'Five Nights at Freddy's' director explains why you 'don't see everything' in the death scenes

Publish date: 2024-08-01
2023-10-27T21:29:45Z

"Five Nights at Freddy's" fans may be a little disappointed by the lack of violent deaths in the new film adaptation.

"Five Nights at Freddy's" is the first movie adaptation of the hit horror video game series about possessed killer animatronics.

While the new film is filled with jumpscares, a lot of the deaths and violence happen off-screen which is surprising for a horror movie. In total, there are only two death scenes that actually occur completely on-screen but both are presented in a way where gore and blood are kept to a minimal amount.

The reason for this is likely to do with its PG-13 age rating.

Director Emma Tammi told GamesRadar+ ahead of release that the producers always planned to make the movie PG-13 in order to attract younger audiences who have likely played the game.

"It felt like it was important and really exciting to be able to include a younger audience to come see this movie," she said. "But we also, of course, wanted to deliver on the scares and at least the implied violence of a kill, even if you don't see everything."

Josh Hutcherson in a death trap in "Five Nights at Freddy's." Universal Pictures

"I personally find it sometimes more fun and creative to figure out the way to show the thing without explicitly showing the thing or without graphically showing the thing," Tammi explained. "It lets your mind go to even darker places sometimes than when you show all the gore in the guts."

The first "Five Nights at Freddy's" game was released almost a decade ago, which means some of the original fans are already adults and may want to see more violence than would be permitted under a PG-13 rating.

In the lead-up to the film, there was even speculation that an R-rated version might be released at a later date, like the other PG-13 horror produced by Blumhouse this year, "M3GAN."

In an interview with Forbes, Tammi told fans they shouldn't hold their breath for th.

"We knew that some of the fan base would want an R-rated version of this film," she said. "I would say not to expect an R-rated version on this one. We're really happy with how the PG-13 tone landed; it felt like the right fit for this particular film. We're sticking by it."

"Five Nights at Freddy's" is now playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock.

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