Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)
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A security guard at an abandoned pizzeria discovers that the animatronic mascots are possessed by the spirits of children murdered by a serial killer.
The story
In 2000, Mike Schmidt takes a job as a night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a once-successful restaurant that closed in the 1980s after several children went missing. To protect his younger sister, Abby, from being sent to an estranged aunt, Mike accepts the position. During his shifts, he encounters eerie animatronic mascots and begins to uncover the dark secrets of the building's past. He soon learns that the animatronics are possessed by the spirits of children murdered by a serial killer, and he must navigate the dangers of the haunted pizzeria while trying to keep his sister safe from the lurking spirits and the secrets they hold.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2000, Mike Schmidt accepts a job as a night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza to keep his sister, Abby, in his custody. The pizzeria closed in the 1980s after children went missing. Mike discovers the animatronic mascots—Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Mr. Cupcake—are possessed by the spirits of children murdered by a serial killer, William Afton. A local police officer, Vanessa Shelly, warns Mike about the dangerous 'springlock' suits. On his third night, Mike brings Abby to the pizzeria. Vanessa reveals she is Afton's daughter. Afton, who is revealed to be Mike's counselor, Steve Raglan, appears in a yellow rabbit suit to reclaim the children. Abby manages to break the animatronics' influence over the children by drawing a picture of Afton's actions. The animatronics then turn on Afton, damaging his suit before he is dragged away. Mike, Abby, and Vanessa escape as the building collapses, while Afton is left to his fate.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Emma Tammi
- Writers
- Scott Cawthon · writer; Emma Tammi · writer; Seth Cuddeback · writer
- Cast and characters
- Josh Hutcherson · Mike Schmidt; Elizabeth Lail · Vanessa Shelly; Piper Rubio · Abby Schmidt; Matthew Lillard · William Afton; Mary Stuart Masterson · Jane Schmidt
- Genres
- supernatural horror
- Themes
- sibling bond; past trauma
- Tone and mood
- horror; tense
- Setting
- An abandoned pizzeria in the year 2000.
- Premise and plot tags
- haunted building; animatronics; serial killer
- Source material / true-story basis
- video game series
- Franchise connections
- Five Nights at Freddy's
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but was better received by audiences and fans of the source material, and was a commercial success.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 33 · scale: 100 · review count: 38; PostTrak · score: 77% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The animatronics were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.; A sequel, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, was released in 2025.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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