I Had High(ish) Hopes For Five Nights At Freddy’s 2, But My Two Most Glaring Issues Make Me Wary About A Third Movie

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Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, so be warned!

Look, I’ll be honest, what I really wanted from a live-action Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was something that just let the incredible animatronics – if Jim Henson’s Creature Shop had built them, that would have been amazing – take center stage, and didn’t bother too much with the human characters. Sadly, we’re not there yet. And even though I was cautiously optimistic, the new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, from Blumhouse and Universal, actually got worse reviews than the first one – you can read our review here – mostly because the story just wasn’t very well put together.

It’s no surprise that this franchise has a dedicated fanbase, and it was great to see FNAF 2’s opening weekend numbers exceed those of the first movie. This pretty much guarantees we’ll hear about a third film soon. However, I have some concerns about the sequel that make me hesitant to assume FNAF 3 will be a strong conclusion to the trilogy – these are issues that the creator, Scott Cawthon, should really address.

Skeet Ulrich’s Appearance Is Wildly Confusing At Best, Completely Mishandled At Worst

When news spread that Skeet Ulrich was joining the cast of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, many horror fans, including myself, immediately imagined a possible connection to his role in Scream and speculated about how the two actors might appear together. Fans quickly guessed he’d be playing Henry Emily, one of the creators of Freddy Fazbear. While Ulrich didn’t confirm or deny these theories when discussing his role, the possibility of him returning for a third film only made fans more certain they were right.

Like many parts of the movie, Ulrich’s extended scene with Josh Hutcherson’s Mike won’t resonate with viewers unfamiliar with the games. It feels like a shrug because Henry only discusses his daughter with Mike, never revealing the important connection between him and Vanessa’s father. The scene almost seems deliberately vague.

There are definitely connections to be made. The most obvious is that his deceased daughter was named Charlotte, but he also gave Mike a music box specifically intended for the ghost of Charlotte. Considering how few people design music boxes, this highlighted Henry’s skillfulness. However, unless you’re already familiar with the complex backstory from the video games, books, and comics, these details likely wouldn’t have meant much. It makes you wonder why the creator, Cawthon, didn’t simply establish Henry’s identity right away.

The story details are revealed in a strange way – through a voice message to Mike that plays during the credits. While this references the voice memos from the original game, it doesn’t work as well in the live-action show. Anyone who didn’t watch the credits might have been very confused by Skeet Ulrich’s sudden appearance.

Okay, so here’s something that really bothered me: there wasn’t a single scene with Ulrich and Matthew Lillard together. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out why that decision was made. It just feels like a missed opportunity, and I’m left wondering what could have been.

The Fact That Multiple Pizzeria Locations Exist (And Without Mike Being Aware) Is Ridiculous

Scott Cawthon had the opportunity to fix the confusing storyline he’d created with the Five Nights at Freddy’s games and create a clearer history for the Freddy Fazbear restaurants. However, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 repeated the same mistakes, resulting in the same plot holes and inconsistencies in the live-action adaptation.

It’s easy to forget that back in 1982, there wasn’t the instant public scrutiny of the internet or social media. But realistically, could a business geared towards families have survived if one of its founders’ daughters was killed while trying to save another child? It seems strange they wouldn’t have thoroughly questioned William Afton, especially considering how quickly Lillard’s character would likely fall back on over-the-top villainous behavior under pressure.

Honestly, even if I tried to accept the idea of multiple Freddy Fazbear locations opening after everything that happened with the missing children, I still have a problem with how it’s revealed in the story. It just doesn’t make sense that Mike is so shocked to find out about another Freddy’s – he’d have definitely heard something, even from a quick, accidental search! But it’s not accidental at all, is it? His whole family is deeply connected to William Afton and what he did, so it feels forced that he wouldn’t already know.

So, one of Mike’s siblings was killed by William Afton, and the other has been fixated on the robots Afton helped create for three years. On top of that, their aunt, who was motivated by deceit and greed, was killed by an animatronic. Yet, you’re saying that through all of this – the investigations, the trials – Mike somehow never figured out the history of the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza? Honestly, maybe he’s asking for trouble if an animatronic decides to bite him.

It’s frustrating that these problems could have been easily addressed in a movie adaptation, especially since Blumhouse and Universal are already planning a third film when so many horror movies are already in the works. And that’s not even mentioning the confusing introduction of Freddy Carter as Michael Afton – Vanessa’s brother and William’s son. If a movie has a small cast, it’s best to avoid using the name “Michael” if there’s already a character named “Mike.” But I’m getting off track.

The movie Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is now playing in theaters and will soon be available to rent or buy online before the year ends.

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2025-12-08 05:09