FNAF Movie Gets Concerning Critic Reviews Update

The release date for Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) movie reviews is going to be surprising to some. 

The upcoming big-screen take on the cult hit horror game is set to hit theaters in just a matter of weeks, bringing the terrifying world of Freddy’s Fazbear Pizzarie to life. 

Starring the likes of Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson, and produced by modern horror masterminds Blumhouse Productions (M3GAN and The Black Phone), FNAF follows a band of murderous haunted animatronics animals as they seek revenge for the death of the children’s should that inhabit them. 

The project has come under fire in the lead-up to release for the look of its central band of blood-thirsty music makers, but aside from that fans have been fairly excited to see this iconic IP brought to life in a whole new way. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s Gets a Worrying Review Update

Mere weeks before the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie comes to theaters, some fans are getting nervous thanks to a new update surrounding the film’s review embargo. 

According to horror movie insider Critical Overload on X (formerly Twitter), reviews for Five Nights at Freddy’s will be released on Friday, October, 27 at 3 a.m. ET/ 12 a.m. PT. 

Discussing Film’s Jacob Fisher confirmed with information that this was, in fact, the “[the] exact time and date” the review embargo was up.

This means reviews for the film will be released days after the movie hits theaters in some territories like the United Kingdom and Mexico. 

In most cases, reviews are used to drum up anticipation for a film, usually released days or weeks before the movie’s initial release date. 

Since this review release timing is after the movie comes out in some cases, a contingent of fans have become worried it could have something to do with the quality of the film, as Blumhouse perhaps tries to cover up a potential less-than-stellar project. 

However, it is worth noting that this may have nothing to do with how Blumhouse projects the movie’s critical performance. 

Fisher followed up his initial post by clarifying that Five Nights at Freddy’s also comes to Peacock the same day as its theatrical release and “streaming releases do like to keep their embargoes to release time:”

“In fairness a lot of streaming releases do like to keep their embargoes to release time (Netflix for example does this with a lot of their shows irregardless of quality).”

Why Are FNAF Reviews Coming Out So Late?

While the actual quality of Five Nights at Freddy’s remains to be seen, this later-than-usual review release timing is not a good sign.

Yes, as Jacob Fisher said there are cases where reviews for streaming projects come at the very last minute regardless of how good or bad the title is, but this is not something Blumhouse has traditionally done. 

Their most recent film Exorcist: Believer  – which is a theatrical exclusive – had reviews come out two days before it hit the big screen and it has fared dismally from a critical standpoint (sitting at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes).

So one would think reviews would drop earlier than the day of release stateside. 

Either Peacock made the call here and FNAF falls into what Fisher was talking about with streaming releases sometimes avoiding advance reviews, or Blumhouse knows something about the upcoming horror film that fans don’t. 

For now, fans will just have to judge for themselves or sit back and wait for these delayed critics’ reactions to pop up online even if it is after the movie actually comes out in their respective territory. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s comes to theaters and Peacock on Friday, October 27.