Looks Like The Mario Movie Effect Is In Full Swing With The FNAF Movie.

Looks like the Mario Movie Effect is in full swing with the FNAF movie.

OKAY, IT'S EVEN WORSE. IT'S ALIVE.

I...don't know how well I'm going to sleep tonight.

Apparently, a stink bug crawled up into the black fishnet part of my Haunt Couture Lagoona's skirt and died there. How, but more importantly, WHY???

Honestly everyone give it up for repulsed aces/aros. Yall get so much shit for having boundaries and its frustrating to watch. You're all getting sent complimentary gift baskets

Giant goober. Absolute silly. I love him.

Raph can't find it

I may be late to the party, but the party hasn't ended yet!

I haven't seen dancing pumpkin guy ONCE this year, are you guys okay?

My FNAF Movie Experience

I was so excited to see the FNAF movie on opening night. I had my mom with me, we had our snacks, and of course, my costume:

I'd been waiting for this for over 8 years. The hype was real--and not just for me. I only saw one other person in full costume (dressed as Afton), but plenty of others brought their plushies and wore their best merch.

Did the movie live up to this massive anticipation?

For me, yes. It has flaws, but as a tribute to the FNAF fanbase, I adore it.

LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

There were so many nods to the fandom. Here are the ones I can remember off the top of my head:

Dream Theory appearing as a book Mike reads

Chica's Magic Rainbow being the mascot/logo of an ice cream place at the mall

The Balloon Boy jumpscares. Annoying (but surprisingly effective) every time, just like the real BB.

Afton (as Steve) over the phone telling Mike, "See you on the flipside," referencing the "Phone Guy is Purple Guy" theory

Sparky/Fetch appearing as a spare suit

CoryxKenshin making a cameo as the taxi driver (My theater FREAKED OUT at this.)

Matpat making a cameo as the waiter at the diner, even saying his famous line, "But hey, that's just a theory." (Again, the audience was very pleased.)

The aforementioned diner being called Sparky's

TLT's FNAF song playing during the end credits

The animatronics were, of course, stunning. I mean, it's the Jim Henson company. Of course they were going to be awesome. (Oh, and Bonnie gets a plaid tie instead of just plain red. Adorable.) The actors inside the costumes did really well, too, mimicking their slow, deliberate, robotic movements. Except Foxy. He wasn't played by a suit actor at all, probably because of his skinny legs. So for that, massive props to the puppeteers. Oh, and his little "dum diddly dum" song? Kellen Goff sings it here. Amazing work from Mr. Goff as always.

I know some people were disappointed by the lack of on-screen gore, but honestly, I like how the violence was handled. FNAF has always been relatively blood-free, so it's only fitting. And honestly? That silhouette of Freddy biting Max in half was chilling, and I think it wouldn't have been nearly as good if we had seen it in full.

The horror as a whole was on the tame side, but it was still enough to spook my mom. Take that for what you will.

The Balloon Boy jumpscares were hilarious. So was Mr. Cupcake. The fact that Mr. Cupcake was the biggest threat out of the main animatronics was kind of awesome. Goofy? Heck yeah. But it's so silly that, at least for me, it loops back to being awesome.

Mike and Abby had an adorable sibling dynamic, and I am SO GLAD that Vanessa didn't end up as a love interest for Mike. Mike communicating with the children's spirits and taking damage from them through his dreams isn't something I expected, but I found it interesting. The Golden Freddy kid being the de facto leader of the missing children (and a manipulative little troll) was very fitting, too.

Art, specifically children's drawings, was a notable focus of the movie; the drawings seemed to symbolize communication, imagination, and escapism. I thought this was a creative way to incorporate the children's drawings that we've seen in the background since the first FNAF game.

Matthew Lillard as William Afton/Spring Bonnie/Springtrap doesn't get enough screentime, but he absolutely kills it when he's in the spotlight. I just wish there was more of him. Same goes for the animatronics.

Overall, while this isn't a perfect film, I love it so, so much. I can't wait to see what the future holds in terms of sequels, too; at the very end of the credits, "My Grandfather's Clock" plays, and a Speak 'n' Spell spells out "C O M E F I N D M E." FNAF 2 and the Puppet are at the very least being teased!