I LOVED this movie. Just cheesey and gory and funny and campy and pure enjoyment.
I've watched enough let's plays of Five Nights At Freddy's to have recognized the plot just from the description, so I was expecting Nic Cage to chew on the scenery of gore and jump scares. I would have been fine with something a little lame but with that certain Cage flair.
Instead, I got something surprisingly good. The cinematography was balanced, with little bits of surreal and fun angles, but never so much to become distracting. Good color scheme and lighting, and the creature design really captured that slightly terrifying look of way-back-when Chuck E Cheese.
I enjoyed how the script was full of tropes, but the actors carried it well, and everything came across well. Almost like everyone was having fun, wanted the audience to enjoy themselves, but they took it just serious enough to deliver good performances.
The whole movie is right on that edge of camp and parody, without necessarily being played for laughs like a comedy. Something more like Evil Dead 2 or Kung Fury; love and enjoyment of the genres without mockery.
That being said, this is NOT a horror or even really a thriller. It gets those labels because it needs some kind of genre, but it really fits in its own little niche, and it will NOT be for everyone. But as a popcorn/drinking-with-friends movie, it really hits the spot.
And I cannot understate how much Nic Cage was absolutely himself, dialed to 11. Sold every scene, and stole most of them. All without a single line of dialogue. That really was the cherry on top, and I gave an extra star and a half for his performance.
I've watched enough let's plays of Five Nights At Freddy's to have recognized the plot just from the description, so I was expecting Nic Cage to chew on the scenery of gore and jump scares. I would have been fine with something a little lame but with that certain Cage flair.
Instead, I got something surprisingly good. The cinematography was balanced, with little bits of surreal and fun angles, but never so much to become distracting. Good color scheme and lighting, and the creature design really captured that slightly terrifying look of way-back-when Chuck E Cheese.
I enjoyed how the script was full of tropes, but the actors carried it well, and everything came across well. Almost like everyone was having fun, wanted the audience to enjoy themselves, but they took it just serious enough to deliver good performances.
The whole movie is right on that edge of camp and parody, without necessarily being played for laughs like a comedy. Something more like Evil Dead 2 or Kung Fury; love and enjoyment of the genres without mockery.
That being said, this is NOT a horror or even really a thriller. It gets those labels because it needs some kind of genre, but it really fits in its own little niche, and it will NOT be for everyone. But as a popcorn/drinking-with-friends movie, it really hits the spot.
And I cannot understate how much Nic Cage was absolutely himself, dialed to 11. Sold every scene, and stole most of them. All without a single line of dialogue. That really was the cherry on top, and I gave an extra star and a half for his performance.