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November 20, 2023
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Hello everypony! I recently binged all the original FNAF games directed by Scott Cawthon. It has become one of my absolute favorite series, as you can see here
I am currently playing Help Wanted and plan on playing Security Breach and Help Wanted 2 when that's out. Since those are part of a new trilogy, I will not be covering them in any of my FNAF blogs as the story is not complete yet. We all know FNAF is known for its jumpscares and dreadful atmosphere. Would you believe that it did indeed deeply thrill and terrify me? So I want to go game-by-game here and break them down by least scary to most.
8. FNAF World
FNAF World is a criminally underrated game and is actually extremely important to the lore. That's a discussion for another time. Fact of the matter is, FNAF World is not a horror game. It is a classic style JRPG. That said, there are still unsettling elements here and there with how the glitch world is represented. Scott put so much work into fixing this game after a botched release only for it to get ignored. It's a great game, just not a scary one.
7. Ultimate Custom Night
Due to the fact that Ultimate Custom Night is customizable, it can be argued this can range from least to most scary. However, I think this is more of an arcade-y challenge game than a horror game. You already know exactly what you are getting into since you set it up yourself. It's more stressful than outright scary.Your mileage will vary.
6. Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
Sister Location is the only FNAF game I disliked. The gameplay is bare bones and it feels more like an interactive movie. The "gameplay" for the most part is just games of red light/green light. That being said, Sister Location has some of the series's best story, visuals, and jumpscares. In fact, Scott said that Funtime Foxy's jumpscare is his favorite, and I can definitely see why. It's clear more effort was put into the visual design rather than the gameplay. The secret Night 5 challenge is the first time the series feels closer to the original since the original, but it isn't scary and is just stressful as it requires way too much precision to pull off. With this, I do have to commend the game for pulling off two of the scariest moments in the series, and both of which aren't even jumpscares. They are quiet reveals that escalate this game's story even further. I won't spoil it, in case you don't know. Just two things: Watch your technicians and stay away from mirrors.
5. Five Nights at Freddy's 2
FNAF2 is my 2nd least favorite, but it is one I am conflicted on. I think a lot of it is genius and a lot of it is misguided, but I see and respect Scott's vision with it.. The issue with FNAF2 is it has TOO much going on so you seldom get moments to be scared. There are 11 animatronics to look out for, the most in any mainline game. You have to constantly wind the music box. You have to instinctively put on the mask as quickly as you can. Finally, you gotta ward off Foxy with the flashlight. It will be terrifying and overwhelming, but you will quickly fall into a rhythm and then the game is easy. What carries this in the horror department are the sound design and the minigames, where we witness William Afton doing his nefarious deeds. The pixel art jumpscares are astonishingly effective and made scarier when you know the lore. In retrospect, the whole game has this tension due to us knowing what becomes of protagonist Jeremy Fitzgerald. This can be one of the scariest if you're bad at it.
4. Five Nights at Freddy's
The one that started it all. FNAF1 proves that sometimes less is more. This was a revolutionary and unique game with an unparalleld sense of atmosphere, carried by the haunting soundscape and uncanny prerendered textures. It's the most stripped down entry, which makes it work wonders for building tension and dread. The thrill of running out of power and hearing Freddy approach remains one of if not the scariest feeling in the entire series.
3. Five Nights at Freddy's 3
This is an unpopular opinion, but FNAF3 is easily my favorite entry in the series and I do believe it's one of the scariest. I see many dismiss this game as being easy and not scary. I understand a bit thinking this when it came out and we didn't know who Springtrap was, but now that we know, it is absolutely terrifying. The aesthetic of this game is my favorite in the series by a mile and it makes for an overtly scary experience. The analog sounds, the extremely harsh fuzz and static, and the way Springtepa hides in all of the screens makes this one of the most immersive games I ever played. There are also the Phantoms, and while they aren't as scary as the real thing, some of them (the Puppet in particuar) are genuinely horrifying and make the situation even more stressful and dreadful than it already was. If you lose track of Springtrap, it can easily send you in a panic. However, flipping through specific screens too many times will make Phantoms appear, on top of draining your video power. When you are stuck rebooting, all hell can break loose, and that's a tension that is near unmatched, except for the following games...
2. Five Nights at Freddy's 4
FNAF4 was made in response to people saying FNAF3 wasn't scary. In many ways, this is the most overtly scary game in the series by a landslide, and it made me genuinely not want to continue playing it. Every Nightmare design is incredible and their jumpscares even more so. The haunting and surreal soundscape and obscured shadows sell the horror so well. Forcing the player to listen to breathing makes for amazing tension, and when you see glimpses of them lurking in the shadows it makes for incredible and subtle imagery. However, arguably even scarier are the pixel minigames this time around, as we are seeing the perspective of the victim of the Bite of 83. It is a tragic and heart wrenching story, leading to one of the saddest conclusions to any game I've seen in my entire life. It takes a lot of talent to balance the over-the-top scary designs with the minimalistic approach to everything else, but the two somehow work together to create an absolutely one of a kind horror experience.
1. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator
Yeah, I said it. I think this game is scarier than FNAF4. While it lacks the overtly horrifying style of FNAF4, FFPS is a truly one of a kind gaming experience and is easily one of the most immersive and groundbreaking works of art I ever played. Unfortunately, I do have to spoil a bit of it to explain why, assimung you are not unaware already. This game was marketed as a fun free spinoff, but in actuality it was FNAF6, the grand finale at the time. FFPS juggles every single aspect of the previous games and passes with flying colors. During the day, you play fun minigames in a very silly business tycoon game. However, as you play certain ones more and more, the darkness seeps out. In Fruity Maze, you actually witness William Afton kidnap one of the original children victims. In Midnight Motorist, you play as an abusive drunk father who comes home and discovers that his child was kidnapped by William Afton. In the Security Puppet game, you are the Puppet and are helpless to protect Charlie as she is mericilessly shanked by William Afton. Even the Candy Cadet game can get dark as he will begin to tell you morbid stories about grotesque absominations of nature that parallel William Afton's story, such as a story of a child finding orphaned kittens, his pet snake killing one, and the kid stiches it back together in order to fix it.
Then night comes and the real game begins. It is the most difficult and stressful of the mainline games. You have to perform tasks on a loud computer while managing your temperature, while agressive animatronics come at you from exposed vents on both sides of you. It can be hard to hear them with the noise of your PC and/or AC. Sometimes you hear them on both sides, in which case you panic, turn off everything, and can do nothing but look frantically and pray. Night 6 took me longer than any other night in this game, and all I could feel was absolute dread. Sometimes they even talk and taunt you. Hearing William Afton's lines will send chills down your spine. There are sometimes moments where you also have to salvage the animatronics, playing a series of loud tapes and having to look away to document. They have a chance of subtly shifting their position and if they get too close, you will die. On top of this, therei s a chance that a small sound will be made bythem in which case they will quickly kill you. This creates a situation where you have to frequently stop the tape and listen, but if you keep stopping the tape, it makes this game go on longer and thus gives them more oppourtunities to kill you. All in all, FFPS (AKA FNAF6) perfectly merged all aspects of other games together and createdwhat was easilythe most immrsive and overwhelming game in the series.
I know you are doing the originals but nothing is scarier than help wanted. I friggin swear
Marith I am playing Help Wanted now on my VALVe Index. I'm liking the direction it is going but something about the jumpscares just isn't as scary. Maybe it's because of how compromised they are due to the 3D rendering. That being said I am way too scared to try the FNAF4 inspired games. The FNAF2 g... View more
Silver Masquerade Fnaf 4 on help wanted really makes it lot better imo. SPringtrap is better in 3d. Not to mention the other mini gamess and some of the halloween stuff. Gold if you ask me.
November 18, 2023
159 views
Hey everypony! My name is SIlver Masquerade. Back in the prime of this site, I was a very active member known for my movie reviews and commentary. I only just found out today that this site came back! I'm hoping I can contribute to it, even if not at the full capacity I used to. I don't care about clout, this is just for my own enjoyment. So I figured I would start with a review of what is perhaps my most favorite movie of all time, Brian de Palma's Phantom of the Paradise.
Phantom of the Paradise is a film that has since grown in reputation and recognition, but this was not the case when I first saw it. It’s a film people know more because of what and who it influenced than due to the film itself. This is such a shame because it is one of the most wildly unique and inventive films of the 1970s. Phantom of the Paradise obviously borrows from Phantom of the Opera, but it also draws on the legend of Faust and (as expected from Brian de Palma), The Picture of Dorian Grey, the German Expressionist horror films of F.W. Murnau, and Alfred Hitchcock thrillers.
There is not a single weak link in the cast. Even minor characters who do not even speak are more recognizable than anyone from most films I’ve seen. So many iconic looks and lines no matter how minor (“LOOKS LIKE SMACK, JACK!”). It makes the main characters some of the most iconic and memorable in any film, possibly the most for me. Winslow Leach is played to perfection by Bill Finley, a de Palma regular from this era. He strikes the perfect middle ground of pathetic and sympathetic initially. Then when he dons the costume, it’s a whole different beast. He sells the feelings of anguish, rage, and passion so perfectly. The Phantom’s look is one of the most iconic of all time for me. It’s a perfect evolution of the classic Phantom design with a unique spin that has made it arguably more iconic than the original. Its influence on media is wide and well known, inspiring the likes of Griffith from Berserk, Purple Haze from JoJo, several Digimon, Daft Punk, and even partially Darth Vader (fun fact, Paul Hirsch edited both this and Star Wars
The ever beautiful Jessica Harper has one of if not the greatest film debut of all time as the female lead Phoenix. She demonstrates such a striking level of naivety and longing that takes a sour turn once she falls into the clutches of the film’s villain. Harper is really performing her songs and her voice is fantastic. It has this raw huskiness that you don’t expect from someone with her youthful look and energy. And who can forget her adorable and awkward dancing? If you can’t tell, I am a big fan of hers. There are many other great smaller roles including Gerrit Graham as the flamboyant prima donna glam rock star Beef, character actor and Scorsese regular George Memmoli as Swan’s heavy Philbin, and Rod Serling’s final role as the film’s narrator!
However, even more so than any of these, there is one who shines above. That is Paul Williams as the one and only Swan. People can keep their Thanos, their Darth Vader, even their Agent Smith’s. For me, Swan is the greatest and most iconic movie villain of ALL time. It helps that there is SO much of him. It might be the greatest performance in any film I have ever seen. Every face, every line of dialogue, every gesture is so iconic in its own right. I can recall practically everything he does in this film. He does not look like your typical villain but he fits his role like a glove. The idea of a media manager who has a secret demonic pact that he signs other creative artists into is such a genius piece of satire and it compliments the film flawlessly. Swan stands as an ultimate archetypal evil of greed and its corruptive nature. He is terrifying because he is real. We all can think of manipulative masterminds who squash the little guy and either siphon their works for themselves or arguably worse, assimilate them into the beast. It’s a satire that sadly only grows more relatable with age.
So much of this film runs through my head every day and in so many forms. The characters, writing, direction, story, and most of all the MUSIC! Paul Williams is a mastermind and this film is by far his finest work. There is no weak link here. Every song has such a specific purpose and appropriate sound. There are many formats of songs used here, from Beach Boys esque pop, glam rock, doom, ballads galore, and greaser 50s bops. All of it is presented with so much authenticity. Some tracks that particularly stand out to me include The Hell of It, Beauty and the Beast, Faust, Somebody Super Like You, and in my opinion (and Paul Williams’!) the best in the film, Old Souls. Even small musical bits that last a few seconds land and serve their purpose masterfully.
There is as much variety in the production design by the GOAT himself, Jack Fisk. Sissy Spacek, whom Fisk would marry later on and herself would star in de Palma’s Carrie, serves as the set dresser! This is a film that aims for the bleachers despite its small budget and it succeeds. There are so many small details and worldbuilding aspects that will surely go over heads, so the film benefits from multiple rewatches. Unfortunately, this film got gimped in editing due to some tragic circumstances and coincidences. In this film, a rock star is electrocuted on stage and de Palma came up with the name “Swan Song” for the evil record label. Coincidentally, Peter Grant trademarked Swan Song for his record label, and one of his stars was tragically electrocuted on stage in 1972. Grant took personal offense to Phantom of the Paradise because he believed the film was parodying that, when really not only the electrocution, but even the Swan Song name existed in older drafts of the script. There were threats of a lawsuit if the name “Swan Song” was kept for the film. Any lawyer could tell you that de Palma would have easily won the case, but 20th Century Fox had little faith in the film so rather than spend money to go to court in defense of the film’s artistic integrity, they made de Palma and co. butcher the film by cutting out seconds of film where “Swan Song” was clearly present and poorly editing black boxes over some “Swan Song” labels with the new much worse title “Death Records.” This leads to awkward black bars and some scenes where the editing feels a bit jarring because seconds were cut before and after the scene proper, including some great establishing shots.
In the film’s final act is when it goes bananas mode. The pacing and camerawork is next level breakneck stuff here. Everything explodes in an overwhelming feast of sound and visuals as things fall apart and the viewer is helpless to observe it all from a distance. There is a disturbing resonance between the viewer being the one experiencing this in all of its manic detail and the crowds on screen being completely ignorant of it. The film ends with a powerful zoom out as we as the audience fixate at the tragedy that just unfolded while everyone filling the frame around continues on.
Listen everypony, in case you can't tell, this film is special to me. My review may sound hyperbolic, but I really do mean everything I say in it. To me, this is an incredibly powerful and poignant film where everything is at the peak operating level of cinema. From the characters, design of everything, direction, story, themes, and above all else the music, Phantom of the Paradise stands to me as the pinnacle of a cinematic experience. It's a film I will recommend to everyone and hope with all of my heart that anyone can get even a fraction of what I take away from it. A huge thank you to everyone involved in crafting this absolute masterpiece.
I used to be real active on this site back in its prime. Only just found out it came back today. Looking forward to connecting with others, and maybe reconnecting with some old friends!
