In the first Five Nights at Freddy’s film, we met night guard Mike (Josh Hutcherson), who discovered that the animatronics at his abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location were coming to life and killing people. However, Mike’s 10-year-old sister Abby (Piper Rubio) had the ability to see and communicate with the spirits that were possessing these animatronic performers, and learned that they were the ghosts of children who had been abducted and killed by restaurant owner William Afton (Matthew Lillard). The spirits just wanted to be freed. Mike joined up with cop Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail) to help stop Afton and rescue his sister, but it turned out that she was really Afton’s daughter, who had also had a traumatic childhood thanks to her father.

It’s now a year later, and Mike is still trying to move on from what happened—though it doesn’t help that the town is planning a big Fazfest celebration. Mike’s Aunt Jane has been committed after telling stories of killer teddy bears, and so he tries not to speak about it. Abby, on the other hand, is happy to tell all of her classmates how she helped to save the world. She’s also eager to go back to Freddy’s to visit with her friends—the ghostly children who inhabit the animatronic figures—but Mike keeps coming up with excuses about needing to fix the mechanical creatures first. Meanwhile, Mike still won’t admit that he has feelings for Vanessa, or that his plans to have dinner with her is actually a date. And Vanessa is still struggling with nightmares about her father.

As the second film opens, ghost hunters Lisa (Mckenna Grace), Rob (David Andrew Calvillo) & Alex (Teo Briones) meet with odd security guard Michael (Freddy Carter)—are all the guards named Mike?!—outside the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza location, where 20 years ago a young girl named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Marie) was murdered. He promises to give them a tour of the facility for their reality show. However, as they make their way through the abandoned restaurant, things quickly take a deadly turn, and a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades is unleashed. And it’s going to be up to Mike, Abby and Vanessa to save the world yet again, but in order to do so, they’re going to need to confront the past.

The first Five Nights at Freddy’s film was based on the original video game, while this sequel follows the events of the second video game. I have never played any of the FNAF games, so I didn’t know what to expect. For this sequel, the world is expanded. The original Freddy’s location is even bigger than the restaurant from the first film, including all kinds of rides and even a lazy river with boats in the middle of the restaurant. The location also houses new glossy versions of the animatronics—Toy Chica, Toy Bonnie & Toy Freddy—along with other creatures like Balloon Boy, and more. There’s also a very creepy puppet known as The Marionette, who has the ability to possess others, who proves to be a dangerous new foe for our heroes.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 recaptures the same tone and spirit of the first film. While the focus of the first film was more on Mike, this time around, it is more Abby who is leading the narrative. Piper Rubio gets some really good stuff to showcase her talent in this second installment! The film also delves more into Vanessa’s backstory and the horrific legacy of her father and the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza chain. The animatronics this time around are even more advanced, and while they look similar to the more plush versions from the first film, these hard, glossy and more robotic Toy versions of the characters bring even more frights—the kills are sometimes even more shocking, and the scares are plentiful. Even though this is a PG-13 horror film, the filmmakers do an excellent job of making it never feel watered-down.

The sequel also brings in some interesting new characters. Mckenna Grace’s Lisa feels a bit underutilized, but some of the other new characters include Charlotte’s grieving father Henry (Skeet Ulrich), and Abby’s despicable science/robotics teacher Mr. Berg (Wayne Knight), whom you just love to hate and are hoping he’ll get his comeuppance! Matthew Lillard also returns as the evil William Afton in flashbacks and dream sequences.

Universal has released Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 on Limited Edition 4K UHD SteelBook, 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release of the film for review, and it looks and sounds fantastic. I first saw the film in the theater, and actually enjoyed it even more re-watching via disc (without the talkative teen audience from the theater). The picture looks clean and clear, with a solid level of detail throughout. The effects of these creatures coming to life looks natural. There are a lot of darker sequences, and I never noticed any signs of black crush or degradation in the picture. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides clear dialogue and quite an immersive experience.

This disc release contains a solid selection of bonus material, including almost 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew. The Blu-ray release includes just a single Blu-ray disc, packed in a standard HD keepcase, along with a cardboard slipcover with an embossed title, and redemption instructions for an HD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:44:07)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, French 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 3/31/2027):

• HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Employees of the Month: The Cast (12:31)
  The cast and crew talk about returning to these characters, how they have changed for this season film, expanding the universe, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Emma Tammi, producer Jason Blum, costume designer Whitney Anne Adams, YouTuber Razzbowski, and stars Josh Hutcherson (“Mike”), Piper Rubio (“Abby”), Matthew Lillard (“William Afton/Yellow Rabbit”), Elizabeth Lail (“Vanessa”), Skeet Ulrich (“Henry”), Wayne Knight (“Mr. Berg”), Freddy Carter (“Michael”) & Mckenna Grace (“Lisa”).
• Bringing Freddy & Friends to Life (9:46)
  The cast and crew talk about bringing the animatronic characters to life, the difference between the new toy costumes versus the plush characters from the first film, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Emma Tammi, Toy Chica stunt double Jess Weiss, wrangling supervisor/puppet build supervisor/lead designer Robert Bennett, Toy Bonnie/Bonnie Stunt Double Jade Kindar-Martin, Toy Freddy/Withered Freddy/Freddy Stunt double Kevin Foster, lead puppeteer/puppet build crew Amanda Maddock, puppet wrangler/puppet build crew Jack Kendall, and stars Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Freddy Carter, Skeet Ulrich, Mckenna Grace & Elizabeth Lail.
• Mangle Mayhem (4:39)
  The cast and crew talk about the challenging process of bringing the multi-limbed monstrosity Mangle to life. Includes storyboard & behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with puppeteer Sarah Sarang Oh, director/executive producer Emma Tammi, wrangling supervisor/puppet build supervisor/lead designer Robert Bennett, lead puppeteers/puppet build crew Andrea Detwiler & Amanda Maddock, second unit director/stunt coordinator Mark Rayner, and stars Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Josh Hutcherson & Mckenna Grace.
• High-Strung (7:02)
  The cast and crew talk about the puppetry involved in bringing the Marionette to life in a creepy, graceful way. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with producer Jason Blum, director/executive producer Emma Tammi, lead puppeteers/puppet build crew Andrea Detwiler & Amanda Maddock, wrangling supervisor/puppet build supervisor/lead designer Robert Bennett, makeup department head Suzy Beique, costume designer Whitney Anne Adams, and stars Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio,, Mckenna Grace & Josh Hutcherson.
• Sensory Overload: Exploring the Sets (10:15)
  The cast and crew talk about the film’s elaborate sets. They also point out some of the Easter eggs hidden in the movie. Includes design and behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with production designer Marc Fiscichella, director/executive producer Emma Tammi, puppeteer Sarah Sarang Oh, lead puppeteer/puppet build crew Amanda Maddock, set decorator Claire Sanchez, and stars Matthew Lillard, Piper Rubio, Josh Hutcherson, Wayne Knight, Freddy Carter, Mckenna Grace & Elizabeth Lail.

Final Thoughts:

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a fun follow-up that captures the same tone and spirit of the first film. Fans of the first film or of the video game series will surely be pleased with the way the film brings the characters of the second game to life. The second film expands the world and characters and gives a lot of fun kills while also delving more into the mythology of the franchise. While the film does come to a conclusion, it also sets things up for a third film based on the third video game. Universal’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, and includes a solid selection of behind-the-scenes featurettes. This is an easy recommendation for FNAF fans.