“Five Nights at Freddy’s” had its theatrical release this past week on October 27th to critical acclaim. The story, based on the popular video game, follows Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, as he struggles to keep a job due to his traumatic past. Schmidt makes an appeal to career counselor Steve Raglan (Matthew Lillard) for a position and is hired as a security guard at the former Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria – a locale with a troubling past that has a difficult time keeping staff. Though not initially thrilled by the position, Schmidt takes the job in order to take care of his sister, Abby (Piper Rubio). 

Quickly, Schmidt realizes this gig isn’t like the others after he falls asleep the first two nights on the job. He dreams of his brother’s kidnapping, which took place when he was a child and is confronted, via the dream, by other children who resemble his own kidnapped brother. Based on his dreams, he believes that these children are subsequent victims of the same kidnapper who took his brother. After suffering an attack during his second shift, he meets police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), and the two explore the abandoned entertainment center. They come face to face, at last, with the quirky animatronics left behind in the building including a large bear, a chicken, and the Billiken. 

Only after Schmidt brings his sister to his next shift, like the über-responsible brother he is, do these figures come to life! The Billiken takes center stage and outshines the other animatronics as he explains how they came to be alive in a musical number. This 8 minute long number – which includes a tap dance interlude and a short spoken word section – verifies Schmidt’s theory that the spirits inhabiting the animatronics were victims of William Afton (Fred Pestello), the past owner of the pizzeria. The bodies and souls of these children are trapped within and won’t be free until Afton is brought to justice. 

In the epic conclusion, the animatronics and Billiken take Abby back to the pizzeria in an attempt to make her like them. Schmidt and Vanessa fight to save her and ultimately battle Afton after it is revealed that he is Vanessa’s dad. The Billiken, once more, takes center stage as he single handedly defeats Afton and saves the Schmidt siblings and Vanessa. After all is quiet, the souls of the children materialize and thank the Billiken before fading into nothingness. At this point, the Billiken faces the camera and addresses the audience with a “Roll Bills!” He then shoots through the roof of the entertainment center, leaving a large hole through which the final shot of the film is taken, showing the remaining characters watching the Billiken fly away. “THE END?” flashes briefly on screen before the picture fades to black. 

Overall, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a cinematic masterpiece that dutifully showcases the acting prowess of both Josh Hutcherson and the Billiken. The movie’s fast-paced action in tandem with its original musical components keeps the audience engaged and on the edge of their seats. I trust that this movie will become a classic and usher us into a new age of cinema. I look forward to seeing how the Billiken uses this to advance his own acting career.