Aiden Lutjen, staff writer 

If you’re between the ages of 10 and 35 and haven’t heard the name “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” I’d honestly be genuinely surprised. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a video game series going strong since its first release in 2014; so strong, in fact, that the once-indie game now has its own Hollywood, big-budget film produced by Blumhouse Productions in tandem with the games creator, Scott Cawthon. 

A baffling amount of people my age grew up on this video game series, including myself, so you can only imagine the reaction the fanbase had once the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie was officially announced. Opening on Oct. 27, the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” movie made $132.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend, absolutely destroying the majority of estimates made on the movie, on top of becoming Blumhouse’s highest grossing opening weekend movie. The movie also smashed a ton of other records. You’d think with how movie critics absolutely despise this movie that it’d suck horribly, but money talks and so do the thousands of positive reviews from audiences worldwide.

I’ve been a fan of “Five Nights at Freddy’s” since 2014 when the very first game was released and popularized online. As a young kid with too much internet access and a lot of time on his hands, I became obsessed with the game and completely enamored with the storyline and all of its hidden details and secrets. To this day, seven main games later, I honestly still am, and walking into the theater with my just-as-passionate roommate, well, it felt like I was 12 all over again in the best possible way.

From a fan’s perspective, the movie was amazing. The plethora of references and easter eggs had me on the edge of practically squealing in excitement, and then actively cheering alongside the rest of the theater. With YouTuber cameos and amazing actors playing each role, seeing familiar faces had never been so exhilarating and nostalgic at the same time. 

Although the storyline isn’t loyal to the game to a T, it was still heavily based on the original story and I’m personally very happy with how it turned out. Not to mention, since the game creator himself, Scott Cawthon, was a part of the movie process the entire time, it obviously was created in accordance with or at least heavily guided by his vision. 

And oh man, don’t even get me started on the artistic aspects of this movie. The intro is lovely, music and all, the lighting in the restaurant is stunning and the fact that throughout all of this, there’s almost zero CGI, and pretty much everything is practical effects? Breathtaking! The animatronics are so much more soulful but also creepy because of their practical nature; that definitely would’ve been lost if they were CGI. 

And don’t forget to stay for the credits! To all the fans out there: pay close attention to the songs being played, there’s several very familiar tunes to hear, one of which might be hinting at a certain animatronics presence in a possible sequel!