Isaac Gramse ‘26
EE Staff Writer
Five Nights at Freddy’s has been a significant part of my life since its release in 2014. It admittedly was a little too morbid for my 8 year old self, but what made me love the franchise so much was the story behind the games. I was ecstatic in 2017 when they announced that Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF for short) would be getting a movie. 6 years later, we finally got the movie, and it lived up to everything I had ever imagined for it. And when they announced it would be a trilogy, I knew Scott Cawthon was going to cook up something good. Well, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is finally here, and it lived up to my incredibly high expectations and even surpassed it.
The movie starts with a flashback to when the original Freddy’s location was opened in the ’80s. And a girl named Charlotte (who is INCREDIBLY important to both this movie and the games) witnesses William Afton lead a boy into the backrooms, she tries to get help from parents but all of them ignore her, leading her to save him herself. Unfortunately, as she saves the boy, William Afton gets to her and she dies in front of everyone in the restaurant, falling into the hands of The Marionette.
Afterwards, the opening credits play in what was somehow a better intro than the first movie, with a bunch of lore drops and the events that happened soon after Charlotte’s death.
Once the credits end, we are taken 20 years later to Vanessa sleeping, who is having similar dreams that Mike did in the first movie. She has nightmares of her father William and she is seeing him everywhere she goes. At the same time, Mike and Abby are trying to settle into normal life. However, Abby is missing her friends (the animatronics from the first film) and Mike constantly assures her that one day he’ll go back to Freddy’s and fix them for her. But what he doesn’t tell her is that they are gone and that they aren’t going to be fixed.
A popular TV group of ghost hunters received a tip from a man named Michael to check out a haunted location, that location being the original Freddy Fazbear’s. This man, who is later discovered to be Michael Afton, leads all these people to their deaths at the hands of the Toy Animatronics. The final girl getting her body used by the spirit of Charlotte who chases Michael out the building where she discovers that she cannot leave, with Michael saying, “Welcome back, Charlotte”.
Back to Mike, not Michael. Mike feels bad about lying to Abby about her friends and gives her this Speak & Spell-esque device that says you can talk to Freddy and the gang. One night, Abby is awoken by the device claiming that Chica is speaking to her and that she needs Abby’s help. The voice leads her to the original Freddy’s where she meets Toy Chica instead of her friend Chica.
A couple of days later, Mike speaks to the father of Charlotte; although it is not specified, that man is Henry Emily, the co-founder of Freddy’s and William Afton’s former business partner. Henry gives Mike some important information and as Mike leaves Henry gives Mike a music box, telling him that it had always helped her calm down when she was alive.
Mike goes to Freddy’s and finds a tied up Vanessa. There they make a plan on how to save Abby and the townspeople after the Toy Animatronics managed to escape the building. Mike stays to track the Toy Animatronics while Vanessa goes to hunt them down. While Mike is in the building, he actually has to do the mechanics from FNAF 2 to survive from Withered Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica; who all make their iconic poses from the game. Vanessa manages to hunt down Toy Freddy and Toy Bonnie who were attempting to kill the parents that ignored Charlotte on the day that she died. All but one had been stopped, except for Toy Chica, who was at Mike’s house.
The final act happens at Mike’s house, where Abby is possessed by Charlotte and when she finds Vanessa, she is about to kill Vanessa when Mike shows up and plays Henry’s music box, temporarily subduing Charlotte and saving Abby. However as they are leaving, they are confronted by Michael who reveals that he is Vanessa’s brother and the son of William Afton, who is trying to carry on his work. He leads the Toy Animatronics to the house and they’re about to kill the trio when suddenly… the sound of Foxy’s hum is heard. The four animatronics from the previous movie show up and dismantle the Toys; a triumphant moment soon brought tragic when they begin to short circuit. The animatronics were programmed to shut down their circuits if and when they leave the establishment. But the ghost of Golden Freddy tells them that they couldn’t stay in those bodies forever and they move on. But before they leave, they warn Mike that William Afton could no longer be contained once they pass on, and he can and will come back stronger than ever. The movie ends with Mike telling Vanessa to get away from him and Abby as he no longer trusts her. As they are walking away Vanessa watches somberly unknowing that Charlotte was about to attack; possessing her.
I had super high expectations for this movie. And they completely blew me away. They brought back CoryxKenshin and MatPat with a surprise cameo from fan favorite Lawyer Doug. What I really loved was Mike’s stay at the restaurant, he actually had to play the game! The introduction of Michael Afton, Charlotte, and Henry was so amazing as they are some of the most important characters to the lore of the games. And similarly to how the first movie’s end credits played the song “Five Nights at Freddy’s” by The Living Tombstone, this film’s end credits were backed by “It’s Been So Long” from the same band.
This film was more in line with the game and its lore than the first film which was a common criticism from the fans, and I’m glad they made it a Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Movie instead of a Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie 2.
This film had two massive teasers as well. Circus Baby was teased in one of Vanessa’s dreams, and in the mid-credits scene, a group of people go into Freddy’s looking for items for their ‘horror attraction” (being Fazbear Frights from the third game). While they are searching, they find the body of William Afton, decayed in the suit, becoming Springtrap. One of the men says “We found one, a real one!” which is a direct line from the night 2 phone call from FNAF 3. They cover Springtrap in preparation to haul him to the attraction and after they leave, one of his eyes glows, showing that he is still alive and will come back.
I loved the first film, but this was so much better. It truly was a FNAF movie. I couldn’t help but feel like that little boy who fell in love with the franchise and its story. And it was nice to be surrounded by others who were just like me. Scott Cawthon has made an impact on both mine and so many other’s lives, and I couldn’t thank him enough for the joy he has brought me throughout my life. When Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 comes out, I will be seated; hoping to feel that joy from oh so long ago once again.