By Josh Ball
Revenge is a powerful motivator. In pop culture, it can keep people alive. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” takes a deep dive into the full destructive force of revenge.
The prologue takes place in 1982 at a birthday party at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. During a horrific incident in a back room at the pizzeria, an isolated girl named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn-Marie) is stabbed. Bleeding out, she screams in rage as a trap door opens under her and she falls into the arms of her favorite animatronic: the Marionette.
The bulk of the movie takes place in 2002. Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and Abby (Piper Rubio) Schmidt are trying to live normal lives after the events at Freddy Fazbear’s two years prior. Mike takes his younger sister back to the location to choose something to bring home with her. Abby chooses a speaker toy which the animatronics speak back to her.
Unknown to Abby, Charlotte’s vengeful spirit trapped within the Marionette is speaking and uses the speaker toy to trick Abby into releasing the failsafes preventing the escape of the animatronics. Now unrestricted, the only obstacle to Charlotte’s revenge is Mike Schmidt and Vanessa Afton (Elizabeth Lail) racing to strip the Marionette of its control over the puppets.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is one of those B-list movies that is far from being among the greatest but far from being bad. What I liked most was that it did not try to be a cult classic. The writers knew they were making a corny horror movie and stayed in their lane. They were able to make a moderately terrifying film that kept heart-rates high but never reached for a masterpiece on par with “The Silence of the Lambs.”
One of the best aspects of the movie was the acting. Josh Hutcherson, as always, turned in a believable performance that drew me further into the world. Matthew Lillard returned to his roots as the Ghostface Killer in “Scream” for his cameo as the murderous William Afton. Lillard’s performance, though perhaps expected, was nonetheless amazing, conveying all the crazed psychopathy of a serial killer. Wayne Knight’s Mr. Berg was reminiscent of Nedry from “Jurassic Park,” but fit the new film perfectly. The fear in his eyes as the animatronics began Charlotte’s quest for revenge instilled terror into my own heart.
The twist at the end was poorly executed and confusing. There was no explanation even though it broke the rules established by the movie. The upside was that it set up the sequel well.
As video game adaptations go, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” was faithful to the source material. Such a nostalgic franchise for younger audience members is easy to do poorly. This film did not disappoint. Since the release of the original game in 2014, only one thing has been clear: the events were driven by anger, jealousy and revenge. The continuity of these themes in the film was good to see.
I wish the music stood out more. Some of the most memorable themes come from horror franchises. The genre allows for atypical instruments to shine: strings and piano over driving brass. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” missed this opportunity in a glaringly obvious way.
By far the best part of the movie was its commentary. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” delved into the nature of anger and revenge. It made sure to show that anger is a dangerous emotion and revenge a destructive motive. The movie reminds the audience why Romans 12:19 tells us that revenge is the Lord’s: only God is responsible enough and has the authority to exact it.
Although “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is far from a perfect film, it remains a good movie. Lazy writing is redeemed by good acting and a better message. The commentary on anger and revenge is a refreshing return to form in Hollywood’s stories challenging the audience to think and reflect.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is currently playing in theaters
Josh Ball is a junior history major. He loves “The Lord of the Rings” and reading literature to evaluate the author’s worldview in light of Christianity.
Images courtesy of Blumhouse Productions
No Replies to "‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ is a wonderful treatise on the nature of revenge"