“Five Nights at Freddy’s” Returns to Theaters
One of two poster designs for the new film, this one showing off the new toy animatronics. (Joshua Nola/The Santa Clara)
“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”—the latest film from horror studio Blumhouse—premiered in theaters on the evening of Dec. 4, 2025.
The film is a direct sequel to its predecessor “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, released on Oct. 27, 2023.
Now, two years later, the tale of survival against haunted animatronics continues. A-listers Josh Hutcherson—best known for “The Hunger Games”—and Elizabeth Lail—of “You” fame—reprise their roles as security guard Mike and police officer Vanessa, respectively.
Many side characters—like Mike’s younger sister Abby, played by Piper Rubio—also return with expanded roles.
Both films are based on the 2014 horror games of the same name. In them, the player must survive the titular five nights while fending off the haunted animatronics until their shift ends and they can go home.
The creator of the game and producer of the films, Scott Cawthon, described the original titles as his last attempt at game design before giving up.
In an interview with Indie Game Magazine, he said, “I’d made a family-friendly game about a beaver before this. People said that the main character looked like a scary animatronic animal. I was heartbroken and was ready to give up on game-making… I thought to myself—I bet I can make something a lot scarier than that.”
And thus, Five Nights at Freddy’s was born. Ten games and more than two dozen novels later, its second feature film—directed by Emma Tammi—has hit the silver screen. It returns to a world similar to the games, with the same familiar cast of characters, yet diverges in many key plot points.
Unfortunately for fans, early critical reception of the film appears negative. As of writing, it holds an 11% critic score on the popular review-aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes—22 points behind its prequel, which sits at 33% on the same platform.
“The visuals were a clear improvement from the previous installment, but the plot and sound design seemed to take a step back,” said TJ Donato ’25. “It relied on overly loud screams for scares, and the plot barely changed from the first 20 minutes to the end.”
Although audience scores are yet to be released, it’s notable that the first film scored significantly higher with viewers—86%—compared to critics. Only time will tell if the same pattern emerges with this new installment.
“I hope the third movie can fix some of its mistakes,” said Donato.
For those looking to see the film, whether they’re fans of the source material or not, it’s now playing at several theaters near campus. The closest is the Valley Fair Alamo Drafthouse, about a nine minute drive away. A slightly smaller option is the Cinemark CinéArts at Santana Row, also roughly nine minutes from campus. Standard adult tickets cost around $15, after fees, at both locations.