Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is now in theaters, featuring an animatronic chicken in an odd twist of film meme alignments. Dan Merl gives his take on this sequel, noting it was delayed by the news of Netflix's plans with Warner Brothers.
The film, directed by Emma Tammy and solely scripted by video game creator Scott Cawan, picks up a year after its predecessor. Mike, played by Josh Hutcherson, struggles with his traumatic past while raising his sister Abby, who receives a call from her animatronic pals at the original Freddy's Pizza. This sets the stage for a return to the horror origins of the franchise.
Familiar faces such as Elizabeth La return alongside Vanessa, Matthew Lillard as Vanessa's father in flashbacks, with Wayne Knight and Ski Ulrich joining the cast. The film faces scrutiny from Dan Merl for its pacing and lack of appeal to non-gamers, yet it does bring more excitement with a bigger budget.
The sequel improves marginally in delivering creepy visuals, like The Marionette antagonist, but acting and script consistency fall flat according to Dan. He remarks on the lack of fright in a horror-genre movie, despite some jump scares. Fans of the franchise may appreciate this iteration for acknowledging game lore, but Merl argues it fails to expand appeal to new audiences.
Merl highlights the Freddy Fazbear festival concept that barely develops and anticipates a sequel setup if box office results are favorable. He praises the improved animatronics from Jim Henson Workshop, noting the visual upgrade. However, without diverting much from fan service, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 inches towards 'fine' territory but retains a 'not a fan' rating from Dan.