Adapting a video game into a movie can be a dicey proposition, and a couple of years ago, Five Nights at Freddy’s did it about as well as any other movie. And, since there were sequels to the video game, there’s now a sequel to the movie, appropriately called Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.
Picking up after the events of Five Nights at Freddy’s, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 sees ex-security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson from The Hunger Games) helping his sister, Abby (For All Mankind’s Piper Rubio), deal with the trauma of losing her mechanical “friends” at Freddy Fazbear’s while helpful police officer Vanessa (You’s Elizabeth Lail) comes to terms with the awful truth about her father (Scream’s Matthew Lillard). But little do they know, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was a franchised chain, and the original location still has cursed animatronics in it, and they’re controlled by a mysterious and threatening Marionette. And they have a reason to come after Mike, Abby, and Vanessa.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 gets pretty much the whole band back together. Hutcherson, Rubio, Lail, and Lillard are all back in the cast, as are director Emma Tammi (The Wind) and writer Scott Cawthon (who created and developed the video game series). And the freakily colorful animatronic villains are all back, too. It’s a pretty consistent sequel.
So why isn’t it as good?
The plot of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 isn’t as coherent as the first movie, and the introduction of a more formidable “super-villain” from a different location doesn’t really feel complete. The spooky atmosphere is there, the actors all understand the assignment, and the camera and sound work are all passable, but when the ingredients come together, it’s a tough sell. And that fact seems to fall squarely upon the shoulders of the story and the script.
The narrative reeks of a desperate attempt to cash in on the moderate success of the first movie. It’s an adaptation of the second game in the series, so it plays as pure fan service. And fans of the game will be satisfied with what they see—the callbacks and references are all there. It’s almost alienating to those who aren’t as familiar with the game series. It’s easy to ask “should I recognize that?” when the camera lingers on an image or when a character is introduced.
The shining spot of the movie is the cast. Not just the leads, but the support cast and the bit players are all great. Wayne Knight (Jurassic Park) shows up as Abby’s antagonistic, dismissive science teacher. Freddy Carter (Pennyworth) brings his A-game as a creepy security guard who helps a Paranormal Podcast team into the decrepit old restaurant, and McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) pops in as the leader of the podcasters who winds up playing a more significant role in the mayhem. There’s even a minor Scream reunion when Skeet Ulrich shows up in a scene as a previous child victim’s father (although Ulrich and Lillard don’t share any screen time). The whole cast knows exactly what kind of movie they’re making—a B-grade techno-thriller.
It’s just not a very interesting B-grade techno-thriller. The plot has a few fun twists, but for the most part, it’s standard monster movie fare. The characters switch between running and fighting the enemy, and there’s a lot of wandering and meandering along the way. The plot gets a bit lost in the shuffle as it makes its way to its inevitable final boss battle. And not even a top-notch ensemble can save a movie from its own lack of focus.
Overall, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a disappointment for the average horror fan. It was made for fans of the video game, and they’ll probably find a lot to like in it. For everyone else, it’s a bit of a letdown.
GRADE: C-
Rating: PG-13 for violent content, terror, and some language
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes
Release Date: December 5, 2025
Studio: Universal Pictures
