Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s was a big hit for Universal and Blumhouse, making $297 million at the box office from a $20 million budget. This feat was particularly impressive, given that the film had weak reviews and a simultaneous theatrical and digital release. The sequel builds on the lore of the property.

In 1982, a young girl called Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Marie) was violently killed at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and her death was covered up. Her old friend, Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), still suffered from nightmares 20 years later. Mike and Abby Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson and Piper Rubio) survived an experience at another Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location, but Abby misses her old friends and is manipulated by Charlotte’s spirit, who makes the 11-year-old think she can reunite with them.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 suffered from even worse reviews than its predecessor. It has garnered a 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a contender to be one of the worst mainstream releases of 2025. Yet the Five Nights at Freddy’s series is popular, with the sequel already earning $110.6 million during its first weekend. Five Nights at Freddy’s has a large fanbase, and the series has extensive lore because of the games and novels. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 was setting up for a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 retained the same creative team. The game’s creator, Scott Cawthon, wrote the screenplay, and Emma Tammi returned to the director’s chair. Visually and tonally, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 offered more of the same, so fans of the first film should be pleased, but it won’t win over people who didn’t like it. It was PG-13 horror (although it earned a 15 rating in the UK), where it was a mostly bloodless affair.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 aimed to have a bigger story since Vanessa experienced the same trauma Mike did in the first film. Abby wanted to reconnect with the spirits/animatronics, a group of paranormal investigators who planned to make a program about Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, and the town was preparing to celebrate the FazFest festival.

The Five Nights at Freddy’s sequel ended up feeling derivative of other horror films, even 2025 releases. Abby was a bit like Cady from M3gan 2.0 since they entered into a rebellious phase and developed an interest in technology. There was another investigation into missing children – a bit like Black Phone 2, and the paranormal investigation storyline felt a bit like the setup to Shelby Oaks. McKenna Grace was wasted in a small role considering how well-known she is.

The FazFest subplot felt Scream-inspired since the residents were dressing up as Freddy Fazbear’s characters and making light of a horrible crime. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 featured two Scream actors, so this was probably a deliberate decision. When the film showed it had some self-awareness, it was able to raise a chuckle. There was also a bit of lampshading regarding one of the game’s mechanics that was incorporated into the film.

Even though Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 was based on the series’ lore, the screenplay had holes and felt rushed. The film opens with a child dying in front of a restaurant full of people, and it was somehow covered up. Somehow, Charlotte’s death was still well known enough that the first Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza restaurant was forced to close, yet I would have thought a rebrand would have been needed. There were also questions about how Charlotte was able to communicate with Abby if there was a block that prevented the animatronics from leaving the restaurant.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 was a poorly thought-out sequel to an unremarkable horror film.  If it weren’t for the IP, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 would be forgotten.