Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.
Set one year after the previous film, Five Night’s At Freddy’s 2 follows Abby Schmidt (Piper Rubio), who sneaks out to reconnect with her animatronic friends, leading to events that reveal the true origin of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Meanwhile, her older brother, Mike (Josh Hutcherson) attempts to move on with his life after the terrifying events of the first film, but is drawn back into the wild world of Freddy’s to protect his sister.
As Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 prepares to scare in Australian cinemas on December 4 (tickets on sale now!), Nick L’Barrow spoke with the films director and co-writer, Emma Tammi, about returning to the world of FNAF, and how this sequel is going bigger and scarier this time around.
Nick: Emma, it’s such a pleasure to meet you! How are you today?
Emma Tammi: I’m well! How are you?
Nick: I’m doing so well. Thank you for taking the time to chat! I’ll kick off with this – I can imagine when you venture into sequel territory, there is a feeling of having to go bigger, and I would assume in the case of Five Nights At Freddy’s, scarier. From a filmmaker’s point of view, what were you primarily focusing on once you knew this sequel was happening?
Emma Tammi: Well we’re going bigger! And we’re going scarier! That was all so fun, and a great expansion of the world. But, on top of that, I was really conscious of making sure we were maintaining a tone, and making sure we were maintaining our characters in a way that still felt connected to movie one. That was a really fun challenge. I think something that was super helpful with that was working with the returning cast on that again.
And, you know, we have over three times more animatronics in the sequel than we did in the first one! That in and of itself was like leveling up in terms of scares and scale. It’s a real thrill ride, especially in the second half. It’s very exciting and I think it delivers, hopefully, on all the levels.
Nick: One of the things that excited me about this film was the new cast you’re introducing too, which has this Spielberg-like, E.T., The Goonies type adventure feeling to that storyline. I’m curious to know where the inspiration for the new cast story came from?
Emma Tammi: I mean, you named them all! For sure they were big time influences for me growing up. I loved those movies so much. Even the casting is a bit nostalgic. Wayne Knight joined the cast for this one, and I remember him so profoundly in Jurassic Park. And I also definitely pulled visual references from Jurassic Park for the first movie.
Plus in this movie, we have the Scream connection again with Matthew [Lillard] and Skeet [Ulrich]. And actually, McKenna Grace is going to be in Scream 7. So, it’s like old generation, new generation. It’s incredible to link those nostalgic films that I certainly hold very, very dear. But, I think that vibe feels fresh, but also uniquely Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Nick: I love going to the movies, and I feel like horror is one of those unique cinematic experiences that really lends to the idea of the communal experience. And Five Nights at Freddy’s is unique in that you have horror fans, and also those who love the games, coming together to enjoy this experience together. Is there a cinematic experience that sticks out to you that reminds you of how great going to the movies is?
Emma Tammi: I mean, every time I step into a theatre that is full, I’m just balled over. I went to the movies yesterday, and I saw something that wasn’t a genre film, but it had a lot of film industry references. And I was watching it in a theatre in Los Angeles that was completely packed, and just the laughter that filled the room was so special. I mean, it would’ve been fun to watch by myself at home, but hearing everybody’s responses just breathes a whole other level of life into it.
And I think especially for scares, there’s the aftermath of the jump, right? Then to experience that collectively is so powerful, and often funny, like, feeling that catharsis. Then with Five Nights at Freddy’s, watching fans talk about the lore, and totally picking up on the Easter eggs, and getting excited while you’re watching it, whether you’re a fan or not, is exciting to watch because you’re able to be a fly on the wall for their experience.
Thank you so much to Emma for her time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the interview. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is in Australian cinemas December 4, and tickets are on sale now.
