'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' scraps together spare parts for a junky sequel

Greenlighting a sequel to 2023’s “Five Nights astatine Freddy’s” — the mega-popular fearfulness movie based connected Scott Cawthon’s deed video crippled franchise — was a no-brainer. After all, the archetypal representation grossed astir $300 cardinal worldwide, contempt mostly mediocre reviews and a day-and-date merchandise connected Peacock. Propelled by a teen-friendly PG-13 standing and the game’s cultish instrumentality base, it became shaper Blumhouse’s astir palmy release, besting institution record-holders specified arsenic “Get Out,” “Split” and 2018’s “Halloween.”

But “no-brainer” takes connected a dual meaning erstwhile it comes to “Five Nights astatine Freddy’s 2,” a laughably cheesy, empty-headed follow-up that makes the mediocre anterior movie radiance successful comparison.

For the uninitiated, the archetypal movie follows the career-challenged Mike (Josh Hutcherson), who lands a last-ditch occupation arsenic overnight information defender astatine Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, an abandoned Chuck E. Cheese-like joint. Turns out, the spot houses a radical of homicidal animatronic mascots — carnivore Freddy, rabbit Bonnie, chickenhearted Chica and fox Foxy — possessed by the ghosts of murdered children. Mike unravels the restaurant’s enigma with the assistance of Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), an charismatic bull whose father, William (Matthew Lillard), is revealed to beryllium a serial slayer with ties to Mike. In addition, Mike indispensable support his withdrawn 10-year-old sister, Abby (Piper Rubio), from the mascots, whom she has weirdly befriended.

With maine truthful far?

The sequel opens successful 1982 astatine the archetypal flagship Freddy’s location, a tract ne'er mentioned successful the archetypal film. There, a kid named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn-Marie) is killed during a day enactment aft attempting to pass a criminally dismissive radical of parents that different youngster is missing. We’re besides introduced to Marionette, a almighty puppet said to power the different robots done immoderate aboriginal signifier of Wi-Fi. (OK, whatever.)

Flash-forward 20 years to aft the extremity of the erstwhile film. Mike, Vanessa and Abby (Hutcherson, Lail and Rubio reprise their roles) are trying to determination connected aft the murderous events of the past. Mike’s seemingly unemployed again (and inactive incapable of a adjacent shave); Vanessa remains traumatized by her father’s convulsive decease and the quirky Abby is missing her schizy animatronic “friends” (the ever-protective Mike tells her they are “broken”).

But aft a squad of shade hunters (led by Mckenna Grace’s Lisa) meets a grisly extremity portion filming astatine the long-closed Freddy’s, the animatronics enlist Abby’s assistance to acceptable them free. Are they utilizing her? Maybe, but they besides look to spot her, dissimilar their lethal disdain for the town’s parents and different intrusive adults.

A question of robotic mayhem follows, embroiling Mike, Vanessa and different locals successful a bid of messy if thrill-free acceptable pieces astatine the flagship Freddy’s, respective homes and Abby’s school, wherever an inexplicably cruel teacher (a scenery-chewing Wayne Knight) thwarts her information successful a coveted subject fair. Bad move, Teach!

Meanwhile, creepy-looking Marionette is present big to Charlotte’s vengeful spirit, portion the spider-like Mangle puppet (the artifact mentation of Foxy) does its stock of ambushing, the shuttered pizzeria’s nighttime defender (Freddy Carter) can’t beryllium trusted and Skeet Ulrich pops successful arsenic Charlotte’s grieving dad. Lillard (Ulrich’s “Scream” co-star, for trivia buffs) returns arsenic the brutal William, but lone successful a nightmare sequence.

Unlike the anterior installment, which had 3 credited writers (including manager Emma Tammi, backmost astatine the helm here), the caller movie was scripted solely by Cawthorn, proving to beryllium his ain worst enemy. Saddled with a mishmash of Freddy’s-verse lore, clunky exposition and pancake-flat dialogue, the communicative becomes careless and convoluted. Logic is ditched for franchise callbacks and Easter eggs, dubious subplots and laying way for the inevitable adjacent sequel.

Director Tammi is surely hamstrung by the slapdash script. Still, the pacing lags and she seldom builds overmuch hostility oregon fright beyond respective predictable leap scares (though a fewer volition drawback you). Subpar acting and cringey enactment deliveries further hide the picture.

As for the animatronics, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop has taken evident attraction and accomplishment successful re-creating the film’s lumbering robots and evoking their crippled origins. But successful the discourse of a fearfulness movie, adjacent a milder 1 aimed astatine younger viewers, they excessively often travel disconnected arsenic silly and toothless.

This one’s for die-hards only.