While I was not all that familiar with the video games, my son was, which meant that the first Five Nights at Freddy’s movie was something we had to go and see. I thought that the first movie was ok, not great, but also not bad either, but I felt that Willy’s Wonderland had a similar premise and did it better. Still, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 looked pretty cool, and with it again, being made by Blumhouse, I was excited to check it out.
Where to Watch Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 was released on December 5, 2025. You can expect it to become available on Peacock several months after its theatrical release.
The Movie Review: A Stronger Sequel With Darker Twists
From what I remember, the first movie got a mixed reception, but Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 seemed to be mostly negative, so I was not expecting much. However, I actually preferred this to the first movie and felt that it did a very good job expanding the lore and offered some cool and creepy twists over what the first movie did. My son, who is very into the games, said that he liked how it was not just a copy of the games, and he is interested to see what they do for the third movie.
Returning and New Cast
Once again, we have our lead trio of Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, and Piper Rubio, with Matthew Lillard having a much, much more reduced role this time around. We also have a new cast member this time around in McKenna Grace, who I think could become one hell of a scream queen! In addition to this, we have Skeet Ulrich, who my son informs me, plays a character who is pretty major to the games.
Story Continues With New Threats and Emotional Depth
The story picks right up where the first movie left. Mike is still looking after his sister, Abby. Abby is pretty bummed out about her “friends,” the souls of the kids, trapped in the animatronic bodies. Chika, who is now voiced by Megan Fox, which I think is awesome, has been communicating with Abby and telling her that she and the rest of the crew need her help.
The Marionette
Well, turns out that this is not what it seems, and a new sinister force is at play! This new sinister force is called the Marionette, and she possesses the animatronic bodies and has a plot for revenge against the parents of the town. I will not get into spoilers here, but I found this pretty interesting stuff. The Marionette is not just a killing machine; she actually has a tragic reason to be doing what she is doing, and she looks creepy as hell.
Complicated Relationships and Backstories
There is a bit of a weird sub-plot going on with Josh Hutcherson’s Mike and Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa, where it is like they are dating, but not really. We get some interesting moments that fill us in on the backstory of Vanessa’s family, including a new character. I cannot speak for how this works in the games, but in the case of the movie, I found it interesting. Although the way Mike treated Vanessa at the end of the movie kind of felt like it came out of left field for me.
Visuals, Animatronics, and Atmosphere
Once again. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 looks fantastic! The animatronics look amazing, and there are different kinds of them this time around, which I thought were so cool. However, what I liked the most was the new location, there is a second location here, and the amount of little details in this pizza/play place is just so very well done. It certainly looks like they put the increased budget to good use!
Age Rating and Horror Elements: Still Toned Down
Now, I had an issue with the first movie, and that was that I felt they really held back so that they could get the age rating that the movie had. It is more of the same here with Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, sure, there are some creepy things and a few fun jump scares. But, like the first movie, I think if they could have given us a little gore, it would have been a better movie for it. Still, I had a fun time watching this, and I felt that it had a more complex and interesting plot than the first movie. If you enjoyed the first movie, I see no reason as to why you would not enjoy this.
