Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Movie Review

As the sequel to the widely beloved FNAF Movie, this movie was highly anticipated. From theories as to the direction the movie will go, to people talking about how excited they are! All around, this movie had a lot of things to live up to in the FNAF community’s eyes. 

This movie was a good one, having an 88% popcorn rating (fanbase reviews rather than critics) on Rotten Tomatoes. It delivered on the promise to be more scary than the first, and set up the plot for the third movie. It focused more on the story of the franchise, and Abby, rather than the animatronics. 

This movie also has many references to pieces of media in the fandom. At one point, a Freddy plushie has a recording of a meme within the community. Along with that, the movie has many pieces of real life merchandise like the plushies and masks. There is also a reference to the fan game Five Nights at Candy’s at the very beginning. The music William Afton hums in the beginning of the movie is the same music from the first game once the power turns off.

That being said, the movie has some major flaws. It strays away heavily from the game it is based off of, and critics give it a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. It has some key plot holes and oversights. One major one was the music box given to Mike by Henry. After using it once, it is completely forgotten about. It could’ve been kept open, preventing the Marionette from taking hold of Vannessa. The Marionette was also forgotten about right after it disappeared, which was a big oversight. 

Another key point that has many fans confused is the appearance of an animatronic from the fifth game in the franchise, Sister Location. Many fans point out how the character, Circus Baby, was a weird addition due to the fact she is from the fifth game and is tied to a character we have yet to see. This character is linked to another character, William Afton’s youngest daughter Elizabeth. Circus baby showing up in Vanessa’s dream has a lot of fans confused, especially those who keep up with the lore of the franchise. 

Despite these flaws, fans love the movie. It is described as for the fans of the franchise rather than the critics. The creator of the games, Scott Cawthon, says that the movie is supposed to be stand alone rather than following the games directly. Due to this fact, the flaws and additions to the movie which weren't in the games or the many books aren’t distracting. They add to the lore of the movies and will have the people talking about the movie for a long time. 

As a long standing fan of the franchise, I loved the movie and am so excited to see where the third one takes the lore. It might be confusing to fans of the games, but it truly is a wonderful movie with many hidden references!