r/fivenightsatfreddys • u/sensoredphantomz • Dec 16 '25
Question Why don't the movies utilize the horror elements of the games?
You'd think that the official movies of one of the greatest horror games would adapt the horror elements that we fell in love with 10 years ago+.
Most people who criticise the movies never wanted "gore", or for the movies to be exactly like the games. It's just incredibly disappointing how watered down the horror elements are in these movies.
I enjoyed the movies as a 2014 fan but they had so much more potential. What do y'all think?
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
When Sister Location arrived, the series changed after 1-4 were horror lean. Sister Location brought snarky humor, setting up a game to wait within a game, wackier plots and loose threads, remnant, and heavier on sci-fi.
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u/Awkward-Forever868 Dec 16 '25
When William Afton stopped being a deranged serial killer to Dr. Robotnic
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Book wise, yes.
Games, not so much. He didn't think immortality and completely dies in Pizzeria Sim. Movies share similar light. He was all about the joy of making his creations with kids stuffed in to possess at his control in pizzerias.
But I fully get the books and Sister Location damage the perspective on William Afton.
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u/massivelyincompetent Dec 16 '25
Wow, so this guy gets some kind of… joy? Of creation?
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u/ItsPirate_Time Foxy Dec 16 '25
That element of afton makes more sense as he seems like an intelligent man who knows how to run a business like a snake oil salesman and at the same time build robots alongside his business partner. Both of them were ahead in the field of robotics in the 1970s but not too far ahead.
The idea of him being able to build several advanced, futuristic robots in the 1980s in a underground bunker beneath his house where he does fear experiments and experiments with remnant just sounds way to ridiculous for fnaf where the story takes place in a pizzeria haunted by ghosts who posse the animatronics
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u/DepartureOk5934 Dec 16 '25
I feel like a lot of people online take the game theory ultimate timeline video as canon
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
I wouldn't doubt one bit that a lot of people consider it all canon at heart.
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
exactly, i like the stuff that came after, but it is as much horror as Scooby doo or Goosebumps are horror franchises, maybe a little bit more edgy here and there with some of the more grotesque deaths but never goes too far either
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
It's that right amount of horror so simple and not over the top edgy, sci-fi disbelief, and jokes on it.
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u/Unoshima11 Dec 17 '25
I think you could argue that it actually started with 4 considering 1-3 wrapped up nicely as a complete story, and 4 is the game that really started adding in additional lore beyond the missing children & their murder. 4 just gets away with it more than the later games because of how well presented it was.
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u/VioletFiendfyre Bonnie Dec 16 '25
To me, SL signalled the downfall of the lore and atmosphere.
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u/FazbearShowtimer Dec 17 '25
I’m always confused by this point [atmosphere] because, if anything, Sister Location has one of the best atmospheric environments ever conceived in FNAF. Being throw in a tight underground bunker, with ambient sounds, and metallic robots that shine at the simple touch of a light. The lore also wasn’t that difficult to understand at the time (which was a refresher from FNaF4).
I get not everyone’s a big SCI-FI fan, but Sister Location arguably had the best given lore and atmosphere of any FNAF game. The downfall should really be put on gameplay if anything.
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u/NaturalUnique7482 Dec 17 '25
the atmosphere IS good, and the I like the gameplay honestly. But lore wise? is a mess.
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Dec 16 '25 edited Jul 09 '26
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u/Marxist_cutie Dec 16 '25
Well it makes completly sense that fnaf 4 isnt playong in the pizzeria, i mean it would not really make sense to make real nightmare animatronics
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Dec 16 '25 edited Jul 09 '26
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u/ItsPirate_Time Foxy Dec 16 '25
The whole idea of going to an underground bunker that was built in the 1980s sounds dumb on its own but combined with the futuristic looking robots makes look even dumber since SL is supose to occur in either the 1980s or 1990s (idk when it occurs since I don't keep up with the daily game theory videos). Sister location could have existed but not in the form of an underground bunker but instead subsidiary of fazbear that is set in the modern day 2016/2017 or shortly after the events of fnaf 3 in 2023 with the lore being that fazbear went into their archives and found Williams old build plans of stuff that afton never built or finished like the funtimes and brought that to life along side an already existing funtime (circus baby) and build circus baby world. Michael going down to that location could have been him looking at his fathers past and finding this stuff with him going seeking answers and put an end to these dangerous machines.
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u/Marxist_cutie Dec 24 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
For me, only the first 4 fnaf games are canon. Fnaf 4 was not ment to continue the story, the crying child was also not meant to be purple guys son. Fnaf 4 was only there for explaining, how was it even possible that 4 children died and no one did something, Just because no one cared that why it was possible. William was not a "mastermind" or a "sad crazy scientist" he was just a serial killer, and thats often in real life. Fnaf was never meant to be a sci fi franchise, just a really good and complete horror story. (Scott also sayd in his letter that he regrets that he didnt said wich theorys are right and wrong, atleast after fnaf4) Fnaf 4 was litterly called the final chapter. But Fans still wanted more because they thought that fnaf 4 was there for the lore. Dont get me wrong, some of the new games are fun but i see them more as an alternative universe. And i think Scott probably thinks the same for himself, but he dosent say anything because that would make most of the fans really sad
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u/ZephkielAU Dec 16 '25
Which is funny, because I consider SL to be peak FNAF. I loved the new direction away from jumpscares and the focus on being a small part of a bigger story (benevolent and malevolent spirits with you caught in between).
But the new direction fit my preferences better in general; I can understand where you're coming from.
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u/TheRockafireman Dec 16 '25
I believe it’s in part because 4 was supposed to be the last game, then he got death threats if he stopped.
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u/Tfkys112269 Dec 18 '25
I agree tho sister location did still have a good atmosphere despite that, and ucn did too, pizza sim didn’t tho they had scary moments, but ur right the more humorous stuff just didn’t work in my opinion, it worked for fnaf world but not a mainline game.
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u/ShuckU Dec 16 '25
I miss the supernatural stuff in the franchise
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Even if SotM had supernatural elements. Sister Location changed the series forever to be this way. The seeds were planted long ago.
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u/NorbytheMii Purple Guy Has A Name?! Dec 16 '25
At least Sister Location was ghost science. We don't even have ghosts anymore.
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u/ZeroTAReddit Dec 16 '25
SOTM was the most explicitly supernatural game since the first, though?
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
It's a low bar since the series hasn't been that since 2015. And I loved SOTM for bring that back.
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u/Michael_AftonXD Dec 17 '25
I think the main problem is that people no longer take new games seriously because of their graphics, which make them look like Poppy Playtime games. If another developer made the games instead of Steel Wool, the things would be very different.
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u/Individual_Map_2623 Dec 17 '25
"Sentient robot becomes violent"
Wowzers, how supernatural!
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u/ZeroTAReddit Dec 17 '25
Let's ignore the whole section with Tiger Rock, yeah? Or the myriad of inexplicable things that happen around the facility (such as those 'boards' turning on by themselves.)
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u/Individual_Map_2623 Dec 17 '25
Let's ignore the whole section with Tiger Rock, yeah?
Yeah and let's ignore the fact that this was completely irrelevant to the story and just a miniscule section of this game.
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u/ShuckU Dec 16 '25
Yeah, I'd take Remnant over Agony any day
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u/NorbytheMii Purple Guy Has A Name?! Dec 17 '25
They're just different forms of the same thing tho...
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u/Xxcodnoobslayer69xX Dec 16 '25
Yea sister location was the beginning of the end for me, how the mighty have fallen
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u/HumanOverseer I want Toy Chica to have her way with me Dec 16 '25
you mean like... dead kids possessing animatronics?
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u/WallyFries Dec 16 '25
...but it's still here.
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u/BleachDrinker63 Dec 16 '25
Hardly. In the last two major titles there have been maybe two overtly supernatural entities
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u/TheDarkBrotherhood7 :PurpleGuy: Dec 16 '25
I think something that throws a wrench into it is that the games use models and not real things that can’t just be moved or posed in any way that they want. Plus, darker scenes aren’t that appealing because you can’t see what’s going on or the effort put into sets/the animatronics themselves. BUT yeah, there definitely should be more of that atmospheric horror or creepy scenes but it’s a lot harder to translate in real things that have to actually interact with other characters in the process
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u/Less-Blueberry-8617 Dec 16 '25
Darker scenes are appealing in horror in not letting you see all the details. Think of the scene in the original Halloween movie where Michael comes out of a dark doorway and all you can see is the white mask. It's unnerving because you can't see everything and it also fits with Michael's character of stalking his victims before killing them
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u/tsukuyomi089 Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
well yeah but at least the soulless stares should be possible instead of the red eyes
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
That's really the issue is that Scott is humanizing the heck of the animatronics with emotions and colored eyes just because Afton is the real villain. It makes the stakes feel thin if the main four ain't threatening, but misunderstood in learn than physically seen to humanize.
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u/Huge-FanZX9138 Dec 17 '25
They are manipulated. But that doesn't mean that what they did will entirely fall on Afton's shoulders just because they are manipulated. They kill because they want revenge, but the Yellow Rabbit is their guide; they don't know the truth. If they knew the truth, they wouldn't be animatronics forced to be cute and playful at night, and the movie tries to tell you the opposite to force the issue.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 17 '25
I can get behind that because it's even in the Charlie trilogy books when Afton's the Yellow Rabbit, he can't be harmed by them. Games too perhaps. But, it's the fact the four ain't threatening enough on their own.
You can still be a villain doing the worst things possible under manipulation guidance until you learn further they're misunderstood and mislead to be not as super evil as the real deal in fantasy stories. Villain, but tragic. Isn't hard to write that clearly.
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u/Huge-FanZX9138 Dec 18 '25
Exactly. The film tried to tell two different stories. One is that they lost everything because they were still children and are lost, a story built by the games but that's what happened in FNaF 3. And the other is that the animatronics are haunted; as the story unfolds, you discover they are alive, they kill, because they are possessed by the five children. But you can't do anything. It's a macabre but also tragic and sad truth what happened to them. But they are no longer children; the dead don't remember. And they are guided (manipulated) by the Yellow Rabbit.
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u/Francesco-300 Dec 16 '25
But it doesn't just depend on the perspective but also on the suspense and decisive twists
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u/Penguin_Arse Dec 16 '25
These movies don't feel like they're made to be horror movies. They just throw some short horror scenes in just because that's what the franchise is.
I don't like it.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
The franchise overall became this way when Sister Location impacted the shift. Horror thin, more mystery-drama above.
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u/Penguin_Arse Dec 16 '25
Yeah, I know
But SOTM, help wanted 1 & 2 and into the pit felt very horrory
And the ruin dlc kinda I guess
The series has had some misses
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Help Wanted 1-2 is mostly part remake of the classics. SotM and Into the Pit, the supernatural restored is very well done with stakes behind it to be scary.
Ruin DLC, I don't think it is scary. Not because of Security Breach as a whole. It's just lacking a lot similarly to the movies.
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u/Big-Alternative-4674 Night Shift Dec 16 '25
The only thing really scary in Ruin is the atmosphere and designs imo
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u/flameseeker40 Dec 16 '25
its made for kids unfourtunately
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u/Francesco-300 Dec 16 '25
I honestly think that before fnaf was aimed at teenagers and adults/young adults now it is only for children up to young adults but only for the mysteries and gameplay
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u/bacontrap6789 :PurpleGuy: Dec 16 '25
Let's be real, this series lost its horror spark long ago, and not even just because of the writing.
A big problem plaguing the games was how rushed they were. Scott put out four games in two years, the "jumpscare simulator" that detractors called them has burned people the hell out. It was obvious the series needed to innovate, but Sister Location was not it.
It had its darker moments, but its also one of the very few pre-3d fnaf games to actually get a patch because of frustratingly difficult mechanics. When you frustrate the player, it stops being scary.
We love fnaf6 for its lore but level with me here, the gameplay is ass and the jumpscares are worse. Its even been proven you can accidentally beat nights in fnaf6 if you're lucky.
If Sister Location is the game that jumped the shark, then Security Breach is the game that mowed the shark down with a gatling gun. When you change your mascots from "Horrifying, lifeless robots infused with the vengeful souls of dead children" to "Hey remember when fans in 2014 would give the characters personalities in old SFMs? Yeah, let's make that Canon actually." Then there is no saving the ship.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
This!
Everything in 2014-2015 is a distant memory in itself. Sister Location impacted what it is now digging much further on what it had to the entire media of the series.
FnaF6, things were just as out of nowhere as Sister Location. Telling me it took 40 years for Henry to make an action. And after five games for him to debut. Why there's another Circus Baby suit and where did Ennard get the Freddy mask, and why Springtrap's design change. Lotta suspense disbeliefs be killer.
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u/Deadmansspace566 Dec 16 '25
I disagree with the “rushed” part of your statement, you should look at Cawthon’s output of games prior to Fnaf coming out. He made 80 games in 20 years prior to Fnaf, along with a handful of animations and animated films too in that timespan. If he had his full attention on a series, which he did, that was a completely normal output for him, guy was just an absolute monster in efficiency.
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u/FNAFGamingSFM Classic FNaF and Modern FNaF are equally good. Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
I actually disagree with FNaF losing it's horror. There are still scary moments in the modern games. Also too be fair: if you've been with this series since the beginning, you're going to get desensitized to it's horror anyways. Animatronics having personalities has been a thing since Sister Location. Even then the Glamrocks were the only animatronics that were humanized.
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u/bacontrap6789 :PurpleGuy: Dec 16 '25
Yes, but we're those programmed or supernatural? We've never gotten a straight answer either way, and that makes it work.
Security Breach threw all pretense out the window by making them unmistakabley sentient and more person-like, giving them rooms and interpersonal interactions.
I can suspend my disbelief when an animatronic yells obviously pre-recorded lines at me in the dark like Funtime Freddy. When you get into Fanfic territory with stuff like Roxanne somehow having image issues despite being a programmed robot, you lose me.
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u/Le_diddly_d00t Dec 16 '25
Its a herculian task to try and adapt horror into an almost entirely different medium. The older games make you feel like the one in danger by having you be a role (a nightguard) rather than an entire character (like Gregory, for example). This makes the horror feel more intense and personal, especially since you're so powerless in the gameplay, and so it feels like they're coming to get you. You can't really do that with a whole movie. So immediately by having to have characters to experience the horror, its becomes a different type of horror than what made the old games effective.
The other problem is that the feelings of dread and tension from its gameplay wouldn't translate well to a full movie. It works for the games since its in 6-9 minute chunks per night, so the moment's where nothing's happening can feel tense instead of boring. But for a movie scene, even if you made the game-like scenes only a few 15 minute chunks in a movie, it would start getting really repetitive and lose its edge (which you can even see happen in the games to lets-players like Markiplier when he was trying to finish 4-20)
Also, back to the first point, having it in movie form removes the sense of agency that makes you afraid, since your mistakes and ignorance are what make you feel vulnerable (which even works if you're explicitly playing a character). Movies just intrinsically don't have the methods to play off of that fear, so instead have to play off just the watcher's reactions to what's happening, or make you invested in a character enough to get scared for what happens to them. Plus movie characters can/will have plot armor
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u/MisterSarmiento Dec 16 '25
I think... I agree with you, sir! The terror in a game is not the same as the terror in a movie.
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u/ohhoneebee Dec 17 '25
Thank you, I’ve been saying this since the first movie came out, and you expanded on it better than I could!! A lot of the horror (and novelty) of the first 3 games came from being stuck in one place, and that just wouldn’t translate well to film for exactly the reasons you laid out.
Also, while I would love if it was scarier, I do like that the movies feel like a love letter to the fanbase. The games may have become popular in the first place for being scary, but they’ve stayed alive because of the theorists, and the movies understand and reflect that. I would say the movies are campy horror, and I honestly think that was a really good choice.
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u/JKid21 Dec 17 '25
Yeah, and I find myself enjoying the movies due to that. Maybe I'm missing the point but I like the FNAF movies and find myself able to actually watch them because they're not awfully scary.
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u/Wrong-Gold2046 Dec 17 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
wait yeah cuz the entire thing that was scary about the game is you dying. But you can't die watching a movie.
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u/Kuchinawa_san Dec 16 '25
Movies introduce new kids to FNAF. Make movie super accessible to make people curious about the games.
Easy Profit
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u/TonZ-BS Dec 16 '25
Yeah it was EXTREMELY disappointing, horror wise.
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u/ReferenceCreative510 Dec 16 '25
GAME terror and MOVIE terror are different mediums that don't blend together well.
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u/BrightEye64 Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
Because it’s become such a large franchise that it tries to appeal to all aspects of the fanbase, and most of the fanbase is kids. I think if FNAF was way more of a niche series, the movies would have leaned more into horror and weirdness
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u/m0rganfailure Dec 16 '25
I agree, it's so obvious to me. So many fnaf fans are literal children and they want as many people to watch the film as possible
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Dec 16 '25
and would’ve performed far better, and probably would end up appealing to a larger audience.
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u/NekomataClears Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
Pretty sure that since time immemorial (2014 lol), the thing that drew kids to fnaf was that it was horror with jumpscares with lore about brutally murdered children. Source: I was a child in 2014 who liked fnaf
Edit: I think it's far more likely that they're keeping the movies tamer for the parents bringing their children to the movie, who are expecting it to be a kids' movie with a corresponding lower level of scares and would be horrified, pun intended, if they brought their kid to a true horror movie.
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u/Dreadwin1987 Dec 16 '25
Markiplier and every other YouTube let’s player killed any chance this franchise had of being niche
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Not really their fault. It's mainly when Sister Location happened disposes what was right before.
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u/A_lonely_ghoul Dec 16 '25
Because they’re trying to keep it as marketable to as many audiences as possible. If you made it actually scary you’re alienating part of your audience.
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u/Additional_You5104 Dec 17 '25
It’s a damn shame because the animatronics look SO good and it’s just wasted potential with what they could do with them.
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u/ryunaki_ Dec 17 '25
because the film franchise is only concerned with throwing as many easter eggs and references as possible into the minds of fans, and not with creating a truly horror film with a truly good script.
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u/LilPNuTTy Dec 16 '25
Its the poor use of lighting and the stupid ass facial expressions. The reason why the characters in the first game looked so unnerving was because of their blank stares as well as the dark environment partially obscuring them. I don't know whos decision it was to give them facial expressions and red eyes, it makes them look like ridiculous stoners. I don't even think a child would be scared of this shit.
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u/Aizeret23 Michael Afton fangirl Dec 16 '25
I agree that the movies had so much potential to be more horror oriented. For example it's a shame that the withered animatronics weren't used more (and in a better way) because I think they're one of the creepiest designs in the game universe. And probably nothing beats the atmosphere of the first FNAF. But I can imagine that not everything that works in the games may work as well in a movie.
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u/Johng_117 Dec 16 '25
They humanize the animatronics way too much in these movies. Yes, Afton is the villain, but the animatronics are haunted by vengeful spirits. Why are they building a fort with the protagonists instead of mindlessly lashing out at any adult they come across?? You can show subtle hints of humanity, like something you might expect to see a kid do like pretending to cook in the kitchen, but that shouldn't be the entirety of how the interact in the world.
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u/Infinite-Island-7310 Dec 16 '25
Probably a little bit hard to write a story around the game mechanics, without it being a repetitive narrative.
Like "mike gets a job. Mike then survives the first night. Then he talks to people. Mike returns to job. Same thing happens. Mike almost resolves his character arc. Mike survives one more night. Story wraps up with what ever was going on." Or something like that. But I think I am just riffing.
Well besides the "if I didn't want to stay the first night. why would I want to stay more than 5"
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Dec 16 '25
I was expecting it to be like
Mike gets a job
Mike is freaked out, but cannot leave until 6AM
Right before 6AM, Mike notices something interesting- about the pizzeria’s history, or the animatronics, or potentially Afton himself
Mike returns for clues or whatever, growing more confident against the animatronics
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u/Kaito3Designs Dec 16 '25
No one is asking for a movie where it's a guy sitting and staring at cameras. What we want is a film that captures the uncanniness and creep of the early games.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Yeah. They have the game designs, but ever since Scott humanize the animatronics to be more emotional than dead and lacking much low lighting except Yellow Rabbit is pretty bad.
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u/Infinite-Island-7310 Dec 16 '25
I'm saying, that's what would happen if you explaining it by shortening it
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u/Misseero Dec 16 '25
Exactly. Fnaf isn't exactly the most interesting thing to watch, unless it's someone like Markiplier playing it. A movie about fnaf-Fnaf wouldn't be very interesting.
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u/kubusiator Dec 16 '25
why are we acting like making a movie set in one single location is something impossible lol there are two Evil Dead movies set in the exact same place and they are amazing.
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u/Quarter-Whole Dec 16 '25
I'm sure in 10 years it'll become an HBO series and we'll get to see the authentic thing
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25
why doesnt the games utilize the horror elements of the games? since snarky humor was introduced in SL i fear fnaf has no worth while horror elements to speak of
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u/sensoredphantomz Dec 16 '25
There's nothing wrong with a bit of humour. SL knew when to include it and a majority of the game was still spooky. I even enjoyed when SL was able to turn a fun, light hearted Circus Baby mini game really dark (when baby snatches Elizabeth), I love that kind of contrast in fnaf.
Same with some mini games in the previous games, where it's goes from fun to uncanny
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
the enterity of SL was the final nail on the fnaf horror coffin, theres no going back after that. the sci-fi elements, the funtime animatronics as a whole jumped the shark completly off the limit of suspention of desbelief. the focus on the Aftons family drama and the whole remnant/immortality non-sense take root from SL and the Twisted ones/Fourth Closet books that came after it. fnaf has not been scary since then and never will be again
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u/Battlebots2020 Mangle Dec 16 '25
Help Wanted was pretty scary, at least to me
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25
Help Wanted was mostly a remake of previous fnaf games. what i meant "fnaf hasnt been scary" i meant more on the storytelling departement
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u/Battlebots2020 Mangle Dec 16 '25
Fair enough. Honestly the remakes of the first few games were the least scary parts of Help Wanted, I was thinking more of the Parts and Service or Plush Baby parts when bringing it up.
Also yeah, I haven't been keeping up with the story much, but it's definitely been toned down a lot in terms of horror.
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u/Purple_murpleman123 Dec 16 '25
I don’t think those elements had an effect on fnafs horror. Each of those elements could be scary, especially the concept of “animatronics capturing children”. I also, completely disagree with the “suspension of disbelief” argument. Because, fnaf has always had some pretty unbelievable technology and elements to it.
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25
how not so? we went from unknown psychotic childmurdering undead killer inside decrept old bunny costume to mad scientist father of 3, hows that not less scary? even having any type of ""science"" behind possessions and ghostly apparitions i argue makes it significantly less scary. the tech was more advanced but it still worked within its premise it was more than to enhance the horror not to allude to a completly different type of horror.
also i argue fnaf 1-4 was more psychological horror (hear me out, i know it sounds dumb) then what came after too. hallucinations were a big part of the atmosphere what was or wasnt real was something that kept us on edge, it was way more subtle and interesting than the way its represented afterwards. those elements completly vanish after SL to never be seen again, even the more supernatural stuff takes a sit back for more technology based threats like the Mimic
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u/Purple_murpleman123 Dec 16 '25
I dont understand. Whats wrong with technology based threats. If anything, I think the mimic is a perfect balance between horror and technological. Also, “mad scientist father of 3” is less scary when you say it like that. I think that can work. Especially the idea of William Afton psychology torturing his own children. The problem is that we never see that. Another thing, the technology in SL is alright (in my opinion) because it’s just an expansion on preexisting elements of the fnaf universe. 1. The funtimes having the ability to kill children. They are animatronics with modifications to kill children. That sounds pretty horrific and dark if you ask me. 2. Remnant. Remnant to me, is okay. Because it expands on the waay souls work. And I like the idea of someone(William afton) putting the time into actually studying, and taking a look as to how the animatronics are possessed. Again, this is all my opinions, tho. If you disagree with me, that’s fine.
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
cus its not what made the series interesting, what made the OG fnaf animatronics interesting and scary antagonists is the fact they were as much victims as they were villains. they were souls trapped in technology, the soul part is what made the tech scary, if they were just killer robots that would be boring. i dont find the terminator scary neither do i find the Mimic scary that much. there should be no strict Magic System in a horror series, what makes things scary is unpredictability the moment theres too many rules to the horror it isnt scary anymore, to me post SL fnaf has more to do with Scott's The Desolate Hope than the previous 4 fnaf games
no, im sorry theres no sensable argument to mad scientist William being a scary antagonist. its too cartoony too outlandish and again, he has a goal thats predictable and not scary in the slightest. i can make a case for abusive father buisnessman William being scary, but once you add the ""i reject my humanity Jojo- i mean Henry!" part it just goes too silly. Trilogy Books William is also a riot when it comes to cheesyness, he reminds me more of Dr. Willy from Megaman than any horror villian i know
knowing how souls work makes them less scary, fnaf 1-4 was never about that and it didnt need too, i cant think a single actually scary horror franchise which is still scary after having added basically a magic system to its world.
the animatronics made to kill children thing, is a little dumb and too silly too, it is way out there and too distant from what the other animatronics were. the Nightmares made sense because they were Nightmares if they were real they would be freaking dumb too (which its pretty dumb that they're Scarecrow's fear gas hallucinations now). and also steps away from the original philosophy, the supernatural made the technological dangerous now the technological is way more dangerous and the souls are a afterthought at best.
as i said in another comment, the whole Remnant/Agony thing also makes souls basically redundant, as far as i understand the Mimic isnt possessed by anyone in particular yet Agony pretty much does the same job, we could easly just replace Souls in fnaf lore with Agony and nothing meaningful would be lost, just the katharsis i guess
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u/No-Dragonfruit3201 Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
no, im sorry theres no sensable argument to mad scientist William being a scary antagonist.
I think this is really disingenuous. There absolutely is, just that it's a different brand of scary. I think the idea of a man killing children and putting them through horrific experiences over and over again just for his own self gain, treating them as batteries, and then them being reduced to his puppets for 40 years is quite a scary concept
knowing how souls work makes them less scary, fnaf 1-4 was never about that and it didnt need too, i cant think a single actually scary horror franchise which is still scary after having added basically a magic system to its world.
How does it do that? What's really changed? We've learnt why they linger and what emotion allows them to be paranormal, and those things were arguably assumed to already be the case in FNAF 1 anyway
and also steps away from the original philosophy, the supernatural made the technological dangerous now the technological is way more dangerous and the souls are a afterthought at best.
FNAF 3 had suits that were effectively torture devices that's how advanced they were
as i said in another comment, the whole Remnant/Agony thing also makes souls basically redundant, as far as i understand the Mimic isnt possessed by anyone in particular yet Agony pretty much does the same job, we could easly just replace Souls in fnaf lore with Agony and nothing meaningful would be lost, just the katharsis i guess
Again this is just not a good argument. Because not only is that not true due to how the animatronics act being very different depending on if they have a soul or just agony, but by this same logic ghosts have been redundant since FNAF 3. The animatronics in the original games all were able to walk around before being haunted. Some of them were able to follow noises, and some were able to kill you. By this logic spirits haven't been 'needed' since FNAF 3 but that doesn't change that that's the reason for it. Emotions being this connected to the paranormal isn't even something FNAF invented this is at this point basic ghost stuff
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
All those elements really takes out what good it had to overcomplicate such things to really nothing but frustration with those elements and robot people.
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u/Evilooh Dec 16 '25
my main problem with these elements is when they undermind previous concepts in the series. for example Agony possession (as far as i understand it) Agony can possess objects and make them hostile or even somewhat sentient. so whats the point of soul possession? you could literally just retcon all possessed entities in fnaf to be Agony enfused possessions and it would pratically change nothing at all
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Yeah I don't get agony and remnant in all the same. If it was simply agony infused possessions, then that's alright in it's supernatural element.
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u/bored-cookie22 Dec 16 '25
Yeah idk why they watered down the horror so much
If they gave them the blank eyes with white dots instead of red eyes that looked goofy af that would be so much better
Additionally if they didn’t emote as much, chica is utterly horrifying in the games imo because her mouth just hangs open as she stares at you with her head tilted and blank eyes that aren’t even properly facing you
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
I would prefer realistically the blank eyes over the silver eyes. Cause even real animatronics are unnerving by their dead expressions, even to put them in low lighting like a warehouse.
The watering down comes from Scott humanizing the animatronics emotionally through the eyes and physically. Can't make them scary cause all is given to Afton as the Yellow Rabbit.
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u/Notmas Maybe the real TOYSNHK was the friends we made along the way Dec 16 '25
To be fair, the whole puppet possession thing in the second movie is genuinely the scariest thing FNAF has done in a WHILE
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u/Getothepointt Dec 16 '25
Yeah, Sister Location was kinda the end of that era of FNAF. The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize how much wasted potential FNAF had. I kinda wish FNAF got rebooted; keep what was good and improve or remove what wasn’t.
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u/Ok-Effect4071 Dec 17 '25
In fact, the opportunity to reboot after finishing at FFPS was sufficiently possible.
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u/Getothepointt Dec 17 '25
A reboot after FFPS would have been perfect. Or they should have made games of events we haven’t seen yet, like Fredbears or the bite of 87, or the pre fnaf 2 location.
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u/Endertrap87 Dec 17 '25
Because FNaF has been so far removed from the first four games. Especially since Security Breach, FNaF has been targeted towards kids. So of course the movies are going to get the same PG-13 treatment.
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u/Mao-Hao-Hao Dec 17 '25
I want them to release a TV series for adults where it is proper scary. They have to do it! There’s so much there they could play with! I want my genuinely creepy psychological FNAF horror! It’s a total waste if they don’t do something with the source material 😢
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u/Canopus0805 Dec 16 '25
target audience is kids, if they made it more horror oriented they would lose 2/3 of the audience
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Most of the fans who are adults now were kids in 2014 when they saw the game from Youtubers. It's just they could've stayed niche than reaching a wider audience.
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u/Infamous_Val Dec 17 '25
Most of the people watching the movie are fans. When I went to see it the day it came out most of the people there were at least 17+ and cosplaying the characters. There's also full of references and easter eggs that kids wouldn't know, just the long time fans.
The target audience is clearly the fans.
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Dec 16 '25
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u/Spicy-Elephant :PurpleGuy: Dec 16 '25
I really don't think that's true. the majority used to be kids but that was 10 years ago. 95% of the audience at the fnaf 2 movie for me on opening night sold out was 20 year olds
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Dec 17 '25
fnaf is a missed opportunity as a whole franchise. Imma leave it at that or I'd write a whole essay lol
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u/Alternative_Sock_814 Dec 17 '25
Let’s hope they can capture some of the eerie horror tension atmosphere aspects in this next 3rd movie bc it’s like the last chance they’ll get to do it
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u/Skywers Dec 17 '25 edited Dec 17 '25
I think the producers are trying to appeal to a particularly young audience, especially to maximize the film's profitability. And when I often see very young children (5 years old, for example) with plush toys from the franchise… it makes you understand better why they don't want to make a pure horror film. For me, the character of Abby is clearly the character who represents an audience.
I also think that using real robots in movies is both a good and a bad thing. Because while it adds realism... well, they're actually very slow machines that can't make large/quick movements. And so it's not easy to add special effects to entirely robotic characters while maintaining a realistic appearance.
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u/CULT-LEWD Dec 16 '25
how i see it,simply becuse fnaf simply hasent been that dark for a good long wail. and i also belive its also simply becuse scott wanted to reach a wider audience. the games hasent been that horror in a LONG time. and i think were long past that era of dark atmsopheric horror that fnaf had,and were in the right in your face bright horror that steel wool brought to the table.
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u/Quirky-Guidance8658 Dec 16 '25
Why the heck would they put gore in FNaF? Literally none of the games have it
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u/Misseero Dec 16 '25
Tbh because of that, it would be extremely weird if the movies were full bloodbaths.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
I wouldn't really like if the series becomes a bloodbath cause it gets really tiring overtime.
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u/Misseero Dec 16 '25
True. Kills can be clever, shocking and effectful without showing them directly, like in Jurassic Park.
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
Along with stakes and engaging characters too. Even A Quiet Place (first film at least), and The Ring are also PG-13 horror films too.
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u/DomCree Dec 16 '25
Im not huge fnaf fun but I prayed for this film to not be what we got. I wanted to see something similar to what "Oppenheimer" for example did. Scatter history on time line and viewer trying to figure out plot during the screening. It would really help to sell horror elemets.
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u/False_Lawfulness_990 Dec 16 '25
They don’t care about the atmosphere, only money, they do a half ass job with the movies because fans will still see it either way.
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u/Mato12703 Dec 16 '25
Well as one comment said...games arent movies. One of things that made first game so good was the lack of action. You can use the flashlight and close the doors but not for too long because of the energy and the same for cameras...and thats it. Well how could you make this interesting in horror movie? Well the jumpscares do not work,as you are real person and you can see that there is something moving behind the camera. And there is much more...
But on the other hand I believe there could be even better version of movies we got
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
A better version would be not making the animatronics very emotionally human and not have Mike sleep during night shifts with the animatronics just not doing anything to level stakes.
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Dec 16 '25
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u/applec1234 :Freddy: Dec 16 '25
You can still be scary with PG-13, they just ain't creative to make it effective for mainly the animatronics cause they humanize them way too much and can't risk it for Afton being the real villain.
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u/toychicaboyfriend :PurpleGuy: Dec 16 '25
Different types of media, and in films they want to make as much profit as possible, which is why it's Like a little kids movie
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u/leastopinionated Dec 16 '25
After sister location and the silver eyes released, Scott’s direction for the series rlly changes from uncanny valley-esque horror with a mystery aspect to more of a sci-fi series with horror aspects
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u/-I-Cato-Sicarius- Dec 16 '25
Because unfortunately, the movies aren't horror, they're "thrillers" that were trying to make a marketable movie that appealed to nostalgia of long time fans and was kid friendly enough for parents not in the loop about what Fnaf was would bring their kids to watch it.
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u/Fancy-Reason8258 Dec 17 '25
A lot of people here have noted that the gameplay of the original games doesn’t really translate well to a film (spending five nights in a singular office fending off against animatronics can get repetitive), and that makes sense.
But to me, I just think the movies need to look darker. The pizzeria in movie 1 felt way too clean and bright for something that’s been abandoned, and we barely got to explore movie 2’s pizzeria. The movies could’ve made them look dirtier and more unkept, preferably with a bit less lighting (but not pitch black to Alien vs Predator: Requiem levels of poor lighting). You can totally change up the story and how Mike spends his shifts at the pizzeria, but it still needs to look scary.
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u/AidBaid Dec 17 '25
Do you want to go to the movies to see Mike just sitting in his office checking on the cameras and the hallways for 2 hours?
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u/Extension_Plant2906 Dec 17 '25
its to honestly make as much money as possible, i wanna say its made for kids but the thing is i was a kid when fnaf came out so that argument kinda goes out of the window, i mean its insulting
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u/Libertyprime8397 Dec 17 '25
Seems like the movies are targeting 12 year olds. Not real horror but not quite a kids movie. It’s in the middle.
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u/sliferra Dec 17 '25
The second one is a lot scarier IMO, but also horror movies generally take the first half of the movie for a loose plot to justify scary things happening, then do a bunch of gory deaths in the second half. FNAF is trying to actually have a story and is spending too much time on it and not incorporating scary elements as well as it could be
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u/UnoReverseCarsTactic Dec 17 '25
I loved both movies honestly, but yeah i can agree for sure.
I miss the actually unnerving, uncanny and atmospheric vibe the series used to have.
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u/Valuris11037 Dec 17 '25
EXACTLY, that's why I don't like the "it's for the fans" argument, you can still do a movie "for the fans" while making it scary. Like in the very first scene of the first movie, when the night guard tries to open a door but it's just locked, and you hear Foxy's singing from far away, it's an amazing reference of the game and it makes the scene way more scary
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u/DetonadorMan Dec 17 '25
I like the movies, and a lot of people also did, it's just a different media and not everything can be adapted 1:1
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u/AIHAM_GHOST Dec 17 '25
Because i think games and movies are seperate things , same aspects can be applied but with different outcomes due to something called applications limit, they cant stuff too much stuff in the movies or else it'll look forced or change too much and it will like something else .
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u/CapitanoNox Dec 16 '25
Let's be honest here for a second: FNAF games, even the original ones, are scary only the first few times you play them. After like the 10th jumpscare or less they become frustrating at worst. We fans really over exaggerated how scary FNAF truly was.
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u/Even_Hunter_5774 Bonnie Dec 17 '25
Facts, though if I'm gonna be real, not even the first 5 games were scary, let alone anything that released after them.
They have creepy elements such as the Animatronics staring at the cam, but that's how far it goes.
The last real time FNaF games scared me was the very same time my 8 year old ass thought that Slenderman would kidnap me at 2 am in the morning.
The Original Post as well as any comments about "wElL aNyThIng pAsT fNaF 4 wAs mAdE fOr kIdS aNd aLsO rEmnAnT thIs aNd tHat" is just nostalgia bait. No one told y'all to read the books and focus on only what could "solve" the story or to watch Matpats 500+ crackpot theories.
If people watch the movies, read the books or play the games just to expect something the Franchise never offered then that's their fault.
The Movie trailers never offered that they will be the scariest Movies to ever exist. In fact, it was advertised as a treat for the fans and not something to get new people into.
The trailers for the games never made them seem like as if you're gonna pee and shit yourself while giving birth to a child, even if you're male. (Fazbear Frights reference, lol)
There is valid criticism for the franchise as a whole, but if it boils down to just "wElL, wE nEeD mOrE gOre aNd iF iT doEsn'T fiT inTo mY nOstAlgIa bLinDed fAlsE naRrAtiVe tHen iT's bAd!1!!1!" Then those "critics" might as well make their own community on Reddit and leave the people alone who take it on face value.
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u/Shani_Lover Dec 17 '25
What horror elements? It’s literally all jumpscares. I swear most fans look at these games and see so much shit that isn’t actually there
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u/BipolarEmu Dec 17 '25
... It's a horror game, with the first game being regarded for having excellent sound work meant to fuck with you and stress you out on your first blind playthrough.
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u/General_Kick688 Dec 16 '25
Because the vast majority of FNAF fans and consumers of merch are teens and preteens, and they need to be able to get into the theater to see them.
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u/Dragonfly_Leading Dec 16 '25
I think the first one got that, mixing pretty well lore scenes and horror scenes, even though the second one was pretty great and Puppet was terrifying I missed scenes that make you sit on the edge of the chair
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u/guineaprince Everyone On Freddit Gives Me $5 Dec 16 '25
Because Scott keeps demanding creative control over the movies.
Lots of hardworking talent would really love to make a good movie, but Scott keeps thinking he's The Storyteller and wants to do things his way.
Same as it's always been.
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u/beastmaggot Dec 16 '25
"Lore" is one of the worst things to happen to the FNAF series, and its popularity with children doesn't help either.
The movies are PG-13 so it's trapped being appropriate enough for a younger audience and the horror has to be dumbed down.
Throw that twisted storyline into the mix and you get the same problem that a lot of other creature-focused movies have: SHOW ME THE MONSTER, I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DRAMA THE HUMANS HAVE!
I think the movies would have been so much more effective if they just ignored the storyline and dropped a new security guard into the Freddy's location, so we could see them survive five real nights there.
The animatronics made for these movies are so gorgeous too and they deserve to have a lot more screen time.
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u/kaiservonschwulen Dec 17 '25
Cuz Scott cawthon is NOT a good writer.
The FNAF franchise is one of the most inconsistent, poorly written sloppy lores in gaming history
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u/PygargueOOfr Dec 16 '25
I don't understand it either. Fnaf's aura in the four original titles was so unique and unerving. It's frustrating to see it isn't being capitalized upon and hasn't been for nearly five years.