The "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie promises spine-tingling scares and animatronic terror galore. And while the Blumhouse film might be able to stand on its own two legs, there's a load of complex and creepy lore lurking beneath the cult hit game franchise's surface.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00 The Five Nights at Freddy's movie promises spine-tingling scares and animatronic terror galore.
00:05 And while the Blumhouse film might be able to stand on its own two legs,
00:08 there's a load of complex and creepy lore lurking beneath the cult-hit game franchise's surface.
00:13 Five Nights at Freddy's uses an idea so basic that it's a wonder no one ever tried it before.
00:18 In the game, players assume the role of a security guard at a Chuck E. Cheese-style restaurant.
00:22 They must monitor security cameras to avoid being devoured by the locale's creepy animatronics.
00:27 Sounds easy, right?
00:28 "Welcome to Freddy's. Have you met them yet?"
00:31 The mechanics have changed in subsequent sequels, but the approach remains unchanged.
00:35 The same cannot be said for the animatronic monstrosities lurking around the corners of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Restaurant, however.
00:41 The antagonists featured in Five Nights at Freddy's started as a relatively small group
00:45 and have since morphed into a larger assembly consisting of toys,
00:48 shadows, phantoms, endoskeletons, cupcakes, staff bots, and other creepy entities.
00:54 However, many of these iterations stem from the classic animatronic foursome.
00:57 Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, and Freddy Fazbear.
01:00 Freddy, a seemingly cuddly bear, is the pact's leader and the mascot of the Fredbear's Family Diner
01:05 and Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Restaurants that operated from the early '80s to the early '90s.
01:09 As the story progresses, players learn that Freddy and his companions were once children
01:13 tragically killed by a deranged serial killer named William Afton.
01:17 For reasons unknown, their souls now reside inside the animatronics,
01:20 seeking vengeance for their untimely deaths.
01:23 Consequently, they attack any adult who sets foot in the restaurant.
01:26 William Afton committed a dozen murders in the 1980s.
01:29 Co-founder of Fredbear's Family Diner and Freddy Fazbear's Pizza,
01:32 Afton assumed the guise of Spring Bonnie,
01:34 a rabbit costume to lure unsuspecting children into the restaurant's back room,
01:38 where he killed them in cold blood.
01:40 Afton went to great lengths to conceal the bodies from law enforcement,
01:43 presumably placing them inside the animatronic suits,
01:45 thereby imprisoning their spirits within Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy.
01:50 Police never apprehended Afton for his crimes.
01:53 However, after several failed business ventures, including Circus Baby's Pizza World,
01:57 the souls of his victims watched him die inside of a malfunctioning Spring Bonnie costume,
02:01 which tore his body into pieces.
02:03 Although his corpse was left to decompose, his spirit refused to move on.
02:07 Consequently, when a group of college students stumbled upon the suit years later
02:11 and transferred it to a new horror attraction named Fazbear's Fright,
02:14 Afton continued his terrifying reign as Springtrap.
02:16 Subsequently, he transformed into Scraptrap.
02:19 Otherwise, William Afton remains a mystery.
02:21 He only appears as a tall, skinny man with glowing eyes,
02:24 a wide smile, and a security badge pinned to his chest.
02:27 FNAF 2 implies that William experimented with a mysterious substance called Remnant,
02:32 which traps human souls inside an inanimate object,
02:35 thus explaining the supernatural nature of the animatronics.
02:38 The original Five Nights at Freddy's follows a security guard named Mike Schmidt
02:42 and his harrowing experience over five nights at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.
02:45 Assisted by a mysterious individual known as Phone Guy,
02:48 a former night guard who provides valuable information about the location,
02:51 Mike must endure a six-hour shift armed with no weapons,
02:54 a slowly depleting battery,
02:56 and only a pair of electronic doors to protect himself
02:59 from the evil animatronics that roam the premises after dark.
03:02 Players receive only fragments of information regarding the game's story,
03:05 most of which surrounds Freddy's crew.
03:08 On the first night, Phone Guy explains that the animatronics, quote,
03:11 "tend to get a bit quirky at night,"
03:12 attributing this behavior to a free-roaming mode to prevent their servos from seizing.
03:17 He also alludes to the Bite of '87,
03:19 not to be confused with the Bite of '83,
03:21 an incident in which an animatronic bit a customer's head,
03:24 tarnishing the restaurant's name.
03:26 On night four, Mike learns that the animatronics may mistake him
03:29 for a robotic endoskeleton and force him into an empty suit.
03:33 Thankfully, if players survive the tense five nights,
03:36 they are rewarded with a paycheck of $120 along with a bonus sixth and seventh night.
03:41 - Hello, uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job
03:45 at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.
03:48 - Following the surprising success of Five Nights at Freddy's,
03:51 creator Scott Cawthon embarked on a sequel,
03:53 which stuck closely to the winning formula of the first installment
03:56 while introducing a few new elements to keep the shenanigans feeling fresh.
03:59 Once again, players step into the shoes of an unfortunate security guard,
04:03 this time named Jeremy Fitzgerald,
04:05 as they endure five nights of surveillance at the newly revamped Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.
04:09 Equipped with an array of lights and security cameras,
04:11 players must defend against assaults from Freddy's crew,
04:14 who now appear in a more decrepit state,
04:16 as well as a fresh batch of original characters,
04:18 including Toy Freddy, Toy Bonnie, Toy Chica,
04:21 Mangle, Balloon Boy, JJ, and a withered Golden Freddy.
04:25 Jeremy dons an animatronic mask in the sequel
04:27 to disguise himself from certain adversaries.
04:30 Additionally, players can partake in mini-games
04:32 that delve deeper into the game's narrative,
04:34 unveiling the enigmatic Purple Man,
04:36 a mysterious character who roams about committing heinous acts against children.
04:40 Upon completing the fifth night,
04:41 Jeremy discovers that the establishment has been shuttered,
04:44 with its animatronics discarded in favor of the older versions.
04:47 A paycheck reveals that the sequel takes place in 1987,
04:50 before the original game's events.
04:53 The third five nights of Freddy's game occurs 30 years after the first game's events.
04:57 Here, players watch over a horror attraction called Fazbear's Fright,
05:01 again using an assortment of equipment to stay alive.
05:03 Except this time, Freddy's crew takes a backseat
05:06 to a horrifying new monster called Springtrap.
05:09 Another phone guy guides players through the first several nights,
05:11 while some pre-recorded audio tapes provide helpful tips.
05:14 Mini-games detail an intriguing backstory,
05:16 showing a purple animatronic guiding the original Freddy characters
05:19 into a backroom where the Purple Man,
05:21 aka William Afton, violently disassembles them.
05:24 FNAF 3 is also the game in which players are shown his grisly death,
05:27 courtesy of his faulty springlock designs.
05:30 As mentioned earlier,
05:31 William Afton's soul remained inside the rabbit suit.
05:34 When it was relocated to the new horror attraction in FNAF 3,
05:37 William re-emerged as Springtrap.
05:39 Further bonus nights enhance the narrative,
05:41 and eventually explain that a fire caused the new location to shut down permanently.
05:45 However, keen-eyed players will note Springtrap lingering in the darkness,
05:49 suggesting the villain survived the fire and now roams freely in the world.
05:53 Technically the first game chronologically,
05:55 Five Nights at Freddy's 4 raises the stakes,
05:57 and the macabre by centering on an unarmed protagonist
06:00 encounters with nightmare versions of Chica, Bonnie, Freddy, and Foxy within his bedroom.
06:05 While fans can only speculate as to the identity of the young protagonist,
06:09 many players believe him to be none other than the first game's hero, Michael.
06:12 Once again, mini-games offer some insight into the series' animatic lore.
06:16 Revolving around a tragic event called "The Party",
06:18 the 8-bit animations depict a despondent boy grappling with his abusive brother.
06:22 Presumably, this boy, the so-called "crying child",
06:25 is the brother of the game's primary protagonist,
06:27 and he endures a series of harrowing events.
06:30 The crying child's brother, who may be Michael himself,
06:33 wears a mask to frighten him,
06:34 and confines him to a room alongside various animatronics from Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.
06:39 During the party, Michael encourages his friends to hoist the boy into Fredbear's mouth.
06:43 Unfortunately, the animatronic malfunctions and Jaws snaps shut on the boy's head,
06:48 horrifying his tormentors and taking his life.
06:51 Players who complete every level, including the bonus nights,
06:53 receive a locked trunk in the cryptic message,
06:56 "Perhaps some things are best left forgotten. For now."
06:59 As mentioned, online theories suggest that Michael Afton is the older brother of the main boy
07:04 and that the events depicted in the game represent the infamous Bite of '83,
07:07 as that's when the crying child's party occurs.
07:10 Alternatively, some believe that Michael is, in fact, Mike Schmidt from the original game,
07:15 though Cawthon has not confirmed this.
07:17 That's simply the enigmatic nature of FNAF lore for you folks.
07:21 Sister Location adds further complexity to the already mysterious Freddy narrative.
07:25 Set after FNAF 4 and before the events of FNAF 2,
07:29 the fifth installment sees Michael Afton slide into the central role,
07:32 working at an establishment called Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental.
07:36 As a technician, Michael's nights involve moving between various rooms
07:39 conducting maintenance on the stored animatronics,
07:41 all while eluding Circus Baby,
07:43 an animatronic housing the spirit of William Afton's daughter and Michael's sister, Elizabeth.
07:47 The game's title, Sister Location, pertains to Circus Baby's Pizza World,
07:51 a restaurant devised by William, featuring Circus Baby, Ballora, Funtime Foxy, and Bon-Bon as its stars.
07:57 Regrettably, William's intentions revolve around sinister experiments with Remnant,
08:01 driving him to commit further atrocities against children.
08:04 Unfortunately, Baby unintentionally kills Elizabeth,
08:07 who becomes trapped within the animatronic, transforming into a murderous entity.
08:12 Under William's orders, Michael embarks on a mission to free his sister.
08:15 During the game, Baby lures him to the Scalable Creation of Ulterior Presence, or Scut Machine.
08:21 Within this device, she removes Michael's internal organs
08:24 and allows the evil animatronic named Ennard to use his skin and escape from the facility.
08:28 Ennard, you see, is an animatronic hybrid created out of all the Funtime animatronics, including Baby.
08:34 "The scooper only hurts for a moment."
08:37 [Scooper alarm]
08:43 In another ending, Michael somehow regurgitates Ennard into a sewer,
08:47 leaving the boy with purple skin, unable to die, but only barely alive.
08:52 Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator might appear to be a random chapter in the Freddy franchise.
08:56 Players must navigate the business and finance world through retro games centered around the titular establishment.
09:01 These simulations put gamers in control of the pizzeria
09:04 and force them to make critical business decisions that impact the establishment
09:07 and the atypical jump-scare portions of the game.
09:10 However, if a player successfully completes all of their tasks,
09:13 the game reveals an essential piece of lore.
09:15 Scrap Baby, constructed from the remnants of Circus Baby after Ennard disgorged her
09:19 and still inhabited by Elizabeth's soul,
09:21 believes she has duped the user into gathering all the animatronics into one location,
09:26 allowing her to fulfill her grand plan.
09:28 Instead, Henry Emily, William's former business partner,
09:31 whose daughter resides inside a character known as the Puppet,
09:34 intervenes and unveils a scheme to incinerate Freddy Fazbear's Pizza,
09:37 thus liberating all the souls of the children William killed, including Elizabeth.
09:42 "I should have known you wouldn't be content to disappear. Not my daughter."
09:46 "I couldn't save you then, so let me save you now."
09:49 He also expresses his intentions to perish in the fire alongside Michael,
09:52 Scrap Baby, Molten Freddy, and William Afton.
09:55 The plan succeeds, and a final cutscene reveals tombstones
09:58 with the names of the murdered children carved into them.
10:00 Congratulations! That's the end of the Freddy franchise.
10:04 Except, not really. Not even a little bit.
10:07 "I am having a hard time adjusting."
10:11 "You look different to me."
10:13 Not content to let the franchise rest,
10:15 Cawthon eventually released the spin-offs Help Wanted and Security Breach.
10:19 Set after the events of Pizza Simulator, Help Wanted begins with Vanessa,
10:23 a Fazbear Entertainment beta tester assigned to a virtual reality simulator
10:27 based on events from previous games.
10:29 In the game within a game, a previous tester hid a glitch inside the logs.
10:33 Vanessa compiles these logs, inadvertently releasing Glitch Trap,
10:36 containing the soul of William Afton.
10:38 Glitch Trap corrupts Vanessa, who becomes Vanny,
10:41 and forces her to retrieve his body and hide it underground beneath the Pizza Plex.
10:45 He intends to download himself into Glamrock Freddy and become Burn Trap.
10:48 In Security Breach, a new protagonist, Gregory, fends off Vanny with the help of Freddy.
10:53 A slew of endings offer information regarding the Freddy lore.
10:56 By the end of Security Breach, the preferred ending sees Gregory
10:59 defeat the animatronics Monty and Chica and upgrade Freddy with their parts.
11:02 He then ventures below Roxy's Raceway and takes on Burn Trap
11:05 and the monstrosity known as the Blob.
11:07 In the Princess Quest ending, Gregory frees Vanessa from Glitch Trap's control
11:11 and eats ice cream on a hill with her next to Freddy's head.
11:14 The Freddy series persists with additional spin-offs,
11:16 including FNAF World, Ultimate Custom Night, Special Delivery,
11:20 Freddy in Space 2, and Security Breach Fury's Rage,
11:23 all of which either expand upon the existing lore or contribute to the intricate narrative.
11:28 Fans believe that Ultimate Custom Night, for instance,
11:30 revolves around William Afton's purgatory, where he endures the consequences of his actions.
11:34 In this game, players can select which animatronics they want to contend with
11:37 and adjust the difficulty level to their preference.
11:40 In Special Delivery, a character named Ness is revealed to be under William Afton's control,
11:44 while other games reintroduce characters from previous entries and place them in different scenarios.
11:48 The question remains, how much of the lore will the movie adaptation bring to the big screen?
11:53 The trailer hints at the possibility of exploring the Bite of '87.
11:56 Cawthon, no longer directly involved with the games he created,
11:59 stepped in to compel the screenwriters to overhaul the movie's script,
12:02 presumably aligning it more closely with the games.
12:05 We'll have to wait and see.
12:07 (upbeat music)
12:10 (upbeat music)