Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (also known as Five Nights at Freddy's 4: Nightlight) is a 1997 American direct-to-video animated musical drama film directed by Paul Sabella and Larry Leker and produced by Don Bluth (his first involvement in the franchise since the original) Jonathan Dern, Tad Stones and Jeannine Roussel. It is the third sequel to the 1987 animated feature film, Five Nights at Freddy's.
The score is composed by Mark Watters, with songs written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
The film was meant with mixed-to-positive reviews, with praise for the story, and was deemed an improvement over Five Nights at Freddy's 3, while criticizing the inconsistent tone. The animation and songs received a mixed response.
Plot
In 1999, two years after the events of Five Nights at Freddy's 2, two brothers, Chris (7, later 8 years old) and Terrence (17 years old), suffer from their own dysfunction relationship. A year ago (and even further back), they use to be very close, but Terrence becomes bitter and Chris mourns over his brother not showing affection to him. However, under all his bitterness, Terrence still loves his little brother, but doesn't show his soft side to him or anyone else, rather keeping it to himself.
One day, Chris meets a plush that resembles Fredbear, which has a life of its own. The Fredbear plush comforts Chris and the two become friends. Meanwhile, Terrence is neglected by his father, William Afton, who incidentally shows more affection to Chris. This results in Terrence having depression from being neglected and jealousy of his younger brother. In some cases, Terrence wishes to see his mother again.
To try and fix the issue, William leaves Terrace and Chris with his older brother, Vincent Afton, who secretly plans on destroying William’s reputation by committing some crimes at his restaurant, Fredbear’s Family Diner.
As Fredbear and Chris get to know each other better, Chris mentions having a fear of nighttime, darkness, and the animatronics of Fredbear's Family Diner. On some occasions, Chris has nightmares of the animatronics.
Cast
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Chris, a 7 (later 8) year old boy who fears the dark and suffers from recurring nightmares. He is the younger brother of Terrence.
- Erik Von Detten as Terrence, a rising high school senior and Chris' 17 year old brother who is neglected by their father. He is consumed by jealousy over Chris, but still loves him, though he doesn't want to show his soft side. He is also seen wearing a Foxy mask at times.
- Scott Innes as The Fredbear Plush, a plush that resembles Fredbear who befriends Chris and later, Terrence. He teaches Chris how to face his fears and to gain a stable relationship with Terrence.
- Dennis Hopper as Nightmare Freddy, the nightmare version of Freddy Fazbear. He is treated as an equal with Nightmare Bonnie, Nightmare Chica, and Nightmare Foxy, though he sometimes leads them when forming plans to harass Chris.
- Dan Castellaneta as Nightmare Bonnie, the nightmare version of Bonnie the Bunny. He is the dumbest and most gullible member of the Nightmare group.
- Whoopi Goldberg as Nightmare Chica, the nightmare version of Chica the Chicken. She is the most fierce and hostile member of the Nightmare group. She likes to mock and poke fun at Nightmare Bonnie.
- Jim Cummings as Nightmare Foxy, the nightmare version of Foxy the Pirate Fox. He is the annoying, wise-cracking member of the Nightmare group, and also the most cunning, and is the meanest of the Nightmares. He later becomes the arch-enemy of Terrence.
- Ron Perlman as Nightmare, the true form of Nightmare Fredbear and Chris' true fear.
- Christopher Plummer as Nightmare Fredbear, the supreme leader of the Nightmares.
- Candy Candido as Plushtrap, one of Nightmare Fredbear's minions and the arch-enemy of the Fredbear plush.
- Paul Schoeffler as William Afton, the father of Chris and Terrence and owner of Fredbear’s Family Diner.
- Niketa Calame as Chloe, a 7-year-old girl who cares for the well-being of Chris.
- Andrew Keegan as David, the friend of Terrence, Bruno, and Charlie. He wears a Freddy Fazbear mask.
- Jason Marsden as Bruno, the friend of Terrence, David, and Charlie. He wears a Chica mask.
- Jason Weaver as Charlie, the friend of Terrence, David, and Bruno. He wears a Bonnie mask.
- Kath Soucie as unnamed girl with toy animatronic figurines.
- Soucie also voiced an unnamed girl with Spring Bonnie plush and an unnamed boy with a balloon.
- Tony Jay as Vincent Afton, the uncle to William’s children, he serves as a major antagonist who plans on destroying William’s career by murdering people in Fredbear’s Family Diner.
Production
Release
Five Nights at Freddy's held it's premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 24, 1997. The film was released in theaters across the nation on April 5, 1997.
Video Release
The film was released exclusively for video release on October 16th, 1997.
Soundtrack
- Five Nights at Freddy's 4/Soundtrack
Home Video Release
Walt Disney Home Video released the movie on VHS in April 1998 and like the 1992 sequel, It also becomes one of the most purchased VHS sales in the year, making this, along with the other films were a cult classic, as its predecessor.
Reception
The film earned a rating of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 185 reviews, with an average rating of 9.8/10.
The site's consensus reads "With a heavy focus on brotherhood, facing your fears, adolescence, and the struggles of a dysfunctional family, the final chapter of Five Nights at Freddy's is a vivid, if not always tonally consistent story."
Gallery
Trivia
- The film is rated PG (for some scary images, action, and language).
- Scary images include:
- Nightmare versions of the original Fazbear Crew, Fredbear, and a Spring Bonnie plush.
- An even more frightening version of Nightmare Fredbear that serves as his true form.
- Two of the villains using either a sharp knife and pirate hook to harm the heroes.
- While fighting the true antagonist of the film, the heroes seem hopeless (at first).
- The main villain is killed off-screen (the shadows are only seen) by his own henchmen after he is defeated by the heroes.
- The secondary villain wields a knife as he plans to harm people with it.
- Action includes:
- Our main heroes fighting the villains towards the end of the film.
- Heroes dodging attacks and using some fighting techniques.
- Some of the villains argue and will push, punch, or pull on one of their ears. Used for humor effect.
- One of the villains got kicked by a heroic character, gets slammed into a tree, and is knocked unconscious.
- Language includes:
- "Heck" and "Hell" are used sometimes.
- Some uses of "Oh my God", "Stupid", and "Idiot(s)".
- 1 use of "Doofus" and "Moron".
- Some uses of "Shut up".
- One the characters teases another character by calling him a "Baby".
- Scary images include:
- Much like Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and All Dogs go to Heaven for being dark and frightening, Five Nights at Freddy's 4 is considered to be an emotional, dramatic, and somewhat mature film.
- The film also concerned many parents for the film's dark themes which focus on depression, anxiety, murder, neglect, PTSD, and a few others.
- The visuals of the film are similar to All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 (1996).