After many years stuck in development hell, the Five Nights at Freddy's movie is finally happening, and we now have proof: the first teaser trailer.
The film seems to stick closely to the look, tone, and even the mechanics of the viral horror video game series it's based on, in which players have to survive the night in a dilapidated themed pizza restaurant full of murderous animatronic mascots.
No wonder it's so faithful - the game series' creator Scott Cawthon has screenwriting and producer credits on the movie, which is directed by Emma Tammi and co-produced by horror impresario Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions label. Reportedly, Cawthon's insistence on getting the script to his satisfaction led to several previous attempts to film Five Nights at Freddy's being scrapped. (A movie adaptation was first announced back in 2015, and at one point Home Alone and Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, of all people, was attached to direct it.) Cawthon is a controversial figure who has retired from development of the games, so he's had nothing to distract him from this movie adaptation of his baby.
The film stars Josh Hutcherson (who played Peeta in the Hunger Games series) as a security guard working the night shift in a long-deserted branch of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Eagle-eyed viewers will also catch a brief glimpse of the great Matthew Lillard, who was so unsettling in Twin Peaks: The Return, looking slightly sinister behind a desk. I shudder to think what he's up to in this movie. The animatronic characters are created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
Five Nights at Freddy's opens simultaneously in theaters and streaming on Peacock on October 27, just in time for Halloween.