It is with complete horror that I tell you that the Five Nights at Freddy's games are now old enough for grown-ups to experience nostalgia for them, and now—nine years after the first game came out—Hollywood is finally ready to cash in on it. The Five Nights at Freddy's film has gotten its first trailer, showcasing old VHS effects, creepy robo-animals, and a man having a very bad time in a restaurant.
It looks like Five Nights at Freddy's, in short, and it'll hit theatres and the Peacock streaming service on October 27 this year (opens in new tab).
I don't think this is an identical trailer to the one that leaked over a week ago, and which numerous FNAF fans went out of their way to avoid watching (opens in new tab), but I'm certain it's a more pleasant viewing experience than the leak was. When the leak happened, FNAF creator Scott Cawthon asked fans to wait for "a finished product that is edited and polished, with VFX and proper sounds," and now they've got it. Plus, this one has the luxury of not being recorded off a computer screen on someone's phone.
The project for a FNAF film is almost as old as the games themselves. A movie was first reported to be in the works back in 2015, but eventually turned to vapour. After that, the rights got picked up by Blumhouse, but that ran into delays when Cawthon decided to delay production until he'd settled on the right script (opens in new tab).
Presumably (hopefully) he's found it. And while I can't say I'm hyper-familiar with the game series, the trailer sure likes FNAF to me. You've got your scary animatronics, your chintzy Chuck E. Cheese decor, your jump scares, and your irony. In the context of a 47-second trailer, it looks like it comes together well. As a film? Well, you can find out in October.
