The second “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) movie was released to theaters on Fri., Dec. 5. Based on the “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” horror videogame about killer animatronics, both critics and fans of the franchise had high expectations for the film, especially after the success of the first movie, which generated more than $250 million at the box office.

The film features the return of several characters, including Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, Piper Rubio as Mike’s sister, Abby Schmidt, Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Afton and Matthew Lillard as Vanessa’s father, William Afton.

The film also featured several new characters and animatronics.

The movie begins in 1982, when a girl named Charlotte Emily, played by Audrey Lynn-Marie, witnesses William Afton kidnap a child at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. After failing to convince the adults present to help her, Charlotte follows William to the back room in an attempt to save the boy. William chases her down the hallway as she carries the boy back to the main play area. However, she is fatally stabbed and succumbs to her wounds, falling into a trapdoor in which her favorite animatronic, the Marionette, is housed.

Then, the film transitions to 2001, one year after the events of the first movie, which Mike, Abby and Vanessa were involved in. Rumors around the events of the first movie have become an infamous local story, inspiring the town’s first Fazfest, a festival dedicated to celebrating the animatronics.

Abby, missing the animatronics from the incident, constantly asks Mike to visit her “friends.” However, Mike, not wanting to reveal the truth about the destroyed animatronics, tells Abby that they are broken and need to be fixed.

Alongside this, Lisa, played by McKenna Grace, and her friends go to the pizzeria to shoot video clips for their television show. Greeted by a man named Michael, played by Freddy Carter, she is given a tour of the pizzeria. Michael, who is treated as a side character, actually plays an extremely great role in the video games, so this was frustrating to see.

As Lisa traverses through the location, she encounters a large box. The box opens to reveal a reanimated Marionette, which then attacks Lisa as it is possessed by the spirit of Charlotte. In this movie, Grace plays a supporting role. However, prior to watching the movie, many fans believed that she would be a main character, leading to much disappointment.

After this happens, Abby sneaks out to the pizzeria to reconnect with her friends. She specifically asks the animatronic Toy Chica to be her science fair project, as her teacher had broken her previous submission. As Toy Chica agrees, Abby unintentionally releases the Marionette, as well as the other animatronics, into the town.

The Marionette, possessed by an enraged Charlotte, angrily vows to kill all parents in the town, as they had not helped Charlotte when she needed it. Vanessa, Mike and Abby team up once again to stop the Marionette and the animatronics, with the help of Charlotte’s father, Henry Emily, played by Skeet Ulrich. This choice was not satisfactory as in the games, the Marionette is a protector. However, in the movie, she is portrayed as a careless killer.

Similarly to the first film, the FNAF 2 movie did not stay true to the plot of the video games. However, many fans appreciated the many references to the original video games, as well as references to viral FNAF jokes and memes.

The film also incorporated actual gameplay into the plot as Mike sat in the office and checked the security cameras for incoming animatronics. This greatly improved the film and added to the overall experience. The movie was also scarier than the previous film, as it featured many jumpscares and the creepy Marionette. The various plot twists were also positively surprising.

The casting for the new characters was well-executed, and each actor brought their characters to life.

The voice actors for the animatronics also did very well. Megan Fox voiced Toy Chica, Kellen Groff voiced Toy Freddy and Matthew “MatPat” Patrick voiced Toy Bonnie. Fans were ecstatic to hear the casting for the characters, as Groff voiced Freddy in the video games and MatPat was a very popular YouTuber in the franchise.

The movie’s ending seemed to be quite cheesy, however. The computer-generated imagery for the puppet possessing characters was quite obvious and should have been fixed.

Despite these flaws, the movie was a huge success, making over $60 million during opening weekend. The movie was an enjoyable throwback to the video games, and fans are already excited for the next film installment of the franchise.