The Five Nights at Freddy's movie has been in the making for quite some time. Now that its release is coming closer, some big decisions may be revealed in the upcoming months. Perhaps the most important of these reveals is yet to be decided, but it's the most vital decision yet which, for the past few years, has stirred some controversy: the movie's rating.
Five Nights at Freddy's is one of the most beloved horror game franchises of modern times. The first game was developed and published in 2014 by Scott Cawthon and follows a security guard during his first days at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The security guard's only responsibility is to watch the various animatronic characters via security monitors. Unfortunately, the characters come to life at night, so the guard's night shift becomes a horrifying test of survival. Because of its extraordinary premise, it's had positive reviews and a loyal fanbase. It's a severe disservice to the franchise to discuss the game without mentioning that YouTube playthroughs -- particularly from Markiplier --led to the simple game turning into a highly-successful and still-developing FNAF franchise, which includes sequel games, spinoff games, DLCs, books, and, of course, the upcoming movie.
FNAF Has Sparked Rating Debates Online
Five Nights at Freddy's is hardly immune to controversy or online debates, and a resurfaced discussion has centered around the FNAF movie's rating. Currently, the movie doesn't have an official MPAA rating. But this hasn't stopped fans from arguing online about it anyway. Some believe that the Blumhouse flick could or should lean into an R-rating. Horror movie fans certainly wouldn't complain if the scare factors are boosted a bit. But others believe that too much violence or gore would ruin the movie.
At the moment, the expected MPAA rating is PG-13, which is hardly surprising to fans of the various FNAF video games. The listed reasons to support the rating include intense and bloody violence, terror, language, and disturbing images. Five Nights at Freddy's includes an extreme amount of jumpscares, especially if a player loses the game, which provides plenty of reason for the disturbing images and terror labels. There are a number of different directions the movie can go toward, but the MPAA has specific guidelines to follow, or it will slap a production with potentially harmful ratings.
A Higher Rating Would Hurt the FNAF Movie
Since FNAF's release, it's had a relatively young demographic, despite not being exactly family-friendly. This hasn't changed much, as the kids who loved the game at its release have grown older, and a new generation of youngsters has hopped on the FNAF bandwagon. With that said, a harsher rating would alienate a good chunk of the fanbase. Anything higher than PG-13 would be a missed opportunity, and having to go see a horror movie with a guardian can make the experience less accessible and enjoyable.
Beyond the logistics of a high rating, most of the criteria for an R movie don't seem to fit very well with FNAF's story. This is especially the case when any rating would come from the movie's content, with some of the expected content listed on the IMDb Parental Guide and similar resources. Even though it's not a credible source and the claims have been denied by Cawthon, the IMDb Parental Guide has been at the center of the rating conversations. One of the most controversial aspects of the guide is the warning of sex and nudity. Simply put, neither is featured in any Five Nights at Freddy's content and featuring it in the movie would raise the rating without adding anything substantial to the story. There also isn't a substantial amount of gore in FNAF; most of the violence is simply alluded to. Overall, there isn't much about the games to warrant an R-rating, and the best course of action for those involved in the decision is to stick with the expected PG-13 rating.
The Five Nights at Freddy’s movie is set to cause screams in theaters Oct. 27.