Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a supernatural horror movie based on the beloved FNAF videogame franchise by Scott Cawthon, was shown in theaters on December 5, 2025, and was directed by Emma Tammi and written by Cawthon.
The movie starts with a flashback to 1982 at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, where Charlotte Emily, played by Audrey Lynn-Marie, sees William Afton, played by Matthew Lillard, lure a boy into the pizzeria’s back room. After saving the boy, with no help from the adults in the pizzeria, Charlotte ends up murdered by Afton and proceeds to possess a puppet animatronic called the Marionette, who has complete control over the other animatronics in the pizzeria. The movie then flashes back to 2002—a year after the events of the first movie—where Mike Schmit, played by Josh Hutcherson, and his younger sister, Abby, played by Piper Rubio, have to pay the consequences for the deadly mistakes the adults made back in the pizzeria.
The reviews of the movie are very divided, with some critics saying that it is an improvement to the first film, while others chastise it for being just as bad, if not worse, than the first one. Despite the negative comments the movie has received, FNAF 2 was a commercial success for its producers, grossing $109 million worldwide with a budget of only $36–51 million.
Many students at Cypress have enjoyed the film despite its critics. Sophomore Blake Degner saw FNAF 2 as being much better and more consistent than the first one. His favorite part of the movie was when the withered animatronics attacked Mike altogether. For the third movie, Degner anticipates that it will be based on the third game; however, he is unsure what the producers will do with the lore. Overall, Degner enjoyed the movie and appreciated how it reminded him of when he was younger, and he said, “The withered animatronics were always my favorite, especially Withered Bonnie.”
Sophomore Jakob Sucatre loved the movie, saying, “As someone who’s consumed all the FNAF media there is, it’s an amazing ode to the fans.” One of his favorite scenes from the movie was when the old animatronics fought against the new ones to help the protagonists. Sucatre had some moments from the movie that left him surprised, such as the phenomenal and unsettling acting from Freddy Carter, who played Michael Afton.
Although the FNAF movie is rated low by many critics, diehard fans will still thoroughly enjoy it.
