'Everyone' Working On Five Nights At Freddy's Had A Connection To The Game [Exclusive]

I've written a lot about "Five Nights at Freddy's" this year, and the question I've received more than any other is, "Why do you know so much about this game my kids play?" I was a casual fan of the first game, overtaken by the Let's Play phenomenon in my mid-20s, but then my 10-year-old niece was bitten by the "FNaF" bug. Now she texts me every update ... not realizing she's reading articles I've written and sent to her dad to make sure she's not missing a beat.

When I was a kid, my hero was the clerk at the video store down the street from my childhood home who wanted to foster my love of horror by actually talking about it with me, instead of dismissing me for being a child. I always swore that I would be that person to the kiddos in my life, and it's a role I take very seriously. Being the "cool, witchy aunt" is an important job! I like being the adult in a kid's life who will actually listen to their thought-vomit theories about the games and actually understand what they are talking about.

The point is that "Five Nights at Freddy's" means a lot to me because it's one of the strongest connective tissues I have between myself and the young people in my life that I care about. I won't bore them with my theories on Robert Englund's Freddy Krueger (a character who hasn't been seen fresh on screen in their lifetimes), so I have to meet them at their level and with their interests. This is just my personal connection, but after talking with director Emma Tammi, it sounds like the whole cast and crew of "Five Nights at Freddy's" had their own connection to the original game in some way, shape, or form.

During our interview, I mentioned that the atmosphere of the film was "fun" and hoped to hear that shooting the film was just as delightful. Fortunately, Tammi tells me, "It really was." She elaborates, "It was a great group, both cast and crew, and everyone was so excited to be a part of this adaptation." And based on Tammi's infectious joy in talking about the process, I have no reason to doubt her. She tells me that there were plenty on set who were already fans of the game, "And if they didn't know the game well, their kids did." she says. Chances are, those cast and crew members have been on the receiving end of a lore dump from their kids, and that sort of palpable elation won't be forgotten while working on set.

"Everyone had a connection to "Freddy's" in some way and knew what an amazingly exciting task we had to make this come to life for the big screen," Tammi says. "So everyone was really excited, [it was a] super talented group." Kat Conner Sterling, who plays Max in "Five Nights at Freddy's," is a huge fan of the franchise and has been posting TikToks for months (within SAG strike guidelines, of course), expressing how it feels to be a part of this series. "Everyone was also just a genuinely great person and the collaborations were just off-the-charts wonderful," Tammi tells me, with a beaming smile.

That connection is obvious on screen and will be even more visible when audiences get the chance to see it for themselves on October 27, 2023, when the film arrives in theaters and on Peacock.