- Five Nights at Freddy’s film will maintain a PG-13 rating to cater to its younger fanbase and won’t have an R-rated director’s cut.
- Director Emma Tammi is happy with the PG-13 tone, which she says feels like the perfect fit for the film.
- The creative team aimed to push the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, using innovative ways to portray kills without explicit gore.
The film adaptation of the popular horror game series, Five Nights at Freddy’s, is sticking to its PG-13 rating to better appeal to its younger fans. The story follows a troubled security guard named Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, who faces difficulties while working the night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
In an interview with Forbes, director Emma Tammi confirmed their decision to maintain the PG-13 rating for the film and stated there are no plans to release an R-rated version in the future. She expressed satisfaction with the current rating, saying, “I would say not to expect an R-rated version on this one. We’re really happy with how the PG-13 tone landed; it felt like the right fit for this particular film. We’re sticking by it.”
The cast includes Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa, another security guard from the FNAF game Security Breach, and Matthew Lillard, who plays William Afton, the co-founder of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza and the main antagonist. With Lillard signed on for three films, Five Nights at Freddy’s has the potential to launch a new horror franchise for Blumhouse. The film is projected to have a strong opening weekend, with estimates reaching up to $50 million.
Director Emma Tammi discussed the team’s effort to push the boundaries of the PG-13 rating while maintaining a high body count, a staple of the horror genre. She mentioned embracing creative methods, such as using shadows, silhouettes, and sound design, to portray kills without showing explicit gore. Tammi said, “In some cases, we leaned into shadows and silhouettes and sound design to really feel the moment in an impactful way without showing any gore. So that is something that I had a lot of fun doing, and actually really appreciated that we were taking the PG-13 approach for this because there’s such a younger audience for FNAF, and we didn’t want to exclude them.”
Originally slated for a dual release in theaters and streaming platforms on October 27, Five Nights At Freddy’s will now make its debut on Peacock a day earlier, October 26, starting at 8 pm ET.