#everyone has their opinion on when it shouldve ended but it coulda had a good run after UCN to me

[fruitsofhell]

As someone who knows a good amount of the FNAF lore but kinda doesn't give a shit about it anymore, I dont understand when people say the FNAF movie was just lore fanservice. I thought the plot was fun and established its own rules and stakes rather well, and I found myself engaged by this Mike's struggles. And it's different from the Mike of the games (the last time I checked) and I'm happy they went with a protagonist who would better fit a movie's plot structure than a never-ending series of teasing games.

I know stuff like Vanessa being Afton's daughter is kind of a lore revelation I believe, but it was also a good twist in the film and made her compelling. I'm kinda fucked up over characters who have loyalty to people they know are monsters but don't know what to do with it. And I'm also happy af they didn't pull a Vanny (as fun as she could be), she just got to be normal and conflicted.

Other than the 2000s b-list kids movie conflict with the evil aunt - which honestly is corny in a good way - my only gripe with the story is that WHY Afton did the murders isn't established. He didn't get enough time to be a villain me feels, especially for how obvious the twist is, but like how often do murderers get good backstories in cheesy horror flicks? Atleast he didn't go on a tirade about remnant, the weird ass sci-fi magic the series brought in past "souls can haunt things" is wack to me, and I think from the film you can just extrapolate that he wanted power over his victims or somethin'. Which, I mean, is a common motivation for serial murder.

The movie is very cute and corny for what it is. Sometimes I wish it leaned into its melodrama more, but it's very fun. And it was worth it for the puppets alone. Speaking of the animatronics - I adore the characterization of them in this film, the biggest draw of them as horror mascots was always the mix between being kid-friendly but fucked up and haunted. Them being sweet to the lil sister and just wanting to play with her even if it meant murder was fun as hell. Personally I would've enjoyed seeing the kids also interact with the original personalities of the CHARACTERS of the animatronics, like forcing the machines to do their old bits even though they're in a horrible state. Driving home how decrepit and devoid of life the place these poor kids are trapped in is, yet they still just want to have fun and enjoy the silly cartoon animals. Stuff like that is what draws me to the aesthetics of the series honestly.