Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (in theaters)

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” fans will appreciate the lore, but there’s not a lot here for the rest of us. 

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” the sequel to the 2023 movie adaptation of the hit video game series, continues the original’s dive into the video game lore. It actually corrects some of the tweaks made in the original, and hints at a major chunk of backstory fans will probably look forward to. 

Unfortunately, it’s not much of a movie. It’s the padded-out first half of one, without even a temporary ending and hinting at plots that are cut off abruptly. There’s enough horror to keep things engaging on a moment-to-moment basis, but when the credits roll you’ll still be deeply unsatisfied.

For those not familiar with the story, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” focuses on a closed Chuck E. Cheese-style pizza place where the animatronics are possessed by the ghosts of murdered children. There’s another possessed animatronic in the sequel, the ghost of another murdered kid, only this one can jump bodies. When the characters from the first movie get sucked back in, they realize the restaurant has a lot more secrets than they ever imagined. 

The performances are solid, with Josh Hutcherson sympathetic as a guy in over his head. Elizabeth Lail gets some interesting character work, while Freddy Carter is deeply unsettling from his first moment onscreen. The movie teases horror fans by implying an onscreen reunion of Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich, but the fact that it doesn’t happen in this movie only adds to the destruction. 

It’ll still satisfy deep level fans, but it deserved more. 

Grade: One and a half stars

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix)

There’s something deeply satisfying about a nice, complicated murder mystery, especially with a familiar detective there to solve it. 

“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” delivers all the entertaining murder fans of the series could hope for. Daniel Craig is as delightful as always as Benoit Blanc, while Josh O’Connor is equally engaging as his new client/assistant. The wider cast is interesting, though they don’t get used as much as in previous series entries, and the twists are good even if they’re not surprising. 

Director Rian Johnson has also worked in his usual societal commentary, here focusing on real Christian faith versus religion only used for power and control. It’s a piercingly accurate takedown that will hit hard to anyone watching the news today. It adds richness to the fun, rather than distracting from it, and will make this particular mystery linger in your memory longer than others. 

The movie focuses on a young priest accused of the murder of his hate-filled superior. Blanc arrives to help sort through a small group of parishioners who are suspects, offering his insight and helping the young priest uncover the truth. 

O’Connor is the real appeal here, along with Craig, but the supporting cast do have their moments. The best of them is Glenn Close, who is terrifyingly believable as the dead priests’ most faithful believer.

If you’re looking for a mystery to believe in, this is definitely what you’ve been looking for. 

Grade: Three and a half stars

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].

Credit for photo ©Universal