It’s been two years since the release of the first film adaptation of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. Now, with the sequel being released to theaters on Friday December 2nd, it seems like Freddy Fazbear is losing his stardust, going 0-2 for winning movie adaptations.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 takes place a year after Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was destroyed during the climax of the first movie. Former Freddy’s night security guard Mike Schmidt has been hiding the truth from her now 11-year-old sister, Abby, about the fate of her animatronic friends. So she sets out to find out for herself. However, this unravels a series of terrifying events that resurface the twisted origins of the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria.
Mike Schmidt (played by Josh Hutcherson), Abby Schmidt (played by Piper Rubio), and Vanessa Afton (played by Elizabeth Lail) are all trying to move on to normal lives after the events of the first movie. Vanessa seems to be struggling the most with moving on, as she has nightmares about her murderous father, William Afton. She even sees hallucinations of him in random moments, at one point leading to her pulling a gun on a gym partner. New characters are also introduced, like Lisa (played by McKenna Grace), the leader of a group of television paranormal investigators called the “Spectral Scoopers.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 definitely ups the ante when it comes to scares. The marionette brings in more jumpscares, which is the FNAF franchise’s bread and butter. The marionette has been a character in the FNAF franchise since 2014, in the first sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. The film also leans into the dark and lonely atmosphere of the original games.
Another thing the movie does right is the animatronics. It’s no surprise they were one of the best parts of the film, as the Jim Henson Creature Shop always kills it when it comes to making puppets and animatronics. The new animatronics this installment brings in are the marionette, the toy animatronics, and the withered prototypes. They all look incredible and much like their game counterparts.
One of the last positives I have for the film is the cameos it has. One of them is fan favorite Circus Baby, initially from the fifth game in the franchise, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location; Circus Baby is an animatronic antagonist that was created by William Afton as a trap to kidnap kids via a storage unit in its torso.
Unfortunately, while the marionette ups the scares, in the games, it has never been able to leave its animatronic body to possess human hosts. Not to mention it looks silly with the human head and the marionette’s long, stringy body, although it did make for good jump scares, one of the only things the movie does improve on. It was almost a universal criticism that the first movie wasn’t very frightening, like most would have accepted. To some, it made the animatronics seem cute and cuddly rather than eerie and disturbing.
On the topic of the marionette, her motivation for wanting to take revenge ends up being a questionable choice. Her whole backstory feels very shoehorned.
One of my biggest issues, however, comes from the end. First of all, the final conflict ends up being only one short scene. On top of that, it ends up being so cheesy and does not follow the tone of the movie up to that point.
The feedback to this movie has been extremely negative from critics, even more so than its predecessor. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 received a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 33% the first film received. However, the audience score is around the same, with the sequel having an 88% and the first having an 86%.
In summary, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a movie that can really only be recommended to people who have followed the franchise for a long time. If you’re a new fan or you have no idea what a Fazbear is, this movie might not be for you.
If you do end up going to see it, make sure to stay until the end; a post-credits scene teases an upcoming third installment.
Which FNAF animatronic are you?
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Odie Miller • Dec 11, 2025 at 10:24 am
I saw the FNAF 2 movie recently, and I agree with your point that the ending was cheesy. It seems that the creators are conflicted between making a scary movie, while also not wanting to push away younger audiences or show children being hurt on screen. I wish we could’ve seen a more lore-accurate version of the marionette, but at the same time the change allowed for better scares, which were lacking in the first movie.
Mia Romo • Dec 9, 2025 at 11:22 am
I went out and watched the Five Night’s At Freddy’s 2 movie, and I personally thought it was really good! I definitely agree that the choices they made with the marionette weren’t my favorite, but it did add a much more creepy aspect to the film. In the end, these movies are made for the fans of the franchise though, so the critics are being pretty harsh in my opinion.