This text comprises spoilers for “5 Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
I’ve all the time believed that “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been proper on the cash with their famed writing recommendation to exchange “after which” when connecting story beats with “however” or “subsequently.” Which means each scene has a function or contributes to the bigger narrative, making it far more tough for free plot threads to emerge. Sadly, “5 Nights at Freddy’s 2,” written by the online game franchise creator Scott Cawthon, is nothing however an extra-large cheese pizza topped with “after which.” This would possibly not be a shock to anybody who’s in any respect aware of the in depth and convoluted lore of the video games, however after two entries into the sequence of cinematic diversifications, Cawthon’s inventive management is proving to be a detriment.
Bringing “5 Nights at Freddy’s” to the massive display screen took rather a lot longer than followers had anticipated, with Chris Columbus (“Gremlins,” “Goonies,” “House Alone”) hooked up to direct at one level however exiting over inventive variations. Cawthon famously admitted that he made the writers on the primary movie utterly begin over from scratch, and in an interview with Collider again in 2021, Blumhouse head Jason Blum emphasised that a part of why the movie was taking so long as it was to come back out was appeasing Cawthon.
“I haven’t got the appropriate to do something Scott would not like,” mentioned Blum. “Mainly, Scott has form of just like the equal of ‘closing minimize,’ and it is taken longer than I hoped to get the appropriate story.” I can solely speculate that giving him this a lot inventive management was a part of the deal to get the rights to his video games and characters, however his weak spot as a screenwriter is proving to be poison to his personal franchise.
5 Nights at Freddy’s 2 exposes Cawthon’s weak spot as a screenwriter
The primary movie noticed Cawthon share screenwriting credit with director Emma Tammi and author Seth Cuddeback, however he is given sole credit score this time round … and it exhibits. It is his job to make good on the groundwork laid within the first movie, however he is too preoccupied slamming the movie with as many Easter eggs, moments of fan service, random cameos, and references to recreation theories, to have any concept what to do with the movie’s Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) and his youthful sister Abby (Piper Rubio), or the reveal that Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) is the daughter of the animatronics inventing serial little one killer, William Afton (Matthew Lillard).
As a substitute, it looks like Cawthon is making an attempt to ram what works in a five-hour YouTube video essay recorded by somebody speaking to a digital camera from their gamer chair right into a “multi-million greenback franchise image” formed gap.
Worse, there’s an air of insecurity that hangs over all the movie, as if Cawthon is scrambling to preempt each criticism that may (and can) be lobbed towards him on Reddit. The video games ultimately reveal that Mike Schmidt is the son of William Afton, however that clearly cannot exist within the canon created by the movie, so as a substitute, a totally different Michael Afton (Freddy Carter) exhibits as much as creep round in a safety guard uniform, however when it is revealed he is Vanessa’s brother, there’s completely no weight to it until you will have the preexisting information that this is a vital character. “5 Nights at Freddy’s” one way or the other found out a option to untangle Cawthon’s chaos right into a satisfying story that might enchantment to FNaF consultants and novices alike, which makes “5 Nights at Freddy’s 2” really feel like a fair greater step again.
5 Nights at Freddy’s is not a narrative; it is simply stuff occurring
To high all of it off, “5 Nights at Freddy’s 2” utterly whiffs it within the third act, which is beneficiant contemplating it’s much less of a 3rd act and extra of a teaser for a possible third movie. The movie piles on lore, fires off reveal after reveal with none time to breathe, after which abruptly slams into an ending that does not make any sense primarily based on the foundations the movie establishes, neither is it according to any of the characters’ behaviors.
These moments may work as throwaway backstory inclusions for the point-and-click horror video games and function discourse fodder on on-line boards simply high quality, however this strategy is totally out of step with how a film ought to construct or resolve rigidity. It continuously feels just like the script was crafted solely out of “Would not it’s cool if this occurred?” moments, with zero care taken to justify how they join. There has by no means been a greater instance of a screenplay that wanted to kill its darlings.
And but, as a result of I’m a idiot, I’m nonetheless excited on the prospect of “5 Nights at Freddy’s 3,” as a result of I like this franchise and wish what’s greatest for it. However at this level, what’s greatest for it’s Cawthon accepting that he created some actually cool characters that individuals love deeply, however screenwriting simply is not his ministry. He must belief that there are skilled writers and filmmakers who see his imaginative and prescient and wish to assist deliver it to life on the massive display screen, and which means relinquishing energy.
“5 Nights at Freddy’s 2” is in theaters all over the place.
