Terrifying Twists: Five Nights At Freddy Movie Earns PG-13 Rating – Will It Send Shivers Down Your Spine?

Summary

Leading the ensemble, actor Josh Hutcherson portrays the role of a struggling single father, compelled to take on the position of a night security guard at a haunted family amusement center. He finds himself confronted by animatronics afflicted with a sinister history, engaging in a harrowing battle to survive.

The Five Nights at Freddy's movie, already known as one of the scariest games ever, has raised concerns about its ability to frighten audiences with its PG-13 rating. Leading the cast is Josh Hutcherson, who portrays Mike Schmidt, a struggling single father who takes a job as a night security guard at the family entertainment center. As the story unfolds, he discovers the center's dark history and must fight to survive against the possessed animatronics. Alongside Hutcherson, the cast includes Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, and Mary Stuart Masterson.

With only three months left until the highly anticipated release, the official ratings website FilmRatings.com from the Motion Picture Association has confirmed that the Five Nights at Freddy's movie will be rated PG-13. The site states that the horror video game adaptation has earned this rating due to its "strong violent content, bloody images, and language."

Despite these strong descriptors, some fans of the source material are questioning if the movie will meet the terrifying standard set by the games. They are also concerned that Blumhouse may be taking a too gentle approach while adapting Scott Cawthon's beloved franchise to attract a younger audience.

However, there are others who are defending the movie's PG-13 rating and even drawing comparisons to Blumhouse's earlier successful film, M3GAN, released in 2023.

Why Five Nights at Freddy's' PG-13 Rating Isn't Concerning

Although Five Nights at Freddy's may be known for its terrifying jump scares, the fact that the upcoming movie has a PG-13 rating does not mean it will lack scares. The original games were also rated for teens, with most of the violence occurring off-screen and the animatronics' sudden frights being the main factor in the rating.

Furthermore, Blumhouse has a successful track record of producing PG-13 horror movies that become box office hits. M3GAN, for example, received rave reviews and earned a whopping $181 million, leading to a sequel with the original cast and writers returning, while discussions are underway for the director's involvement. More recently, the final installment of the Insidious franchise, titled Insidious: The Red Door, had the second-best opening weekend for the series produced by James Wan. It even surpassed the recently released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, currently grossing close to $158 million worldwide.

Jason Blum's unwavering passion to bring the Five Nights at Freddy's game series to the silver screen is a significant factor in favor of the movie adaptation. Despite facing numerous obstacles and ridicule from both Hollywood figures and his own team, Blum remained determined to create a faithful rendition of the source material. With Cawthon, the creator of the games, serving as a co-writer for the film, it is highly improbable that they would permit a lackluster interpretation of their beloved project.