Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on Five Nights at Freddy's 2

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 15 November 2026 · The Pros 28 · The Punters 48 · Spore Score 35 · How we write our takes

Why The Punters rate it higher than The Pros

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is a textbook fan film, and the numbers show it. The Pros give it just 28, while The Punters give it 48, a 20-point gap, and the Spore Score settles at 35, a mostly clear result. Critics judged it as a horror film and found it light on scares and story. Fans of the video games judged it as a trip back into a world they already love, full of familiar animatronics and lore, and were far more forgiving.

What it is

The sequel to the 2023 hit is again directed by Emma Tammi and produced by Blumhouse, with the screenplay by Scott Cawthon, who created the games. Josh Hutcherson returns as Mike, Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa and Piper Rubio as Mike's younger sister Abby. Set some time after the first film, it takes the story to the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza and introduces new animatronics, as the past of the haunted pizzeria comes back for the family. It opened in cinemas in December 2025.

What it does well

The production design is the star. The animatronics are physical, detailed and properly creepy, and the film is packed with references that fans of the games will spot straight away. It keeps a family-friendly level of horror, which makes it an easy pick for teenage audiences who grew up playing the series, and the cast play it straight rather than sending it up.

Where it falls short

For anyone outside the fan base, the plot is hard to follow without knowing the game lore, and the scares rely on loud jump moments rather than tension. Like the first film, it spends a lot of time on backstory and less on the nights at the restaurant that the title promises.

Who it is for

Fans of the games, first and foremost, and families with older children looking for a mild horror night out. If you never played Five Nights at Freddy's, the first film is a better place to judge whether this is for you.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Skip it, with a Spore Score of 35. A sequel made squarely for its fans, who enjoyed it far more than the critics did. Everyone else can safely give it a miss.