Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (film)

Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 is an American horror slasher film and a sequel to 2019’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 3. It is produced by Universal Studios and distributed by Blumhouse Productions. It stars Lennon Richardson and Eric D. Ward as Billy Schmidt (the son of Mike) and Nightmare.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 10, 2020. It was a box office success, grossing $1 billion against a $500 million budget (making it the highest grossing film in the franchise), and received critical acclaim for its plot, casting, performances, gore, and fittingness to the source material. A sequel is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2021.

Plot
One Year After the events of the previous film, Mike decides to take a break from working and spend time with his son, Billy Schmidt (Lennon Richardson). As the two watch TV together, Mike gets a call from his Boss about spending the week at a Casino, but Mike declines due to not having a babysitter, but Billy volunteers to stay home alone due to almost being a teenager. Mike accepts after.

As Mike leaves, Billy invites friends over after Mike told him he couldn’t. His friends, Dean Wilson (Dylan Bond) and Cole Henderson (Niko Lovett), arrive and the three throw a party as an unknown figure stalks them from outside. The figure approaches the house as the three prepare to throw a party. The three then see graffiti on the wall that says “It’s me”. Dean and Cole leave out of fear, leaving Billy alone in the house with the figure.

As Billy drifts to sleep, he sees a metal hand getting ready to grab him, as the figure is revealed to be a Nightmarish version of Bonnie (Nightmare Bonnie). Billy then sees Nightmare Freddy, Nightmare Chica, Nightmare Foxy, Nightmare Mangle, Nightmare BB, Nightmarionne, and Nightmare Fredbear, along with an unknown figure he refers to as “Nightmare”. It was all revealed to be a dream as Billy hears another voice and goes back to sleep.

The Next Day, Billy calls Mike, who doesn’t believe him and goes back to Gamaking. Billy then goes to Mike’s Boss’s office. Mike’s Boss reveals that the Animatronics will be at the house for five nights and Billy has to survive them without burning the house down. Billy then returns home to fight the Animatronics overnight.

On the Second Night, Nightmare arrives and scares Billy into bed, but Billy fights back and runs out of the house. He then wakes up the next day in his bed as the Animatronics carried him home overnight. He then discovers a Freddy plush in his closet and Dean and Cole come back over so Billy can tell them about the Animatronics. Dean and Cole don’t believe him until they see Nightmare’s shadow in the back room. They try to leave, but Billy convinces them to stay.

On the Third Night, Nightmare Freddy roams the hallways and Cole slams the door on his face, alerting the Animtronics. Nightmare Foxy appears in the closet and jumpscares Dean. The three then fight the Animatronics and kick them out the Window, believing that they killed them for good. Nightmare arrives and attacks them. Cole kicks him and they hide out at Dean’s house, where the Animatronics search for them and then leave.

The Next Day, the kids go to the Police, who tell them to go home. They then go to the Movie Theaters and watch movies about Robots, discovering that their weakness is water. The kids then fill up the bathtub, turn on the shower, and prepare to defeat the Animatronics once and for all.

On the Fourth Night, the kids push the Animatronics into Water, but they reveal that Afton built them to be Waterproof and attack the kids. The three escape into the Alleyway as the Animatronics find them again. They then run back to the House as the sun comes up. The Animatronics leave as the kids discover that the Animatronics’ weakness is Sunlight.

During the Day, the kids pay an adult to buy fake swords so they can turn them into real swords. They then buy torches to burn the Animatronics alive.

On the Final Night, Billy, Dean, and Cole prepare for their final fight as Nightmare arrives. The three shine a light into his eyes and blind him for a few minutes, escaping enough to run downstairs. Nightmare Freddy chases them, but the kids escape and run out the front door. They then go back in and use flame throwers against them.

Mike arrives home to see the Animatronics and fights them, saving the kids. The Animatronics prepare to kill them as Mike accidentally sets the house on fire, burning everything down. The four escape and Cole and Dean go back to their houses. The Nightmare Animatronics attack them, but Billy kicks them into the fire and the house explodes, killing the Animatronics and ending the battle. The souls escape the suits, which survive the battle. Mike then gets them a new house in the same city.

In a mid-credit scene, Springtrap returns again and prepares to kill Mike, starting with Billy.

Cast
Additionally, Yoon Ho, George Osborne, Darbi Logan, Joe Gaudet, Stephanie Belinda Quinn, Matthew Cirtus, Amber Lee Connors, and Kellen Goff Goff reprise their roles as Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken, Foxy the Pirate Fox, Mangle, Balloon Boy, Marionette, and Golden Freddy. Paul Rudd and Michael Keaton reprise their roles as Mike Schmidt and William Afton, respectively. Also, Rob Riggle appears as the Boss in an uncredited role.
 * Lennon Richardson as Billy Schmidt, the son of Mike who has to stay home alone with evil Animatronics.
 * Eric D. Ward as Nightmare, an evil Animatronic who plots to kill Billy and worked for Afton.
 * Dylan Bond as Dean Wilson, Billy’s best friend from second grade.
 * Niko Lovett as Cole Henderson, Billy’s best friend from third grade.

Production
The film was announced shortly after the release of the previous film due to its success. During the announcement, Richardson and Ward joined the cast, with Ho, Osborne, Logan, Gaudet, Quinn, Cirtus, Connors, Goff Goff, Rudd, and Keaton reprising their roles as Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Mangle, Balloon Boy, Marionette, Golden Freddy, Mike, and Afton, respectively. Additionally, Bond and Lovett portray Dean and Cole, Billy’s best friends.

Filming took place between August 2019 and December 2019, with a teaser released in January 2020.

Reception
The film received critical acclaim for its plot, casting, performances, gore, and fittingness to the source material. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 94% score, based on 1000 reviews, with an average rating of 8.77/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “A much darker but more faithful sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 captures the delight of its predecessors while giving Lennon Richardson a chance at taking the lead for the first time.” On an A+ to F Scale, the film received an “A”.

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States and on video-on-demand on July 10, 2020. It was also released digitally on November 27, 2020, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 12, 2020.

Sequel
A sequel, titled Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location, is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on July 11, 2021.