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FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S (2023) IS NIGHTMARE FUEL! MOVIE REACTION! First Time Watch | Matthew Lillard

2025-12-03 Entertainment
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Reel Rejects
Reel Rejects
1.5m subscribers

Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie Reaction: Character Depth, Matthew Lillard, and Sequel Bait

Discover why Roxy and Andrew credit the sibling dynamic and grounded performances for elevating this video game adaptation, even while criticizing its overly obvious villain reveal.

Short Summary

  • The film succeeds by focusing deeply on character trauma and the sibling bond between Mike and Abby Schmidt.
  • Matthew Lillard’s performance as Steve Raglan/William Afton made an impact despite limited screen time.
  • Reviewers highlighted the narrative decision to prioritize atmosphere and character development over constant jump scares.
  • The ending leaves significant open-ended questions regarding Vanessa, the Aunt, and Mike's father, setting up substantial sequel potential.

This breakdown captures the real-time reaction to the Five Nights at Freddy's film, detailing pivotal scenes, analyzing character motivations—especially Mike’s struggle with repressed memory—and concluding with a constructive critique of the plot structure before setting up future expectations.

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Description

CATCHING UP FOR FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2!!! Gift Someone (Or Yourself) A Stranger Things RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 Vecna: The Mind Slayer tee by @G9DESIGN & Dr. Stranger Things tee by @SASAMIIKU — perfect for hardcore fans & collectors alike - Five Nights at Freddy's Full Movie Reaction Watch Along: https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects - FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S Greg & John's REACTION: https://youtu.be/xQgKiBX59UU With the sequel out this weekend & the franchise bigger than ever, Roxy Striar & Andrew Gordon grab their flashlights and head into their Five Nights at Freddy's Reaction, Recap, Commentary, Analysis, Breakdown, & Spoiler Review! Roxy Striar & Andrew Gordon react to Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023), the Blumhouse supernatural horror hit directed by Emma Tammi (The Wind, Into the Dark) & based on Scott Cawthon’s massively popular video game series. The film follows troubled night guard Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson – The Hunger Games, The Beekeeper) as he takes a job at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza to keep custody of his younger sister. What starts as a quiet graveyard shift spirals into a nightmare when Mike discovers the animatronic mascots — Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Mr. Cupcake — are haunted by the souls of murdered children and come alive after hours. As Mike digs into the pizzeria’s history, he’s drawn into a dark mystery involving local officer Vanessa Shelly (Elizabeth Lail – You, Once Upon a Time), who warns him about the building’s bloody past, and his fearless little sister Abby Schmidt (Piper Rubio), whose bond with the animatronics becomes both eerie and unexpectedly emotional. The film’s menace centers on Mike’s “career counselor” Steve Raglan / William Afton, played by Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby-Doo), the chilling figure tied to the murders and the franchise’s deepest lore. Iconic and highly searched moments include the first full-night animatronic reveal, the tense security-office survival sequences, the uncanny dream-memory investigations, the surprisingly wholesome-yet-creepy fort-building scene with Abby and the animatronics, and the brutal springlock suit finale that pays off classic game mythology. Fans also loved the quick nods and cameos (including a well-known YouTube theorist) and the end-credits energy that ties the movie directly to the fandom’s legacy. With practical creature effects, jump-scare dread, and a tragic backstory at its core, Five Nights at Freddy’s delivers a fun, spooky gateway into one of gaming’s biggest horror worlds. #FiveNightsAtFreddys #FNAF #FreddyFazbear #Blumhouse #EmmaTammi #JoshHutcherson #MatthewLillard #ElizabethLail #VideoGameMovie #HorrorComedy #SupernaturalHorror #Animatronics #Springlock #MovieReaction #FilmReview #React #ReactTo #Reaction Stranger Things 5, Episodes 1 & 2 Tara and Andrew's Reaction: https://youtu.be/T9GPwZJjcpI IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6 Reaction: https://youtu.be/_nlFAccj8cU Knives Out (2019) Movie Reaction: https://youtu.be/LjqwwoLynKE 0:00 Checking In! 1:55 Five Nights at Freddy's Reaction 32:20 NEW STRANGER THINGS TEES! 33:19 Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Reaction 1:04:37 Nights at Freddy's Review Intense Suspense by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ RR Clips & Shorts Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ReelRejectsClips Follow TheReelRejects On The Socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@thereelrejects?lang=en TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ Music Used In Ad: Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Happy Alley by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Supervising Producer: https://twitter.com/nerdchronic?lang=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Follow & Listen to Us Wherever You Get Your Podcasts!! - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3XHMwbveiznxSOGxN9XT0M - Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vc3Rhci13YXJzLXRhbGs - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-reel-rejects-tv-movie-recaps/id1616339990 - Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Apocalypse-Podcast/B08JJP58FG

Top Comments (10)

@Ethos10128 2025-12-03

No it wasn't a reveal and wasn't really supposed to be, Matthew Lillard was cast as "William Afton", everyone who knows the game story knows that's the killer. The reveal is less of a reveal, and more just a William Afton aura farm.

526 18 replies
@biancaeze14 2025-12-03

It’s not the scariest, but lowkey a sad story tbh lol. Super excited for the second one 😁

206 13 replies
@digdug4451 2025-12-03

I love that Roxy guessed two of the wild things that happen in the games and books. Psychedelics in the air and animatronics that look human

142 3 replies
@Yun6Frayser 2025-12-03

Seems like only yesterday I was watching Markiplier play the FNAF series 😂

140 3 replies
@Bethany_Bradley 2025-12-04

I understand the criticisms with Vanessa’s character but I think you misunderstand the reason why she doesn’t stand up to her father or turn him in. It’s not because she cares about him and doesn’t want to put him in jail, it’s because of the heavily implied abuse and psychological manipulation she’s endured from him all her life, and in the effort to prove that he was the one behind these crimes, I can imagine that he would’ve probably made her life a living hell for that. And granted, if you rewatch the film, you do see the ways that she legitimately tries to protect Mike, like she could’ve told her dad that Mike knew about the ghost children and was trying to find him a lot sooner, but unfortunately she just didn’t have the courage to stop her dad until the end. Honestly, this movie really makes me feel bad for her, like you can clearly see in the performance alone just how tormented and alone she is and that makes Mike’s promise to be there for her all the more satisfying, to me at least. Thankfully the second film is already confirmed to expand upon her relationship with her father, so hopefully it’ll make things make more sense for you guys. As a big fan of the game series, I really enjoyed your open-minded reaction to this film 👍🏻

109 14 replies
@hands_0n543 2025-12-03

QUICK TLDR FOR THE BACKGROUND OF THE MOVIE: The movie is based off of a notorious point and click video game series that got extremely popular because of its hidden lore and its extensive secret story. While the movie doesn't follow the game story 1:1 it follows the broad strokes, and yes, everyone knew that Matthew Lillard was Afton, not just because he's the "Voldemort" of the game series, but because he's a fan favorite character and Lilard was revealed to be afton before the film released. Also the Cab driver and the Diner waiter are both Youtubers that made the series popular (MatPat from Game Theory and Cory from CoryxKenshin) AND MatPat is coming back to voice an animatronic in the second movie. Since the series is so fan oriented, they listened to fans that wanted a MUCH scarier and intense experience and promised to deliver in the second movie and, so far, it looks like that's going to be true. They'll be loosely adapting the second game (loosely because the second game is a prequel and the film is a sequel) and diving into more of Vanessa and Afton's story whihch will hopefully clear things up

91 6 replies
@stanlee4ever278 2025-12-03

Glad you guys enjoyed the movie even as non fans. Hearing great things about the sequel, looking forward to when you guys get to watch that as well!

88 1 replies
@wolfietronic356 2025-12-03

Best part about the buildup to the sequel is the influx of new reactions

57
@HericaD 2025-12-04

Even Matthew said in an interview: William Afton is the Voldemort of FNAF. At first we only knew him as Purple Guy and Springtrap/Springbonnie (The yellow rabbit - when he's wearing clothes). When his name, William Afton, was revealed, many people were happy, Remembering that most of the story in these games is theory. Literally, they're little things being left in the games. So, the name that was revealed years ago was incredible. And as a fan, the moment they said Matthew was William Afton, everyone knew (fans). That's why they chose him.

37
@ReelRejects 2025-12-03

Five Nights At Freddy's 2 (2025) Reaction: https://youtu.be/dU1lgPufnLg Gift Someone (Or Yourself) A Stranger Things RR Tee! https://shorturl.at/hekk2 - Head on down to Freddy Fazbear's to hit That *LIKE & SUBSCRIBE* Button! 👉 https://www.youtube.com/user/TheReelRejects?sub_confirmation=1 - Full Reaction *Watch Along & MORE* For *Royal* Rejects: https://www.patreon.com/thereelrejects

21 1 replies

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