History Film / FiveNightsAtFreddys2023

** [[spoiler:Balloon Boy from ''Five Nights at Freddy's 2'' appears as a figurine that gives a jumpscare to Mike... and LetsPlay/CoryxKenshin in TheStinger.]]

* CameoCluster: LetsPlay/CoryxKenshin, a [=YouTuber=] well known for his playthroughs of the games, appears in the film as a taxi driver. There's also an "Employee of the Month" board in the background [[https://twitter.com/dawkosgames/status/1673713359173165059 which features multiple [=YouTubers=] known for playing the game such as Dawko, 8Bit Ryan, Bazamalam, DJ Sterf and FusionZGamer]]. To top it off, [[spoiler:Creator/MatPat]] appears as a waiter in a local diner called Sparky's, named after a debunked Five Night's leaked image, while [[spoiler:[=MatPat=]'s]] character is named [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]], a reference to one of his more infamous theories. Voiceover-wise, veteran ''[=FNaF=]'' voice actor Creator/KellenGoff lends his vocals to Foxy's song.

* MonsterMunch: The unnamed security guard at the start of the film is first seen being hunted by the animatronics in the pizzaria and is [[spoiler:immediately caught and killed by them]]. He serves no other purpose in the film other than to show how dangerous the animatronics are and is never mentioned again.

** In the intro, the camera focus on one particular picture, showing a group of children with a yellow smiling rabbit. [[spoiler:This picture is revisited later in the film as being how Springtrap controls the animatronics, by making them believe the "yellow rabbit" is their friend.]]
*** [[spoiler:The importance of the drawing is further foreshadowed by Abby's teacher (who assures Mike of Abby's focus on drawing as children communicate easily with pictures) and Abby herself (telling Mike the animatronics can't talk but do enjoy pictures.)]]

** While working as a mall security guard, Mike furiously beats up a man who was apparently kidnapping a child, only to realize that he's the child's ''father''. This reckless behavior is explained later on, when we learn that Mike [[spoiler:is still traumatized from witnessing his little brother's kidnapping]].
*** Also, the concept of mistaking [[HarmfulToMinors something harmful to children]] when it is actually the complete opposite (a stranger abduction actually being a parent finding their lost child) can foreshadow the scene where Mike sees Abbie being surrounded by the animatronics after hearing her screaming and assuming that the animatronics are attacking her, only to find out they were just being playful with her.

* FreezeFrameBonus: When Mike is talking to Lilian, the blackboard has spelling words all related to the game franchise on it: 'Puppet', 'Bear', 'Bunny', 'Manager', 'Fox' and 'Chick'.
** Also during the climax, as Mike is sneaking towards the showtime stage where Freddy and Bonnie are performing [[spoiler:while Chica takes Abby backstage to get her stuffed]], the rabbit seemingly knows that Mike is approaching as he could be subtly seen fidgeting his hand towards Mike's general direction to warn and alert Freddy, which causes the bear to look for Mike before resuming the performance.

* MissingChild: There are 6 in the movie. The 5 children that went missing at the pizzeria in the 80s and Garrett, Mike's brother, who was taken when they were both children.

* MomentOfWeakness: Mike has two, both stemming from his insecurity about being able to be a good guardian for Abby. The first is when he brings Aunt Jane to the house to "discuss" the possibility of her guardianship of Abby, and then [[spoiler:agreeing to give Abby to the animatronics in exchange for seeing his family again. He immediately regrets both.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: The BB doll, despite freaking out Mike [[spoiler:and the taxi driver]], is completely benign, leaving his intentions and whether or not he's under Afton's control ambiguous. He's also implied, but never outright stated, to have his own supernatural abilities; he was able to get from the locker in Mike's office to a shelf in another room eye-level with him, and [[spoiler:in TheStinger, he is also able to knock on a taxi door loudly enough to get the driver's attention, open the door, and climb inside despite being less than a foot tall. How he got that way is never fully explained, either.]]
** [[spoiler: The novelization makes it even weirder, as apparently Mike has a random vision of a child he used to know in school being stuffed in a locker just before opening the locker BB's in, and somehow briefly mistakes the BB doll for an actual child when he first sees him.]]

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: After Aunt Jane arrives at the house to babysit Abby since Max wouldn't answer his calls (because [[spoiler: [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe her corpse]] is in the restaurant's storage room]]), Mike arrives at work and begins the ritual of falling asleep in the hopes of remembering any details that would uncover his brother's kidnapper's identity, he dreams of his family, sans Abby since she wasn't born yet, [[spoiler: happily enjoying their picnic]]. When Mike says that's now how things happened that day, the ghost children and his family tell him that he's correct, as Mike [[spoiler: doesn't actually want to find the kidnapper in order]] to get closure for Garrets disappearance and bring said kidnapper to justice. They tell Mike that [[spoiler: what he really wants is to save Garret and keep his family from being destroyed]], the ghost children tell him that they can help him be happily reuintied with Garret and their mom, all he has to do is [[spoiler: hand Abby over to them]]. As Mike considers their offer, he warmly [[spoiler: pets Garret's face]] only to realize that only would he [[spoiler: [[OhCrap would lose Abby as they'll turn her into an animatronic puppet]], but they mean [[TogheterInDeath to reunite him with Garret and their mom in the afterlife]]]].

* ThirdActMisunderstanding: As Max doesn't answer Mike's phone-calls (since [[spoiler: [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe her corpse]] is in the restaurant's storage room]]), Mike gets desperate and calls Aunt Jane to babysit Abby. When she sees Aunt Jane in the kitchen, Abby assumes that Mike has surrendered legal custody and Jane is there to take her away, so Abby locks herself in her room after yelling "I hate you!" to Mike, and crosses off his face from her drawings. Some time after Mike leaves for work, [[spoiler: Freddy Bear and the ghost child controlling him arrive at the house, and kill Aunt Jane]]. Since Abby's still angry at Mike, she happily gets in a taxi with Freddy Bear [[spoiler: who intends to take her back to the restaurant and turn her into another animatronic/one of Afton's minions]].

The film was released in theaters on October 26th, 2023, and Creator/{{Peacock}} on October 27th, [[ShortRunInPeru though it had already premiered in other countries a few days prior]] and [[CriticProof was widely panned by critics]]. A sequel is currently in development.

The film was released in theaters on October 26th, 2023, and Creator/{{Peacock}} on October 27th, [[ShortRunInPeru though it had already premiered in other countries a few days prior]].

** [[spoiler:Creator/MatPat]] plays a waiter who claims that lunch is the most important meal of the day. When Jeff asks if he means breakfast, he replies, "Some people say that, but, you know, [[spoiler:[[WebVideo/GameTheory it's just a theory.]]]]" His character's name, Ness, is also a reference to [[spoiler:his infamous memetic "[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]] is [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans]]" theory]].

* ContrivedCoincidence: The person who kidnapped Mike's brother somewhere in the middle of Nebraska (AKA the person he's been searching for his entire life) just happens to be [[spoiler:the person he runs into while looking for a job, and the same person who ends up giving him his job at Freddy's.]]

** The post-release trailer for the movie follows the narrator's declaration that it's the #1 movie in America with Steve Raglan saying, "Oh, it absolutely is," originally in response to Mike asking if the Freddy's job was still available. This trailer also edits the sequence of Mike trying to escape [[spoiler:Foxy]] so that he instead looks back and screams at a positive score for the movie -- its Website/RottenTomatoes audience score in one version (89% at the time), and its Cinemascore in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyGa2pC2zng another version]] (A-).

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: When not being manipulated [[spoiler:by Afton]] the four main animatronics can actually be pretty friendly, providing you don't start vandalizing their home of course.

* AmbiguousSituation: The BB doll, despite freaking out Mike [[spoiler:and the taxi driver]], is completely benign, leaving his intentions and whether or not he's under Afton's control ambiguous. He's also implied, but never outright stated, to have his own supernatural abilities: he was able to get from the locker in Mike's office to a shelf in another room eye-level with Mike. [[spoiler:In TheStinger, he is also able to knock on a taxi door loudly enough to get the driver's attention, open the door, and climb inside despite being less than a foot tall. How he got that way is never fully explained, either.]]

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Mike, a mall security guard, beats the absolute tar out of an innocent man at the beginning of the movie. The only consequences he faces is that he loses his job, when he could have very easily been arrested for assault. Why this incident isn’t enough in and of itself for his aunt to get custody of Abby isn’t addressed either.
* AscendedExtra: The Cupcake, who in the games in nothing more than Chica's prop, is fully sentient and autonomous and even functions as a sort of attack drone. Not only is it responsible for [[spoiler:gnawing a vandal's face off, it also does some serious damage to Mike's leg when he tries to escape and triggers the springlock failure that kills Afton when Chica launches it at him]].

** [[spoiler:Aunt Jane's]] vandals break into the pizzeria with the intent of smashing the place up and getting Mike fired. The four of them, rather justifiably, get picked off one-by-one by the animatronics.

* DecompositeCharacter: Phone Guy's character is divided between [[spoiler:William Afton, who gives Mike phone instructions as well as taking his "See you on the flipside" catchphrase]], the Freddy's employee who gives an introduction to the company on the VHS tape, and the unnamed night guard in the opening scene who died before Mike was hired.

* DramaticDrop: Jeff winds up staring directly at [[spoiler:Bonnie]] after the animatronic has just killed Hank; shocked, he drops the crowbar he was using to vandalize on the floor and makes a run for it.

** The first security guard at the start of the film is forced into a ShackleSeatTrap with whirring blades slowly inching towards his face, and is unable to escape it in time.
** One of the poor vandals falls victim to [[spoiler:The Cupcake]], who jumps at and attacks his face. We see the aftermath later in the film, and it is ''not'' pretty.
* FallenOnHardTimesJob: Mike reluctantly takes up a job offer as a security guard for Freddy's Pizza when he's about to be evicted from his house and lose custody of his little sister Abby...and that's when the nightmare starts.

* HandSlidingDownTheGlass: Hank does this when Bonnie kills him in the supply closet, complete with blood smearing on the glass.

* MonsterMunch: The unnamed security guard at the start of the film is first seen being hunted by the animatronics in the pizzaria and is immediately caught and killed by them. He serves no other purpose in the film other than to show how dangerous the animatronics are and is never mentioned again.

* OutOfTheFryingPan: One of the thugs (Hank) tries to run away from an animatronic after watching it kill one of his associates. He runs into a storage closet, but discovers that not only has the lock jammed shut, but Bonnie's already inside with him. The thug is then immediately killed.

* ShackleSeatTrap: What the animatronics use to force people into the Freddy Fazbear suits, complete with whirring blades alarmingly close to the facial area that make it look like a trap from the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series. [[spoiler:Mike ends up forced into one but escapes at the last second; the previous security guard in the opening scene is not so lucky.]]

* UnRoboticReveal: The seemingly animatronic Yellow Rabbit is revealed to actually be [[spoiler:Steve Raglan, or rather William Afton]] in a mechanical suit.

* HairRaisingHare: [[Springtrap, who appears both in the intro and latter half of the film.]]

* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler:Chica's Cupcake gets an upgrade from a goofy little prop to a full-on menace all its own, capable of gnawing people's faces off, and Springtrap appears both in the intro and latter half of the film.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_3213.jpeg]]

* DramaticUnmask: Though it shouldn't be a surprise to fans (or anyone who followed the film's production), [[spoiler:Afton removing his Springtrap mask to reveal that he's "Steve Raglan" is still treated as a dramatic reveal]].

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Aunt Jane's]] death comes rather suddenly, with no mention of how it happened other than [[spoiler:Golden Freddy]] stating [[spoiler:she]] "fell asleep". She's never mentioned in the movie again.

* AnAesop: Don't let grief, regret, and loss prevent you from appreciating the people and life you have now. [[spoiler:Mike is nearly tempted into giving up Abby by the Missing Children in exchange for a nightly dream where he reunites with his lost family, but realizes the error of his ways. He shows more appreciation for her in the ending, and their relationship has noticeably improved.]]

* AnswerCut: After [[spoiler:Golden Freddy shows up at Mike's home to kill Aunt Jane and take Abby back to Freddy's]], Abby asks, "How do we get there?" Cut to a taxi, which we see Abby and Golden Freddy enter promptly afterward.

[[caption-width-right:350:After [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell all this time]], you'd better ''hope'' you're ready.]]

->''"When the night shift starts, the nightmare begins."''
-->-- '''{{Tagline}}'''

* AnswerCut: After [[spoiler:Golden Freddy shows up at Mike's home to kill Aunt Jane and take Abby back to Freddy's]], Abby asks, "How do we get there?" Cut to a taxi, which we see Abby and [[spoiler:Golden Freddy]] enter promptly afterward.

* GlowingMechanicalEyes: The four animatronics have glowing red eyes when they are agitated. [[spoiler:Golden Freddy, whose game counterpart is famous for [[EyelessFace having no eyes]], has one glowing blue eye.]]

** [[spoiler:[[WebVideo/GameTheory MatPat]]]] plays a waiter who claims that lunch is the most important meal of the day. When Jeff asks if he means breakfast, he replies, "Some people say that, but, you know, [[spoiler:it's just a theory.]]" His character's name, Ness, is also a reference to [[spoiler:his infamous memetic "[[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]] is [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans]]" theory]].

* CameoCluster: LetsPlay/CoryxKenshin, a [=YouTuber=] well known for his playthroughs of the games, appears in the film as a taxi driver. There's also an "Employee of the Month" board in the background [[https://twitter.com/dawkosgames/status/1673713359173165059 which features multiple [=YouTubers=] known for playing the game such as Dawko, 8Bit Ryan, Bazamalam, DJ Sterf and FusionZGamer]]. To top it off, [[spoiler:[[WebVideo/GameTheory MatPat]]]] appears as a waiter in a local diner called Sparky's, named after a debunked Five Night's leaked image, while [[spoiler:[[WebVideo/GameTheory MatPat's]]]] character is named [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 Ness]], a reference to one of his more infamous theories. Voiceover-wise, veteran ''[=FNaF=]'' voice actor Creator/KellenGoff lends his vocals to Foxy's song.

** [[spoiler:[[WebVideo/GameTheory MatPat]]]]'s [[TheCameo cameo]] takes place in a diner named Sparky's, presumably named after the old fifth animatronic theory "Sparky the Dog" that circulated online around the first game's release. He even says [[spoiler:"It’s just a theory"]] in his scene. In addition, a book entitled [[spoiler:''[[OldShame Dream Theory]]'']] pops up.