Five Nights At Freddy’s cast says ‘fan-forward’ sequel is not focused awards or reviews

LOS ANGELES – Film critics did not care much for Five Nights At Freddy’s.

Based on the cult video-game series of the same name, the 2023 supernatural horror movie was widely panned for its tale of animatronic animals at an old pizzeria coming to life and turning violent.

But fans ignored the scathing reviews and turned the film – which was packed with Easter eggs from the games – into the sleeper horror hit of the year, pulling in more than US$290 million (S$376 million) at box offices worldwide against a modest US$20 million budget.

And so with the sequel Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 – now showing in Singapore – the cast and film-makers once again set out to craft a story with the loyal fan base in mind.

At the recent Los Angeles premiere, lead actor Josh Hutcherson, 33, also promises bigger and better scares, including from the creepy animatronic monsters that made the first film so distinctive.

“It is much scarier than the first one, with many more animatronics,” the American star teases.

He returns to play Mike, a former security guard who, in the first film, discovers that the animatronics at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza are possessed by the ghosts of children murdered at the restaurant.

The sequel picks up a year later, when Mike’s sister Abby (Piper Rubio) reconnects with the animatronics through a toy, accidentally unleashing another evil spirit.

“The whole thing is just cranked up a million levels and the story is really interesting, and getting to some dream-world stuff,” adds Hutcherson, best known for his role as male protagonist Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games dystopian movies (2012 to 2015).

He and his co-stars single out the crew members behind the animatronic creations – designed by acclaimed animation and visual effects company Jim Henson’s Creature Shop – as the unsung heroes of this franchise.

Elizabeth Lail, 33, who reprises her role as Vanessa, daughter of the man behind the murders, says: “The puppeteers are my favourite part of the film.”

“It takes, like, seven people on one puppet to make it work, and there’s someone operating the eyes and an actual person inside of the suit,” adds the American actress, who appeared in the psychological thriller series You (2018 to 2025).

She credits the movie’s American director Emma Tammi for skilfully adapting this story for the big screen. “She’s taken this huge video game and made it specific, grounded and believable. “Suddenly, I feel like at any moment, I could see an animatronic in this world that we’re in right now. And if you watch our film, just what she is doing with the camera is spectacular.”

Also back for the sequel is Matthew Lillard as Vanessa’s murderous father William.

The 55-year-old American actor – who played a killer in the Scream horror franchise (1996 to 2023) too – describes Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 as “fan-forward” and focused on its core audience rather than awards or reviews.

And that is just as well, for it is receiving mixed early reviews, although it topped the box office in North America on Dec 5, bringing in US$63 million there and ultimately collecting US$109 million internationally on its opening weekend.

Lillard says it helps that both movies were penned by American screenwriter Scott Cawthon, who created the video games and based this instalment – set one year after the events of the original film – on the second game in the series.

“Scott Cawthon’s been at the forefront of this whole thing. He knows this fan base and our hope is that they come out, see the film and understand that it’s a love letter to them.”

Hutcherson says it felt good making a follow-up with many of the original actors and crew, and with two American horror favourites joining the cast: Skeet Ulrich (the Scream franchise) and Mckenna Grace (The Haunting Of Hill House, 2018).

“This whole team is amazing. I’ve been a part of a few franchises over time, and whenever you have the same crew and cast come back together, you have people you have a shorthand and relationship with, and it’s great.”