The producers of M3GAN and The Black Phone bring the terrifying horror game phenomenon to life as a blood-chilling film. Recently fired and desperate for work so that he can keep custody of his little sister, Mike (Josh Hutcherson; The Hunger Games Franchise) agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers that nothing at Freddy’s is what it seems. Mike’s nights at Freddy’s will lead him into unexplainable encounters with the supernatural and drag him into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare.
For in-depth thoughts on Five Nights at Freddy’s, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Five Nights at Freddy’s offers a welcome uptick in quality over the already sterling accompanying Blu-Ray, offering up a dazzling experience for viewers. The expanded range of the color spectrum is one of the most pleasing aspects of this disc. The HDR10 enriches the colors to unbelievable heights when it comes to depth and natural vibrancy. The various character designs, environments, and lighting choices throughout the film will knock you sideways with the nuance of the hues on display.
As you would hope from a horror film, black levels are robust in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail and shadow definition. The highlights in the film are likewise more refined with whites incredibly pure and balanced with zero instances of blooming to be found. Skin tones appear more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces. This 4K UHD presentation truly delivers on all fronts including significant gains in clarity and color. The Blu-Ray is excellent but Universal has upped the ante on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This disc comes equipped with a fantastic Dolby Atmos presentation that brings this world to life in an unsettling manner. From the opening, the soundscape is set to deliver a unique experience with chilling sounds from every direction. Sounds are deployed with precise directionality from the more kinetic confrontations to interpersonal moments of dialogue. Ambient details are plentiful and quite appealing in the rear and overhead channels. The overhead channels carry a good amount of information in relation to the other channels, which adds a nice sense of depth and space to the mix.
Song choices and the effective score saturate the room with brute force. Dialogue is presented clearly without ever being towered over by any of the competing sonic elements. The environmental noises in the pizzeria provide an all-encompassing soundscape that kicks in throughout all the speakers. The low end is engaged in a substantial way that acts like a shock to the system. Universal has ensured things sound terrific with this one. There are optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Five Nights At Freddy’s – From Game To Big Screen: A seven-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss the fandom of the franchise, the care put towards bringing the game to the screen, the development of the characters outside of the main location, the direction of Emma Tammi, and more.
- Killer Animatronics A six-minute exploration of the animatronic work throughout the film, the work of the Jim Henson Company, trying to keep things as game-accurate as possible, and more.
- Five Nights In Three Dimensions: A four-minute look at the incredible production design that brought the game to life on screen.
Final Thoughts
Five Nights at Freddy’s is an adaptation that seems ready-made to please established fans of the property, but newcomers might need a bit more convincing. The film often achieves the eerie tone that appears to be essential to the experience, yet the material surrounding those moments is a bit inconsistent in their execution. The attention paid to character development is appreciated, but the world built outside of the pizzeria is not entirely compelling. The star attraction is undeniably the animatronic puppets, and the Jim Henson Company does a terrific job of making them a reality. Whenever the inevitable sequel materializes, we could use some more impressive thrills and kills, but we are invested in what this world has to offer. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray which features a gorgeous A/V presentation and a decent smattering of supplemental features.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
