Okay friends, It’s nerd time.
Like many others reading this article, I am a member of Gen Z. Though things such as Nickelodeon and Disney Channel may be huge signifiers of this generation, so is the popularization of YouTube. People like Joey Graceffa, JackSepticEye, and Pewdipie captured the attention of many kids and teens my age. Through this, my love for the FNAF franchise, starting with a little-known YouTuber by the name of Markiplier, can be explained.
Back in August of 2014, Markiplier uploaded his first gameplay of the horror game, aptly titled: Five Nights at Freddy’s. From there, his career skyrocketed. Having already established a gigantic following on the platform, Mark made his mark (haha, get it?) with his series, aiming to complete the entirety of all of the games. It started with FNAF 1,2,3 and 4, and then continued into other subcategories of the game, following the same gameplay style for the most part.
Many other YouTubers made videos playing through these games, making an estimated 5 million dollars just with the first game. The fan base was and still remains huge, and with that came rumors of a movie. Admittedly, when serious rumors were first coming out, I was nervous. Knowing the track record of movies taking direct inspiration from video games, I was curious to see how this would be fair in comparison. For example, I was a huge fan of the Uncharted games, but the movie fell extremely short. However, it looks like this movie will follow in The Last of Us’s footsteps.
Soon after the movie was confirmed, this promo shot of the movie was released on Blumhouse Production’s Instagram page. I was absolutely blown away. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of horror films, as well as the cinematography that is utilized in films. Every bit of this shot looks so cool and stays true to the origins of the story. If you know anything about the lore behind the games, the details in this movie are gonna go crazy (take note of the boy’s shirt, Game Theory fans). The cast is loaded as well, starring Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, and Elizabeth Lail, which reaffirms my faith in the quality of this film, in my opinion.
I’m so excited to get to see this film and really hope they do this iconic game series justice!
But hey, that’s just a theory…a Her Campus theory! (I’m so sorry.)