Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)!
Five Nights at Freddy’s director Emma Tammi has revealed how a note from game creator Scott Cawthon altered the way the dark animatronics were presented in the film. The new movie is based on a video game series of the same name, which centers around a security guard that must survive the night against haunted animatronics. In both the game and the movie, it’s revealed the characters are possessed by the ghosts of murdered children.
Speaking with SlashFilm, Tammi explained how a note from Cawthon about the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie made them embrace a more innocent side to the characters. The director noted the kids still had an innocent side to them despite their robotic forms, something explored in the film through their relationship with Mike’s sister Abby. Check out what Tammi had to say below:
One of the things Scott [Cawthon] emphasized to me in the early days when I came on board the project was just like, the animatronics are — they’re innocents. The ghost kids inside them are, they’re innocents. Of course, then they go into killer mode and that’s a whole different thing…
There’s this element that Abby is connecting with that is not sinister and that is pretty pure. So we were trying to find opportunities to show that as kind of the counterbalance to some of the more terrifying moments. It’s weird and funny. I mean, seeing huge animatronics do anything that’s normal, like building a fort with a kid or whatever, is hilarious and awkward. So I think we saw an opportunity to bring that out in the movie as well.
How Five Nights At Freddy’s Balanced Horror & Humor
While the games its based on are more centered around horror than humor, the movie adaptation presents a different side to Freddy and the other animatronics. When they befriend Abby, the pizzaria mascots become momentarily friendly, helping her build a fort from tables and chairs without harming any human characters. While this is later revealed to be a front in order to kill Mike’s sister so she can join them, it shows there is still some innocence buried in their souls.
This becomes apparent during the Five Nights at Freddy’s ending, when Abby reveals the truth to the animatronics about how William Afton killed them. Upon realizing the identity of their murderer, the children attack him, causing the springlock mechanisms in his own suit to malfunction, slowly killing him. While the children still possess their suits, it appears they now understand who their true enemy was.
While Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 hasn’t been confirmed yet, it’s possible a sequel could further explore how the child ghosts have been impacted by Afton’s demise. This could create even more moments that balance out the scariness of the animatronics with their innocence. For now, Five Nights at Freddy’s has demonstrated a depth to Freddy and his friends that added a new, humorous twist to the film.
