Pop Culture Happy Hour – Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 & What’s Making Us Happy

NPR • December 5, 2025
Hosts: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Rhianna Cruz (freelance music and culture journalist)

Overview

In this episode, Stephen Thompson is joined by journalist Rhianna Cruz to review Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the sequel to the 2023 horror movie adapted from the popular video game franchise. They discuss the film’s plot, shortcomings, and how it fits within modern horror and nostalgia culture, particularly for Gen Z and Gen X. As always, the show finishes with the duo sharing What’s Making Us Happy This Week.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sequel Set-Up and Expectations

• [00:44–02:15] Stephen introduces the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe, describing the movie as a confluence of Gen Z nostalgia (for the games) and Gen X nostalgia (for old children’s pizza restaurants like Chuck E. Cheese).
• The new film is summarized as “extending the action beyond the abandoned restaurant that gave the first film its spooky setting,” with new characters, but still directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon, the original game creator.

2. General Impressions: Disappointment and Fan Service

• [02:38] Rhianna Cruz:

  “Much like the first one, I did not enjoy this movie. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is held together by cardboard twine and fan service. And fan service does not a movie make.”

• Rhianna notes the lack of story and excitement, blaming a PG-13 rating for neutering the horror elements. The movie’s true audience seems to be kids aged 8–15, the same kids who are obsessed with the games.

• [03:20] Stephen recognizes the presence of many children in theaters, admitting, “It’s not a not scary movie,” but the scares don’t land for adults looking for more meaningful horror.

3. Nostalgia, World-Building, and the Loss of Charm

• [03:53] Stephen Thompson:

  “I want to hang out at this haunted pizzeria, even though there are murderous animatronics there. This is giving me nostalgia for restaurants where I had a great time as a kid...”

• While the first film built an interesting world and played with childhood memories, Stephen thinks the sequel drops the ball:

  “The good news is there’s less of that [dead kids] in this movie. The bad news is it’s replaced by nothing.” [04:29]

4. Weak Plot and Lack of Payoff

• Both agree: FNAF 2 is visually drab and largely consists of characters running away from danger with little depth, snappy dialogue, or memorable jokes.
• [06:38] Rhianna Cruz:

  “There’s a difference between scary and startling. And this movie is not interested in that difference. It just startles you in lieu of scaring you.”

• Jump scares are overused and lack meaningful build-up, in contrast to classics like Wait Until Dark ([06:07]–[06:18]).

5. Broken Promises and Setups for Future Movies

• A major festival (Faz Fest) introduced in marketing and trailers is barely explored.
• The Marionette character gets a confusing introduction and seemingly exists only to set up the next sequel:

  “Nothing really happens. These characters are simply introduced, but not—there’s no real conclusion... They kind of just exist.” – Rhianna Cruz [08:06]

• Classic horror trope of characters making dumb decisions is present, often only to move the narrative toward more killings ([08:31] Stephen Thompson).

6. Lack of Connection and Emotional Weight

• The Marionette’s design and inclusion are critiqued as lacking any tether to childhood nostalgia or the established world—it’s “just another haunted doll.”

  “Those characters...are tapping into childhood memories. For me, the Marionette’s not tapping into anything.” – Stephen Thompson [10:37]

• [11:09] Rhianna Cruz:

  “Five Nights at Freddy’s one is memorable, if nothing else… there’s scenes in that movie that, like, I don’t particularly connect to or even like, but I remember them… This movie doesn’t really give any of those.”

• Even with new settings and a second Freddy Fazbear’s location, the changes “don’t deliver on these promises.”

7. The Verdict

• The consensus is this sequel feels like a placeholder (“Five Nights at Freddy’s 1.5” [13:08]), with little payoff, weak characters, and minimal innovation.
• A notable running joke reviews the randomness of some plot reveals, including the throwaway line about the “real” Freddy Fazbear’s being just down the street.
• New locations (like the one with a lazy river) are thrown in for novelty but not meaningfully used, with Rhianna comparing it to the spectacle of Denver’s Casa Bonita ([12:43]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Rhianna Cruz [02:38]: “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is held together by cardboard twine and fan service. And fan service does not a movie make.”
• Stephen Thompson [04:29]: “The good news is there’s less of that [creepy lore]. The bad news is it’s replaced by nothing.”
• Stephen Thompson [06:40]: “There’s a difference between scary and startling. And this movie is not interested in that difference.”
• Rhianna Cruz [10:02]: “[Horror movies] are kind of designed to take some element of real life and twist it… and this just feels like it’s checking a lot of horror movie boxes.”
• Rhianna Cruz [13:13]: “It doesn’t really deliver on these promises that they set up. There’s really no payoff. It’s five nights at Freddy’s 1.5.”
• Stephen Thompson [12:35]: “And it has, like, a river, like a…like a lazy river in it.”
  Rhianna Cruz [12:43]: “It was giving... like Casa Bonita in Denver… But even then, it doesn’t really deliver on that more than characters being like, wow, there’s a river. And then everybody inexplicably falling in the river.”

What’s Making Us Happy This Week

[15:20–18:42]

Rhianna Cruz

• Song & album: "Stepin, Tell Me about the Rabbit" by Gliders (from the album Forever)
  • “It kind of scratches the ‘what if King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard was pared back to three people’… it’s a little bluesy, I dig it a lot.” [16:19]

Stephen Thompson

• News story:
  • “Raccoon goes on drunken rampage in Virginia liquor store and passes out on bathroom floor.”
  • “This is a story we can all get behind… my immediate thought was, is the raccoon okay? My friends? The raccoon is okay.” [18:29]
• Rhianna Cruz, joking: “That story, the raccoon getting drunk is more compelling to bring it back around than Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.” [18:42]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:44] – Episode opens with movie background and format setup
• [02:38] – Rhianna’s blunt initial review
• [03:53] – Discussion of nostalgia and movie world-building
• [06:07] – On the shortcomings of jump scares
• [08:00] – The frustrating lack of payoff and setup for sequels
• [10:02] – Critique of the Marionette and horror logic
• [11:09] – Lack of memorable or emotionally resonant scenes in the sequel
• [12:12] – The bizarre new pizzeria setting
• [13:13] – Final thoughts: “It’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 1.5”
• [15:20] – What’s Making Us Happy This Week
• [16:14] – Gliders album recommendation
• [16:56] – The drunken raccoon story

Conclusion

Stephen and Rhianna find Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 to be an uninspired, placeholder sequel that fails to recapture even the modest charm of the first film. For adult and horror fans, it offers little but loud jump scares and fan service, with very few memorable moments. Ironically (and intentionally comedically), the episode’s “What’s Making Us Happy” segment delivers more enthusiasm and delight than the movie itself, punctuated by a hilarious and oddly heartwarming story about a drunken raccoon.

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