem here, and her role feels ill-considered. Okay, that’s my big quibble. Back to our regularly scheduled review.

The FX are well done, with the onscreen effects outrageously impressive. The blend of practical and CGI is seamless, and I never once had the illusion destroyed by shoddy workmanship. The blood and gore is obviously slight, but when it’s onscreen, it’s effective as hell. A single bloody handprint, shadows that hint at real horror, and quick cuts as someone gets…well, cut. The combo of great onscreen work and whipsmart editing makes the spooky stuff delightfully horrific.

I recommend FNAF to any gaming fan, and to any horrorhound regardless of their prior lore knowledge. It’s always wonderful to see a game-based movie with an obvious love of the source material. Makes me want to play the games. Y’know, if I didn’t suck at videogames. Maybe I’ll just watch a few more play-throughs. That sounds nice.

Score: ___ out of 5 pumpkins.