Five Nights At Freddy's Scream Homage Origin Confirmed By Matthew Lillard

The Secret Scream Homage

The Five Nights at Freddy's' secret Scream homage has been explained by Matthew Lillard. The movie served as an adaptation of Scott Cawthon's horror video game franchise of the same name, centered on a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza who learns the animatronics are possessed by the souls of murdered children and have been killing people for years. Lillard starred in the movie as William Afton, the franchise's iconic antagonist who is the owner and founder of Freddy Fazbear's and was a serial child murderer.

Spring Bonnie holds up a knife in the Five Nights at Freddy's movie.

During an interview with Screen Rant for the movie's home media release, Lillard opened up about the various Easter eggs in Five Nights at Freddy's. When asked about the Scream homage in the movie, in which Afton wipes his knife with his hand, the star revealed the idea came from co-writer/director Emma Tammi, further expressing his surprise at how quickly audiences recognized the parallels between the two movies. Check out what Lillard explained below:

Matthew Lillard looking over his shoulder in Scream

No, that was Emma, actually. Emma Tammi was like, 'Do this.' And so she gave it to me. I don't remember if I did it once in a take, and she just had me do it again. But yeah. Yeah, it's funny. I think it stood out way more than I ever assumed it would.

Matthew Lillard as Steve Raglan on the Phone in Five Nights at Freddy's

Lillard's Performance and the Movie's Reception

Lillard's turn as a maniacal killer in Five Nights at Freddy's was a welcome return to the horror genre for the star, with Tammi and producer Jason Blum frequently hyping his performance in the movie ahead of its release. Though critics weren't very favorable in their reviews of the movie, giving it a Rotten 31% approval rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, Lillard's performance did land praise. Audiences in particular were much more favorable to the movie as a whole, awarding it a Fresh 87%. While no sequel has been greenlit yet, Lillard did previously state he's contracted for three movies, with Tammi also expressing her interest in returning.

William Afton (Matthew Lillard) is Crushed By his Springlock Suit in the Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie

Potential Success of Five Nights at Freddy's Franchise

With it set to become another franchise in the realm of horror movies, the question becomes how future Five Nights at Freddy's sequels will perform, particularly in comparison to the Scream franchise. As the seventh movie endures a hectic development following the firing of Melissa Barrera and the exit of Jenna Ortega, the first six movies have grossed a combined $913 million against a combined $175 million budget. Much like Blumhouse's approach to Freddy's, the Scream movies have generally kept a modest-budget approach to their storytelling, with 2023's Scream 6 being produced for $35 million and becoming one of the highest-grossing for the franchise yet.

Spring Bonnie walks through an archway in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

Given the first Five Nights at Freddy's became Blumhouse's highest-grossing movie to date with over $294 million worldwide despite being made on a $20 million budget, it's already gotten a strong start towards rivaling Lillard's previous horror franchise. Should Blum and his creative team look to learn the lessons from its negative reviews and make the sequel a hit with critics, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 could very well surpass its predecessor's record. This could even put it on a path to becoming a rival to other modern hit horror franchises, including The Conjuring Universe and fellow Blumhouse property, Insidious.