Why So Blu?

Scott Mendelson hated this one - says it's one of the worst films of the year.

Troy Stiffler

Blum was on Seth Meyers (good interview) and said this is all-in for fans of the show. He said that the game creator had demands and they stuck close to what he wanted.

I hope it makes fans happy. I'm guessing most actual players of the game and fans are around 17-20 now.

The Antipodean

Looks like it’s gonna make a pile of money:
https://deadline.com/2023/10/box-off...ys-1235584788/

TheBigDave

I didn't like this. The movie looked great, and the cast was good. But I was expecting a fun fast-paced horror flick with lots of jump scares and humor. Unfortunately, it's not scary. And the story is so dreary and slow, it's almost more of a drama.

bchbdaddy

And its a pile of shit. This and The Machine is in the lead for shittiest flick of the year.

The Machine, just an awful comedy, this movie was slow and boring and the kids in storyline bs. Just make, someone works there and they scare the shit out of the guy or a group all in one night and one survivor.

Daytripper

Yeah, this was crap. There were zero surprises, scares or thrills. You knew immediately who was behind everything. I did think Josh Hutcherson was pretty good in it though. Also, I hadn't seen Mary Stuart Masterson in years and had to look her up on IMDB. I was unaware that she's been working steady for years. She was huge crush in the 80's. But man she was terrible in this. Thankfully she only has 3 scenes.

Abob Teff

I know very little about FNAF other than a few of my students carry on about it. I am not sure who this is made for though.

It wasn't worthwhile for somebody who is not a fan of the franchise, and I really don't see how it would engage somebody who is a fan of the franchise. It was just ... meh. No horror, no comedy, no real action, just a mediocre, middling family drama. Glad this was a freebie on streaming and I didn't leave the house or buy a ticket.

Agree that Hutcherson was good for what it was. He reminded of Woody Harrelson several times ...

Dr. DVD

I saw this last night on streaming, and I give it props for using in camera effects for the puppets . That being said, I missed most of the second act as I fell asleep watching and caught most of the final act and saw enough to realize I didn't really miss anything. The fact that this is going to make money is depressing, as this looks like it should be a SyFy original movie produced by The Asylum. I guess it just proves if the timing is right and you have a PG-13 rating, teenagers will eat up anything. I will agree with everyone that Hutcherson did well with what he was given. It's a shame he never really got the Hunger Games momentum after that franchise ended.

TomOpus

This doesn't sound like I'd like it, even on streaming. Blumhouse is so uneven to me.

Abob Teff

Too many of us old folks (including reviewers) are taking the wrong perspective on this. Teenagers aren't eating this up ... kids who have grown up as fans of the franchise for the last 10 years are eating it up. To them, this is what the Star Wars prequels were to many of us. It isn't that this is some horror-film that is bringing in the young folks ... it is the culmination of a lifetime of waiting.

I will be curious to see what my students' reactions are come Monday. A few even took Friday off of school to go see it.

Abob Teff

That is the Blumhouse model though ... make it cheap, don't care what it is, make bank on the successes, and write off the losses. It is not about quality or consistency, it is about volume and the odds.

TomOpus

I initially had high hopes for BH. It's just unfortunate they've been reduced to this.

Abob Teff

Reduced? That was ALWAYS their business model from day one.

Cardsfan111

I talked to some teenagers who went last night -- they told me they loved it. Not only that, but they went for the 8 o'clock showing and it was sold out. It forced them to go the 10 o'clock showing. They told me it was all teenagers then and the theater was full.

TomOpus

I don't usually like found footage but enjoyed Paranormal Activity and liked the first Insidious.

Dr. DVD

I am willing to admit that this is probably the case, and I may eventually try playing some of the game and see if it enhances the viewing. I apparently was not aware of the popularity of this IP.

RocShemp

I've had friends talk the games up for years (I think my sister may also be fan) but I never saw the appeal. They looked boring to me.

Daytripper

The second and third "Paranormal Activity" were pretty good. Loved "Insidious". It's sequels and prequel were all crap though.

JeffTheAlpaca

First time I have seen Josh Hutcherson in decades though he was never really known as a great actor but he was not horrible in this.

Probably should have known it would be a tame horror movie since it was PG-13 and not rated R.

milo bloom

My kid saw a video on YouTube about 8 years ago and got really scared and we had to block him from seeing anything related for a while. In recent years he’s gotten back into it and apparently has learned all the lore and asked to see this.

I thought it ended up being a perfectly serviceable PG-13 horror flick and I’m always a sucker for good puppet work.

I figured the one guy was involved pretty early on, but it was a neat little story.

Daytripper

Decades? His last big movie was 8 years. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2".

RocShemp

Maybe he didn't watch that one. I know I didn't (or any of the HG franchise, actually).

Daytripper

Fair enough. And FWIW, I didn't see any of the "HG" movies except the first two. But I knew he was in them because of the multitude of trailers I saw in the theater and the commercials on TV. Not to mention all the press they did for that. Plus, he's only been acting for 21 years. Mostly minor TV stuff until 2005 with "Kicking & Screaming" and "Bridge to Terabithia". I remember him best for "The Kids Are Alright" in 2010.

DJariya

This is shockingly a pretty big hit for BH. $78M opening and $131M worldwide. I guess all the “Churners” cancelled Peacock and actually went to the theater. I still need to watch this today. I guess this really is a huge video game IP that drew interest.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releas...EKEND_WIDGET_1

Mike86

The games have a huge fanbase so I’m not that surprised it’s doing well. It’s also a horror movie but rated PG-13 and not super violent so it’s able to draw a younger crowd (a lot of whom probably play the games).