Five Nights at Freddy's 2 - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Five Nights at Freddy's 2



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
The horror genre is probably my favorite genre, along with the action genre, when it comes to films. I don’t know why, but I love a good slasher, supernatural flick, or torture fest. I like thrillers, creep fests, creature features, and everything in between. I’ve seen so many bad horror films that strangely work, and good horror films that get overlooked. And being a horror fanatic, I’m used to being beaten down by the vast majority of horror films that are genuinely “bad” from a technical standpoint. But one thing that frustrates me more than any other woe in my complaint repertoire is that of a BORING horror fest. Usually, these come in the way of PG-13 horror flicks, but not always. This time, it seems to fall directly into that category, and the film had potential, too.

Based on a popular series of survival horror indie video games, 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s was a decent enough horror movie. It starred a solid cast of actors (including Matthew Lillard, who rarely disappoints), a decent enough premise from the video games, buuuuuuuuuut it had a PG-13 rating. I missed the initial film release years ago until I got the 4K disc to review a few months back, and I kind of understood why I passed on it. The 2023 flick was solid enough, but nothing too special, featuring a bunch of animatronic puppets from a local kid’s pizza joint that became possessed by the spirits of a serial killer’s victims. The only thing is, their spirits were a bit vengeful, and when nighttime came around, they were out slaughtering the innocent. That is, until Mike (Josh Hucherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) figure out a way to finish them off and keep them trapped in the rundown and defunct Freddy’s.

The sequel picks up a year after the original events, with Mike and Abby doing their best to put their life back together after all of the chaos. Police officer Vanessa Ashton (Elizabeth Lail) and Mike are sorta dating at this point, having bonded over dealing with the same serial killer (and the fact that Vanessa was the serial killer’s daughter). But now the monsters have been unleashed once more, this time not bound by the spirits of the dead children that Mike and Abby put to rest, but by the spirit of one of the oldest victims. Charlotte, Vanessa’s childhood friend who her dad murdered in the very first Freddy’s ever built back 20+ years ago. And of course, once more, Mike and Vanessa have to figure out a way to get rid of the animatronic monsters and get Charlotte to give up her lust for revenge. If they can.

As I said above, I don’t mind a bad horror movie as long as it's got some spice. Bad horror movies are a staple of a horror fan's viewing habits, but what I can’t abide by is a BORING horror movie. And sadly, that’s exactly what Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is. While the first film was just bordering on being bland and derivative, the sequel actually slips right into that category. There are some bright spots in the film (namely, Matthew Lillard for a 5-minute cameo, and the animatronics are great), but there are quite a few problems too. Mainly, that the real scares don’t come till about an hour into the film. The entire rest of the story is just setting up backstory for an ending we can see coming a mile away, and have predicted since the first opening sequence with Charlotte.

But secondarily, Josh Hutcherson is sort of the problem, despite him being one of the best parts of the first movie. It’s as if his personality is completely altered, and he devolved in this film. In Five Nights at Freddy’s, he was warm and comforting to Abby, while in this one, he’s cold and dismissive of her trauma and grief. He continues a relationship with Vanessa, and yet views her as a “project” (as stated in the film), whom he just needs to fix. And even his situational awareness in the film comes across as contrived and dullardly. But the most egregious problem is that the final few seconds ending is EXTREMELY contrived and sets up a third film so heavily that it means that the ending here isn’t really an ending. Like a Marvel movie, the ending is simply to hype up the next one.




Rated PG-13 for violent content, terror, and some language.




Video:

The 2.00:1 AVC encode generally looks very pleasing to the eye, and is a solid-looking digital shoot. We get a mix of Garishly bright colors within the old restaurant and flashbacks, while the rest of the film is grungy and sort of gritty, set in the dead of night or inside the ramshackle original restaurant. Colors are vibrant while outside, while deeply saturated and dulled inside. Fine details are satisfactory across the board, but the sort of gungy look that the film employs a lot of the time keeps things a bit murky in the darkness. Black levels themselves are generally fine, but the constant black/blue/gray night snots can seem to obscure a bit of detail at times.








Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track that is found on the disc is probably the highlight of the entire package, giving us a robust and exciting track that runs a nice balance between reserved and explosive, depending on the scene. Dialog and vocals are clean and clear as a bell (as expected), with a strong dynamic range that likes to run the gamut as we jump from quiet (but ambiance-filled) moments inside Freddy’s Pizza, to the slamming and roaring of the demonic animantronics as they try to kill everyone. Overheads are more of the ambient, subtle variety, giving us a lot of nuance to the score and “off in the distance” chirps, creaks, and groans of the aging, ramshackle old Pizza joint. Surrounds also make great use of that atmosphere and ambiance, but also incorporate a goodly bit of discrete sounds as well. Especially in regard to the attacks by the robots, as well as Vanessa’s car screeching around corners as she attempts to intercept them.










Extras:

• EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH: THE CAST – Revealing interviews and behind-the-scenes footage highlight how actors develop their roles to fill the FNAF world with new mysteries, thrilling surprises, and fan-pleasing lore.
• BRINGING FREDDY & FRIENDS TO LIFE – Learn how stunt doubles and puppeteers advance animatronic terror to the next level.
• MANGLE MAYHEM – Witness Mangle come to life as a nightmarish, multi-limbed monstrosity.
• HIGH-STRUNG – Cast and crew reveal the multiple methods used to turn the Marionette into an eerie entity whose unique design and haunting movements are unlike any other animatronic.
• SENSORY OVERLOAD: EXPLORING THE SETS – Actors join the artists behind the production design to serve up details on the Easter eggs and game inspirations lurking inside the incredible sets.

Final Score: ​

At the end of the day, I had a moderately good time with Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but sadly, the sequel suffered even more than the 2023 original did. It had the benefit of a great location, a wonderful cast, and a dedicated fanbase thanks to the very popular video games. Unfortunately, the story and direction were not the best, leading to a conclusion that makes the audio feel like this was just a segue for the next one. Personally, I felt that the Nic Cage clone, Willy’s Wonderland, was a better take on the genre (seriously? How am I recommending a modern-day Nic Cage movie over this?), and handled the gore and violence much better. But hey, fans of the IP may get a kick out of it, despite me not being too wild over the film. I’m gonna have to put a “low rental” stamp on this one.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard, Wayne Knight, Freddy Carter, McKenna Grace
Directed by: Emma Tammi
Written by: Scott Cawthon
Aspect Ratio: 2:00:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish, French (Canada) DD+ 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 104 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 17th, 2026

Recommendation: Low Rental.