Fans Have A Lot To Say About The Latest Five Nights At Freddy's Trailer
2023 has already featured more noteworthy video game adaptations than any year before it, so it's fitting that the "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie is shaping up to be one of this fall's biggest horror titles. Based on the popular video game series of the same name, the upcoming film stars Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, whose night security guard job at a pizza restaurant takes a turn for the worse when he realizes that its animatronic creatures are secretly possessed killers.
The Emma Tammi-directed movie is a new attempt on the part of Universal and Blumhouse to capitalize on the enduring popularity of its source material. Whether or not it'll manage to do that as successfully as, say, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and "The Last of Us" already have this year remains to be seen. Either way, with only a few more months to go before the film hits theaters, Universal has unveiled a brand new trailer for "Five Nights at Freddy's" today. The teaser offers new glimpses at the various horrors viewers can expect to see when the film hits theaters and Peacock on October 27.
Already, it seems safe to say that the newest "Five Nights at Freddy's" trailer is going over well with both casual viewers and fans of the original video game franchise, too. Indeed, in the hours since its release, social media has been flooded with positive reactions to the teaser. On Twitter, for example, @hisdarkmateria tweeted, "As a newcomer to the series – this trailer completely sold the movie for me," while @boii_dig wrote, "As far [as] video game adaptations go, this looks extremely promising."
Elsewhere, @FlamingDorit0s confessed, "This is so freaking epic. I'm definitely getting my whole family caught up in the 'FNAF' lore now."
FNAF fans love the new trailer's Scream reference
In addition to Josh Hutcherson, the cast of "Five Nights at Freddy's" also counts Elizabeth Lail, YouTuber CoryxKenshin, and Matthew Lillard among its stars. The latter actor is set to appear in the film as Steve Raglan/William Afton, whose role in the overarching story of the original "Five Nights at Freddy's" video games is best left unspoiled for those who might not yet know it.
That said, not only does the film's latest trailer further allude to Afton's larger role in its story, but it also manages to pack in a last-minute reference to Lillard's turn as Stu Macher in another iconic horror title, 1996's "Scream." Specifically, the trailer ends with one of the movie's villainous animatronics, Spring Bonnie/Springtrap, wiping a giant knife the same way that the Ghostface killers repeatedly have throughout the "Scream" franchise.
That connection hasn't been lost on the trailer's viewers. On the contrary, it's been noticed by numerous fans online, including @mxnomoon, who tweeted, "Springtrap doing the Ghostface knife wipe will forever be ingrained in my memory." The reference was also singled out by @Bonesy404, who wrote, "Spring Bonnie really thinks he's Ghostface with that knife wipe. (But he gets a pass because it's still super cool)," while @Blpirate09 professed, "I refuse to believe the knife wipe is not a reference to Matthew Lillard as Ghostface."
Viewers will have to wait until October to find out whether the "Five Nights at Freddy's" trailer's brief Ghostface homage is — as some fans believe — a hint at Matthew Lillard's real role in the film, or nothing more than a fun Easter egg for horror fans to catch and obsess over. Either way, it isn't the only detail in the new teaser that fans have been quick to point out.
FNAF fans love the film's practical effects
Most longtime "Five Nights at Freddy's" fans seem to agree that the movie's central animatronic killers look absolutely stellar in it. The film's creative team, notably, worked with the artists at Jim Henson's Creature Shop in order to bring its possessed killers to life as practically as possible. Based on the early reactions to the movie's latest trailer, it looks like that decision has already paid off in spades, too.
On Twitter, @Mesmua_ specifically noted how good the animatronic characters look in "Five Nights at Freddy's," writing, "[It] still blows my mind that an indie game series like 'FNAF' got the budget and appreciation to have fully moving and operating animatronics for its adaptation." That sentiment was echoed by @Yerocmai, who tweeted, "THE PRACTICAL SUITS ARE 100% GOING TO BE MY FAVORITE PART OF THIS MOVIE." Meanwhile, @MrIndoraptor54 singled out one of the trailer's final shots of Springtrap and wrote, "[It's] genuinely crazy how scary they managed to make him look."
There are, of course, certain fans who still have some reservations about the forthcoming "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie, which is understandable, especially given how lackluster many of Hollywood's previous video game adaptations have been. All in all, though, there seems to be more excitement surrounding the film right now than negativity. In that regard, the latest "Five Nights at Freddy's" trailer seems to have done its job. As is evidenced by the tweets quoted above, not only has it piqued the interest of some casual viewers, but it's also successfully raised many longtime fans' expectations for the film.
Now, those same fans will have to wait until October 27 to find out if "Five Nights at Freddy's" really is the big-screen adaptation they've been waiting years to see.