Shocker guru Jason Blum and Five Nights at Freddy’s director Emma Tammi talk about the most important genre rules

With Five Nights at Freddy’s The film adaptation of the popular horror game of the same name starts in German cinemas today, October 26, 2023. In it, Mike (Josh Hutcherson) reluctantly takes a job as a night watchman to look after an abandoned pizzeria. But when it gets dark, the restaurant’s animal robots, once intended for entertainment, come to life and don’t take kindly to intruders in their territory.

Moviepilot spoke to the director of Five Nights at Freddy’s in advance, Emma Tammias well as the horror producer Jason Blumwho co-created horror franchises such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge with his company Blumhouse.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: The big horror interview with Jason Blum and Emma Tammi

Moviepilot: Horror has fascinating possibilities in gaming, but there’s a difference between playing Five Nights at Freddy’s as a video game and watching it as a film. How did you approach the “translation” from the game to the film?

Emma Tammi: They are of course two completely different media and we knew that we had to create a film that could stand on its own in its format. But there were so many things we could take from the game as inspiration. References, references and even immersive moments that you would recognize from gameplay.

The film Five Nights at Freddy’s has significantly fewer jump scares than the game. Did you consciously decide against it?

Emma Tammy: We knew we would need impressive jump scares in the film because the game is made entirely of them. But we also wanted to include a lot of action in the film. It was about finding the balance for a PG-13 rating [entspricht etwa dem deutschen FSK 12] to get the younger audience on board for this experience.

Jason, the number of projects you’re handling at the same time is astounding – in 2023 alone there are over ten horror films in addition to Five Nights at Freddy’s. How do you choose your films and how involved are you in their creation?

Jason Blum: Some I’m less involved in, others very involved. We [Blumhouse] are a large company with over 100 people. I am usually asked when a project is in trouble. When I’m involved, it’s usually a bad sign.

Then I hope you weren’t too involved in Five Nights at Freddy’s.

Jason Blum: I was very involved in the development of Five Nights at Freddy’s. [lacht] But once Emma came on board I had a lot less to do and that made me very happy.

Five Nights at Freddy’s went through many script revisions and director changes before you landed on the current version. How did this version come about?

Jason Blum: [Spieleschöpfer] Scott Cawthon was ultimately the arbiter in deciding which script would be made into a film. He learned from the discarded versions what worked and what didn’t, and then wrote, as Emma [Tammi] Then came the current script.

Scott Cawthon has also written a Five Nights at Freddy’s * book series

Is there a secret recipe that every good horror film needs?

Jason Blum: There is a secret recipe! The film has to still work even if you take away the fright effects. If a horror film relies solely on jump scares or scares, it will never be completely effective. But if you take away the horror and leave an engaging story, great acting, conflict and an emotional connection to the characters, it will work. And that’s the secret of a good horror film!

Emma Tammy: I would also add: If you have a few iconic, standout images that are visually burned into your audience’s brain, that’s a real achievement.

Emotional character connection isn’t usually a prominent feature in the horror genre, is it?

Jason Blum: I would disagree with that. Every great horror film has an emotional core. Even Paranormal Activity is actually about a man manipulating a woman. But the woman is right. Because she says: ‘The house is haunted.’ But the guy says: ‘You’re talking nonsense’. And it turns out that the house is really haunted. And if you didn’t have that conflict between the two, the scary effects wouldn’t work. But you’re excited because you don’t know whether you believe him or her.

Most [Blumhouse-]Films that have truly resonated with audiences, like Get Out, are always rooted in a believable, human story.

Are horror films made differently today than they used to be? Have you noticed any new trends in the genre?

Jason Blum: No. Horror is cyclical. A few films work and then a lot of people make horror films. And then a few of them don’t work, and fewer people do them. We are currently in a time where many people are making horror films. So to create one that stands out, it has to be really good.

The genre swings back and forth between very graphic horror like Saw and supernatural horror like Insidious. Then back to graphic horror like Halloween or The Purge. But in general they are Things that make a good horror film today are the same as they were 20 years ago.

But doesn’t a lot of “modern horror” play on current fears like social media popularity or climate change?

Jason Blum: I don’t think you have to do that. But Horror is a great way to draw our attention to social problems. We made the film The Hunt about how broken the political system in the USA is. The Purge is about gun control. Get Out is dedicated to racism. But it didn’t just start now. John Carpenter did this 40 years ago.

One of the big horror movie hypes this year was Talk to Me. Have you seen it?

Jason Blum: I loved him! We tried to buy it, but I lost him. And I deeply regret that! [lacht]

Emma Tammy: I’ve just been “released” from post-production and still have a lot of catching up to do, but Talk to Me is at the top of the list.

Thanks for the conversation and all the best for your future in the horror genre.

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