Does The Five Nights At Freddy's Trailer Show The Bite Of '87?
The "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie is still months away from release, but that isn't stopping fans from going frame by frame and picking apart the film's trailer looking for clues. All of the lore of the "FNaF" games is admittedly convoluted at best and confusing at worst, with tie-in books expanding storylines and in some cases, fan theories eventually becoming canonized by franchise creator, Scott Cawthon. Some of the smallest, most nothingburger moments in "Five Nights at Freddy's" canon have been later revealed as extremely important to the game's bigger picture, which is why it's odd that we've yet to actually see the pivotal event known as the "Bite of '87."
There are two major "Bites" in "FNaF" lore, one in 1983 and another in 1987. Before the "Bite of '87," animatronics were permitted to walk around the premises of Freddy Fazbear Pizzerias on their own, a key component to the terror shown throughout the entire game franchise. The film adaptation was written with the approval and contributions of Cawthon, so many are seeing the film as a canonical entry in the "FNaF" story. It could act as a work of connective tissue or it could fill in some gaps in gaming lore, with many hoping that we'll finally get the chance to see exactly how "Bite of '87" played out. And based on the film's trailer, fans are already speculating how the film might feature both the Bite of '83 and '87.
What was the Bite of '83?
While featured in "Five Nights at Freddy's 4," the aptly named "Bite of '83" is actually the first sign of strange things being afoot at the Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria chain of restaurants and family entertainment centers. In 1983, a young boy known as the Crying Child was being harassed by older bullies at Fredbear's Family Diner. An older boy named Michael Afton wanted to scare the child, so he and his buddies convinced the Crying Child to put his head in the gaping mouth of the Fredbear animatronic. The dare was meant to resemble the way fishermen often dare their comrades to put their heads in the mouths of sharks or alligators, but tragically, the result was an absolute nightmare.
The Fredbear animatronic mouth snapped shut on the Crying Child's head, killing him instantly. It's been understood in the canon of "Five Nights at Freddy's" that this incident was a genuine accident, but the disaster rightfully caused the shutdown of the diner. Flashbacks shown in "FNaF 4" indicate that the little boy is Evan Afton, meaning Michael was unintentionally responsible for the death of his little brother, and putting the Afton family at the center of the devastating tragedies that plague all things Freddy Fazbear. It's not been made canon whether or not the Bite of '83 is solely responsible for making Evan and Michael's father, William Afton, lose his sanity and become the notorious serial killer responsible for the continued carnage at Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, but it was certainly a motivating factor.
The Afton family empire was built on the animatronic funland and was destroyed just the same.
Theories surrounding the Bite of '87
Throughout the "Five Nights at Freddy's" games, there are colloquial references to the "Bite of '87," but as of now, it has yet to be shown. The incident took place after William Afton sold the Freddy Fazbear license and new locations popped up under new ownership, like Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The location received four of Afton's original animatronics, but the new owners were obviously unaware that the characters were haunted by the souls of four children killed by Afton. It was first mentioned by the Phone Guy (later revealed to be William Afton) in the first game, when he tells security guard Mike Schmidt, "But then there was the Bite of '87. Yeah. It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"
That's because the infamous calamity saw a victim not completely lose their head, but have their brain severely damaged and still survive. Fans have speculated for years over which animatronic was responsible for the bite, with many placing the blame on Foxy, as he is depicted with sharp teeth. However, Foxy would have the same size mouth as the rest of the animatronics, and it would seem as though the results should be similar to the Bite of '83, with a clean decapitation.
Another popular theory is that the appropriately named (and discontinued) animatronic Mangle of "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" caused the bite, as its jump-scare happens while swinging from the ceiling and attacking the front of the player's head. However, the trailer for the "Five Nights at Freddy's" movie has a new theory entering the fold that wasn't thought possible ... until now.
The vengeance of Carl the Cupcake
In the trailer for "Five Nights at Freddy's," a group of delinquents break into the long-since shut down Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and completely destroy the place. They're smashing the glass of pinball machines and prize counters, stealing quarters out of the games, and kicking things over just for the fun of it. However, when one of the vandals starts sneaking around the kitchen, he comes face to face with Chica the chicken and her cupcake companion, Carl. The teen is rightfully terrified, but then Carl the Cupcake dives onto him and latches onto his head. He tries to pry Carl off of his face and while the trailer doesn't show the aftermath, there's no way that guy is leaving the pizzeria without some serious damage to his frontal lobe, if he leaves at all.
It wasn't until "Five Nights at Freddy's 4" that players learned that Cupcake even had the ability to leave Chica's plate and attack people, and considering Universal and Blumhouse gave Mr. Cupcake his own character poster ahead of the film's release, it seems safe to assume that Carl will be enacting plenty of horror on his own. Considering his small size and the fact his mouth (err ... frosting maw) is much smaller compared to Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, and Chica, he seems to be the perfect size for an animatronic to attack someone's head but not actually kill them.
We know that the "Bite of '87" took place during a birthday party, so this lawless ruffian getting attacked in the trailer is likely not the famed Bite, but could be the latest in a string of Carl the Cupcake attacks. "FNaF" fans are already debating it as a possibility across multiple threads on the "Five Nights at Freddy's" subreddit, with plenty outright dismissing the idea or finding it to be the absolute funniest possibility.
"Five Nights at Freddy's" will be available to stream on Peacock the same day it arrives in theaters, October 27, 2023.