I Am Confused Beyond Belief by Five Nights At Freddy's 2, Despite Never Playing the Games

I've never experienced any of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" video games firsthand. My understanding of them comes entirely from cultural exposure and Emma Tammi's two film adaptations, the latest of which premiered on Friday, December 5, 2025. The basic concept is simple enough to grasp: a player is trapped in a defunct children's pizza restaurant, reminiscent of Showbiz Pizza or Chuck E. Cheese's, where animatronic animals, led by Freddy Fazbear, roam the building at night.

At first glance, this premise is easy to accept. Those old Showbiz Pizza animatronics known as the Rock-afire Explosion were already unsettling with their semi-realistic movements, often leaving children uneasy. Translating that eeriness to a horror movie should have been straightforward. However, the "Five Nights at Freddy's" films, particularly the sequel, stray far beyond this simple idea, diving into a labyrinth of video game lore developed over more than a decade.

The franchise now includes 11 main games and numerous spin-offs, creating a complex mythos. The filmmakers clearly tried to cater to longtime fans by incorporating as much of this history as possible, but for someone new to the universe, its bewildering. Theres no clear explanation of the story; the films are perplexing.

The original film already posed challenges in comprehension. Freddy and the other animatronics come to life due to possession by the spirits of children murdered by serial killer William Afton. The supernatural mechanics of this possession remain unexplained, though Aftons direct involvement with the animatronics is implied. The animatronics exhibit fluctuating behavior, sometimes friendly, sometimes murderous, and even house the bodies of the children within their robotic shells. The protagonist, a night watchman named Mike, experiences premonitions of Aftons crimes because one of the victims was his brother. Dreams and visions play a significant role in the story.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" complicates matters further. The animatronics now exist in three variations, including a new, toy-like Freddy crew. These robots are controlled by a malevolent entity but also seem autonomous, and unlike before, they do not contain the remains of children. An evil puppet called the Marionette, possessed by a girls ghost, manages these robots and can control multiple units simultaneously. At the same time, the robots appear to function through Wi-Fi and cannot leave the building unless the signal is disabled. This raises questions: are they haunted spirits, machines, or both?

The dream sequences continue, with a character named Vanessa receiving visions of Aftons dark schemes, as she struggles with his legacy. Yet the origin of the animatronic hauntings remains unclear. The animatronics motivations are also inconsistent: the Marionette seeks revenge but interacts with a young girl, Abby, without explanation. Occasionally, the Marionette possesses humans, turning them into hybrid monsters. Whether these manifestations are ghosts, demons, or something else is never clarified.

Fans of the games may follow this complex narrative, but for newcomers like me, the movies are confusing and hard to follow. Without prior knowledge, the plot and lore of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" films are almost impenetrable.

Author: Aiden Foster