Five Nights At Freddy's Director Talks Frightening Fun And The Possibility Of Sister Location [Exclusive Interview]
This post contains spoilers for "Five Nights at Freddy's."
It's been nearly a decade since it was announced that a film adaptation of "Five Nights at Freddy's" was coming our way, and for fans who have been there since the beginning, it's hard to accept that it's finally here. The first "Five Nights at Freddy's" game launched in 2014, and has since become a pop culture phenomenon. Considering we no longer have a monoculture (outside of "Star Wars" and some superhero properties), it might be hard for non-fans to understand just how huge the fandom truly is. Trust and believe — the "FNaF" fandom rivals any group with a cute nickname but with a hell of a lot more fan art. People have been theorizing and dissecting every last crumb of promotional material for months, but now, it's time to finally step inside Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, "a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life."
The script was co-written by game creator Scott Cawthon, so diehards can take solace in knowing that the story — while not meant to recall the exact game or book lore — was crafted with the assistance of the person who started it all. But "Five Nights at Freddy's" would be nothing without the incredible creative team behind it, including Jim Henson's Creature Shop, who brought the animatronics to live-action, and director Emma Tammi. I recently had the chance to interview Tammi (wearing my Chica the Chicken "Let's Eat!" shirt, no less) about working on the film, and whether or not we can expect a visit to the "Sister Location" of Circus Baby's Pizza World anytime soon.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'We really wanted this to be inclusive to a younger audience'
This movie is spooky and creepy, but I don't think we're going to have moms of 10-year-olds writing thinkpieces about how their kids are scarred for life. So how did you find that balance of spooky, creepy, and scary?
Oh gosh. Well, I hope we didn't scar anyone for life, so I'm glad to hear you say that. We really wanted this to be inclusive to a younger audience and there are so many younger fans with this franchise, but also certainly hope to have nailed some of the jump scares like playing the game. The atmosphere and the creepiness that you're talking about was one of the things that sat in my bones the most. Of course, there are the jump scares, iconic jump scares, and those are incredibly scary, but most of the time, you're feeling the creepy atmosphere.
That's the majority of the gameplay time. So we really wanted that to come across in the film as well. And I think just the fun mashup that is "Freddy's." Creepy fun — just funny and terrifying. It's all those things at once. So that also felt really fitting, I think, for a PG-13 rating where we were able to include some of the childhood wonderment elements and also the fears that are the flip side of that.
'There's this element that Abby is connecting with that is not sinister and that is pretty pure'
And on the note of the childhood wonderment, I mean, the lore of "Five Nights at Freddy's" is deeply messed up. I think we all know that.
Deeply.
But being able to see the animatronics still maintain their own childlike wonder — knowing there are children inside them — building forts, and dancing with Abby was weirdly heartwarming. How did the decision come to let them still be kids?
Yeah, I mean, it's so true. And one of the things Scott [Cawthon] emphasized to me in the early days when I came on board the project was just like, the animatronics are — they're innocents. The ghost kids inside them are, they're innocents. Of course, then they go into killer mode and that's a whole different thing. But it was like, "Oh, there's this element that Abby is connecting with that is not sinister and that is pretty pure." So we were trying to find opportunities to show that as kind of the counterbalance to some of the more terrifying moments. And also just because it's weird and funny. I mean, seeing huge animatronics do anything that's normal, like building a fort with a kid or whatever, is hilarious and awkward. So I think we saw an opportunity to bring that out in the movie as well.
The movie consistently feels fun even with those big jump scare moments, like when Foxy is coming around the corner and going to go really fast because that's Foxy! Was the on-set environment as fun as the final movie?
It really was. It was a great group, both cast and crew, and everyone was so excited to be a part of this adaptation. And if they didn't know the game well, their kids did. Everyone had a connection to "Freddy's" in some way and knew what an amazingly exciting task we had to make this come to life for the big screen. So everyone was really excited, super talented group. Everyone was also just a genuinely great person and the collaborations were just off the charts wonderful.
The expanded universe of FNaF
The fandom of Five Nights at Freddy's is very big on their lore and theories, but this is kind of its own thing. What do you hope the diehards take from the movie?
Yeah, I mean the franchise is so sprawling at this point. You've got the games, you've got the books ... I think an expanded universe is, we are partaking in that. There's already a precedent for that. But I do also think that what we have taken from the lore and the franchise is also pretty fundamental. And I hope that people feel like the fabric and the feeling of Freddy's is completely woven into the movie and delivers on the thing that they wanted, but also is surprising and new and different as well. We were really lucky to be working with Scott on this, so his instincts for what was going to resonate with the fans, I really trust. So yeah, I'm excited to see what they think.
I found myself getting those little giddy moments of like, "Oh, Balloon Boy!" But you have this opening for possible sequels, and we did see a little bit of Circus Baby. Is "Sister Location" something that you would want to pursue?
I am not closing the door to that at all. I would be so excited to pursue additional films in this world. So, fingers crossed.
I am hoping we eventually get the Glamrock versions. Chica is obviously my girl, but Glamrock Chica, especially.
You got some Glamrock hair happening right now. You're bringing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That would be super fun. There's so much to tap into.
'What a cool freaking character'
There are plenty of things to do. Speaking of, I'm so happy that Mr. Cupcake gets so many opportunities to shine! So when did that become part of the process of, "We really just have to let Cupcake have his minutes"?
Cupcake is just so cool. I can't remember a defining moment where it was a decision to let Cupcake just — we were always incorporating him because it felt like such a missed opportunity not to. I mean, what a cool freaking character. And then the way Cupcake came out in terms of the design and build process with Jim Henson Studios was just so amazing. I think everyone was a little obsessed with Cupcake, and I think for good reason.
So, I was creeping on Reddit forums and people were talking about going to the theaters in full "Freddy" costumes.
Yes! Oh, that would be so great.
But at the same time, since this is going day and date, we're going to have viewers watching it at home, doing the sleepover thing. For so many of these younger viewers, Freddy is "their" horror icon. How do you process knowing your movie is part of that?
I mean, I am tearing up a little bit hearing you say that, because it's really emotional. I mean, I feel really honored to be a part of that and I'm so excited that they have it to start consuming soon and I think it's really a privilege to have been able to be a part of this because hopefully, it's going to mean a lot to a lot of kids — and adults too, I hope. But I know it's been a long time coming, so I'm excited that it's finally here for everyone.
"Five Nights at Freddy's" is available in theaters and streaming on Peacock.