--- title: "Five Nights at Freddy's: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/five-nights-at-freddys/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/five-nights-at-freddys" critics_score: 41 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Five Nights at Freddy's (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 41 from 16 reviews: 1 positive, 6 mixed, 9 negative. Most critics find Five Nights at Freddy’s dull rather than frightening, and the spread is narrow: nine of sixteen reviews are negative, six mixed, and only one positive. The praise clusters almost entirely in one place, the animatronics built by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which several reviews call the real stars of the film. Josh Hutcherson’s lead performance earns a few kind words, and a handful of critics credit Tammi’s direction with some ambient dread and evocative detail. The reservations are just as consistent: a convoluted backstory, too much exposition and flashback, toned-down violence, and long stretches in which nothing happens. More than one review reaches for Scooby-Doo or Goosebumps as the nearest comparison. The lone dissenter is /Film, which reads it as a charming, kid-friendly horror film that respects its young audience and takes the sibling relationship at its centre seriously. Vulture sits at the other end, finding it bleak and joyless. ## Los Angeles Times — Jen Yamato Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. The surprisingly gory PG-13 horror offers refreshing bloodthirst and strong practical effects from the animatronics, along with confident direction and sensory production design. However, it leans too hard into traumasploitation and convoluted storytelling conventions that dilute the scares and runtime. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-10-27/five-nights-at-freddys-review-josh-hutcherson-horror) ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Rating 3/5. 26 October 2023. The critic finds it a solid shocker that follows generic horror tropes too closely, diluting the game's unique elements, but praises the animatronic creatures by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop for bringing fun and frights. It risks disappointing diehard fans due to toned-down violence and convoluted plot. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/five-nights-at-freddys-review/) ## Empire — Helen O'Hara Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. The film takes a muted, drama-focused approach to the video game adaptation rather than delivering scares or kills from the animatronics. It has a good heart and solid lead performance but feels toothless and disconnected overall. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/five-nights-at-freddys/) ## RogerEbert.com — Simon Abrams Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. The film has enough ambient dread to explain the games' appeal but relies too much on by-the-numbers plotting and anemic character drama. Tammi excels at evocative details and atmosphere but the movie feels like a generic post-Amblin kiddy fright-fest with weak dialogue and jump scares. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/five-nights-at-freddys-movie-review-2023) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. The review calls it a lacklustre horror adaptation that fails to deliver scares or laughs, relying on clichés, resulting in a tedious experience. It praises the rendering of the animatronic creatures by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop but criticizes the serious tone and uncompelling backstory. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/five-nights-at-freddys-review/5187294.article) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2023. The critic finds the film a competently made but maddeningly dull and unscary attempt to adapt the video game. The slow pace of the villains and a convoluted, nonsensical plot are singled out as major flaws that make it instantly forgettable. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/26/five-nights-at-freddys-review-halloween) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 October 2023. The film is criticised for promising chills but delivering yawns, with an awkwardly plotted script and low suspense. Josh Hutcherson's worn-out lead performance is noted as a rare saving grace amid the dull atmosphere and missed opportunities for black comedy. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/five-nights-at-freddys-review/) ## Total Film — Neil Smith Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 October 2023. The adaptation is ploddingly predictable and gore-lite, more like a Scooby-Doo episode than effective horror despite the menacing animatronics. It fails to deliver on its scary potential and lands as a yawner. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/five-nights-at-freddys-movie-review/) ## Variety — Murtada Elfadl Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2023. The adaptation squanders the game's creepy animatronics and unique setting in favor of a convoluted, humorless backstory for the protagonist. It features too few effective scares, repetitive beats, and uninspired direction that turns the material into a slog. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/five-nights-at-freddys-review-1235768953/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. The movie is a hollowed-out exercise in atrociousness that is neither scary nor fun, with its soul-crushing bleakness steamrolling any promise of the premise and characters that are one-dimensional and haunted in all the wrong ways. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-five-nights-at-freddys-is-unscary-and-unfun.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck 26 October 2023. The film never quite figures out what it wants to be and results in a snooze, aiming for cult status but delivering sanitized violence and a tedious backstory instead of genuine scares or excitement. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/five-nights-at-freddys-review-josh-hutcherson-1235628678/) ## /Film — Jeremy Mathai Rating 7/10. 26 October 2023. The critic praises the film as a charming, kid-friendly horror movie that respects its young audience with dreamlike storytelling and heart. They single out the strong sibling bond between Mike and Abby, along with the effective use of practical effects and old-school horror techniques for both scares and laughs. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1430619/five-nights-at-freddys-review-campy-gruesome-gloriously-funny-good-time/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2023. The review finds the film a safe PG-13 take that prioritizes character development and psychological elements over visceral horror. It singles out the Jim Henson Creature Shop animatronics and puppeteers as the real stars while noting the story drags and lacks the game's frights. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/10/five-nights-at-freddys-review-movie-version-popular-video-game-1235583731/) ## Polygon — Jesse Hassenger Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2023. It is not a particularly great horror movie, but it serves as a dizzying mashup of decades of pop culture that may appeal to fans; the tactile animatronics are impressive but the horror elements lack tension and are underplayed in favor of convoluted backstory. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23934016/five-nights-at-freddys-movie-review-horror-streamers/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 2/5. 26 October 2023. The film is a toothless PG-13 horror movie with fewer scares or laughs than old Goosebumps episodes, serving as mediocre fan service for young viewers nostalgic for the games. It wastes its amusing Chuck E. Cheese-from-Hell concept on stilted melodrama and mythology rather than creative horror-comedy. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/five-nights-at-freddys-review/) ## Collider — Chase Hutchinson Rating D. 26 October 2023. The film is dull and uninteresting, failing to deliver scares while fixating on explaining the game's lore through excessive flashbacks and exposition that exhaust the viewer and show a lack of trust in the audience. [Read the review](https://collider.com/five-nights-at-freddys-movie-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2023. The review calls the film a tedious adaptation that replaces the game's primal fears with endless exposition, humdrum drama and jarring tone shifts. It singles out the failure to capture the experiential terror of surviving nights at the pizzeria in favor of explaining mythology. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/five-nights-at-freddys-movie-review-2023/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/five-nights-at-freddys.md