FILM REVIEW: FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 (15) ESP RATING: 2/5

You could just pretty much ‘cut and paste’ my review of the first FNAF film – minus the initial thrill of seeing this video-gaming world unravel on the big screen.

The same things that reared its head just over two years ago are still prevalent in this very lazy and underwhelmingly predictable sequel.

Yep, for younger fans it’s nice to see the introduction of new characters from gaming lore, but bar that fan service, this is as basic as they come.

Once again it falls into that awkward filming age bracket of being a 15 – due to a few very fleeting horror elements – but could have easily been a 12A with a bit of minor editing. In fact it’s a PG-13 in the States.

Which means my 11-year-old son – who is a fan of the video games – would (and should) have been able to see it, bar a handful of jump scares, and ‘implied’ gore.

The formulaic paint-by-numbers storyline – complete with extremely wooden B-movie scripting throughout – sees Elizabeth Lail’s surviving Vanessa (daughter of original film’s main antagonist, Matthew Lillard’s William Afton) having flashbacks to her younger self witnessing her father killing a girl called Charlotte – at a different original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria venue – whose spirit ends up inside a Marionette animatronic.

Fast forward to 2002 – a year after the events of the first film – and former security guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson) is still trying to help his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) come to terms with the loss of her animatronic friends – Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy – while he attempts to start a relationship with Vanessa, who is still struggling with the psychological trauma of her father’s murderous acts.

But alas, things aren’t meant to remain forgotten, and when Abby heads back to the ramshackle restaurant from the original in an attempt to try and find her old friends – under the illusion of a school science project orchestrated by her surly teacher Mr Berg (played by Seinfeld alum Wayne Knight, who deserved a way better script) – she finds a FazTalker, and the inevitable chaos ensues.

The Marionette pulls the strings from afar as she communicates via the machine, and ‘withered’ evil versions of the iconic animatronics are unleashed – leading to the obligatory stand-off for the finale. Seen hundreds of times before.

A to B, to C. And that’s about it. Not a lot of ingenuity to be had here.

Which fortunately is just about passable for fans of the game – but is way too horror-lite for the average adult cinema-goer. As far as ‘15’ rated movies go – this is very tame. And mostly lame.

But after the box-office opening there will undoubtedly be at least one more night at Freddy’s.

Let’s just hope that next time someone cares enough to put some ‘thought process’ into this franchise – that deserves way better than this.

ESP Rating: 2/5

Gavin Miller

Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough & Odeon Luxe Peterborough, Out Now

Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Freddy Carter, Mckenna Grace, Wayne Knight, Theodus Crane,  Kellen Goff, Megan Fox, Skeet Ulrich & Matthew Lillard

Running Time: 1 Hr 44 Mins

Director: Emma Tammi

Film Review Venue: Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough

For all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Showcase Cinema De Lux & Odeon Luxe Cinemas go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk and www.odeon.co.uk