We’re deep into the era of video game adaptations—some of which truly shine. Prime Video’s Fallout delivers a gripping, faithful series, while the Sonic the Hedgehog films blend goofy action with accessible storytelling that welcomes newcomers into the franchise. But for every success, there are still exhausting misfires like The Last of Us season 2 or the Uncharted movie to bring expectations crashing back down.

Figure 1. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Lost in Its Story.

The 2023 Five Nights at Freddy’s film was a pleasant surprise, crafted by people who clearly understood the assignment and delivered one of the more enjoyable game-to-screen adaptations in recent years. Unfortunately, the sequel doesn’t reach the same heights. Figure 1 shows Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Lost in Its Story.

Loosely inspired by the 2014 game Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the second movie resumes shortly after the first. Security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson), his younger sister and ward Abby (Piper Rubio), and police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) are still dealing with the fallout of their battle against Vanessa’s father, serial killer William Afton (Matthew Lillard), whose animatronics were possessed by the children he murdered. Abby, grieving the loss of her robotic “friends,” now hopes to bring them back online.

Early in the sequel, we’re taken to the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, the haunted restaurant at the heart of the franchise. Here, the film introduces a new animatronic to the series: The Marionette, also known as the Puppet. In FNAF 2, the Marionette was a terrifying animatronic from the original location, possessed by another of Afton’s victims—a young girl named Charlotte. For the movie, FNAF creator Scott Cawthorn expands her story, giving her a clear motivation: she wants to escape Freddy Fazbear’s. Seeing Abby as the key—since Abby already trusts Freddy and the gang and longs to see them again—she attempts to enlist her help.

I loved the first Five Nights at Freddy’s film, even without having played any of the games. The story revealed the lore gradually, making it easy to follow, and the ’80s-style pizzeria setting immediately felt familiar.

That clarity is lost in the sequel. The story expands, introducing more animatronics, layers of mysticism, and additional murder backstory, which can be confusing for viewers unfamiliar with the games. Still, credit where it’s due—the Marionette’s design is unique and genuinely terrifying, standing out from the rest of the Fazbear gang.

Ultimately, the issue comes down to the writing. The first film was co-written by game creator Scott Cawthorn and a team that included director Emma Tammi. For the sequel, Cawthorn handles the script solo, with Tammi returning to direct. The result is a movie far heavier on lore, with the assumption that audiences already know the backstory—leaving key information for newcomers unexplained until late in the story.

At my screening, FNAF fans filled in the gaps for me with their reactions—gasps at shocking moments, nervous giggles when characters stepped into familiar spots. While helpful, that shouldn’t be how a movie communicates its story. If Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 aims for a mass audience, it needs to make room for viewers unfamiliar with the games. Instead, it left me feeling excluded from the fun that everyone else seemed to be having.

One early plot thread involves The Marionette and a mysterious music box beside her cage at Freddy Fazbear’s. Fans familiar with FNAF lore will understand how it ties to her and Charlotte, but newcomers like me only get the explanation near the film’s end. It’s a storytelling choice that weakens the experience—like if The Last of Us had waited until the season finale to reveal Ellie’s immunity to clickers, leaving viewers in the dark for weeks.

The sequel also falters as a horror movie. While a PG-13 rating limits gore, the first film delivered more effective kills and sustained tension around Freddy Fazbear’s dark secrets. Director Emma Tammi has shown she can craft compelling, PG-13 horror, but that energy is largely missing here.

Piper Rubio, returning as Mike’s sister Abby, remains one of the film’s highlights. She conveys her character’s grief and determination convincingly, mourning her robotic friends while fearlessly navigating danger to try and bring them back. Abby’s mix of sorrow and courage gives the movie a grounding emotional core amidst the chaos.

Yet Abby’s storyline is weighed down by one of the worst elements I’ve seen in a movie this year. Wayne Knight (Seinfeld, Jurassic Park) plays a science teacher who is unnecessarily cruel to her, dismissing her robot project and telling her to drop out of a competition. Later, when Abby presents her finished creation at the science fair, he deliberately destroys it, sending her running in tears.

While presumably intended as comic relief, the character comes off as mean-spirited. No one would tolerate a teacher behaving this way publicly, and seeing it unfold openly at a school event pulled me completely out of the movie.

In contrast, Skeet Ulrich shines as Henry, the father of one of Afton’s first victims. Though his screen time is brief, Ulrich makes Henry’s grief and self-blame palpable, portraying a father traumatized by his failure to protect his daughter. This scene is one of the film’s strongest, giving Josh Hutcherson the best material of FNAF 2 as Mike—and the audience—learn crucial information.

Vanessa, meanwhile, shows little growth. She remains haunted by visions of her father and avoids confronting them. You’d think surviving a battle against a serial killer stepdad and his army of possessed animatronics would change a person, but not her. Elizabeth Lail isn’t terrible in the role, but her constant breathless delivery—perfect in You season 1—doesn’t suit this film. It undermines her ability to convincingly react to the absurd, supernatural chaos around her. While this didn’t bother much in the first movie, then we were still getting to know Vanessa; now, it makes her performance feel off-putting.

Between the convoluted plot, underwhelming horror, and uneven acting, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a step back from the first film. It’s disappointing: while there are moments that fans may enjoy, and plenty of animatronic mayhem, the story is a mess for anyone not deeply familiar with the games. The original movie felt like an invitation to its world. This sequel, by contrast, risks leaving everyone but the most devoted franchise fans feeling like outsiders, scrambling to keep up.

Source: Polygon

Cite this article:

Priyadharshini S (2025), Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Gets Tangled in Complicated Lore, AnaTechMaz, pp.361