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Matthew Lillard has given us a new glimpse of his return as the psychopathic William Afton in the highly anticipated Five Nights at Freddy’s movie series. The actor shared a terrifying new teaser and challenged horror films to reach a whole new level of fear. Besides, the first look also reveals the thrilling casting reunion of Lillard with his old ‘Scream’ partner, Skeet Ulrich, which has sent the old-time horror fans into a frenzy.
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The very first thing seen in the trailer is a therapist questioning Lillard’s part, “So you want to tell me about your bad dreams?” Then the trailer is dominated by a wave of fast-paced show of action-packed scenes that imply this sequel is going to turn the darkness in the Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza mythology. “It’s always the same. You’re dead,” a voice from the back says, making the psychological horror aspects very clear. The trailer suggests a searching into Afton’s past, as Lillard’s character says, “My father was a monster… But it was not until years later that the five children went missing.” This is a direct connection to the franchise’s major drawback of missing kids which is a constant haunting presence in the animatronics’ diner.
The confirmation of Skeet Ulrich’s involvement in the film, which is also his first major project with Lillard after the duo’s iconic Billy and Stu from ‘Scream’, is probably the most delightful news for the horror community. The promo features the character of Ulrich saying, “Where are you going to run to?” and it seems that the relationship between the two characters might be one of confrontation. Those who grew up with 90s horror movies are the ones getting the most excited with this casting decision.
There was a lot of acknowledgment of this great horror star reunion in the comments right away. One follower managed to express everyone’s excitement perfectly by saying, “Matt and skeet??? Blessed be the horror gods.” This feeling was echoed by many other comments, one stating, “Skeet and Matthew reunite,” and another just saying, “Billy and stu back together,” making reference to their notorious ‘Scream’ killer duo. The excitement factor was not merely about nostalgia, however, as one observer dubbed them “the scream kings” returning to their throne.
On the other hand, a few were still not fully convinced about the potential of the sequel. One person said, “How the hell did this get a sequel? The first movie was shit,” and this comment triggered a heated debate in the replies. Defenders of the first film quickly laid out their rationale as the global box office numbers reaching nearly $300 million on a $20 million investment made a sequel irresistible. A second favored the original critics, saying, “critics don’t know shit for starters, the movie wasn’t made for them so obviously, they’ll call it shit. Secondly, the audience loved the movie.” This type of communication vividly depicts the disconnect between critical reception and fan enthusiasm that often characterizes franchise movies.
The teaser also resulted from speculations on the movie’s schedule, mostly concerning William Afton’s Springtrap costume. One keen viewer of the movie pointed out the confusion regarding the character’s disguise and wrote, “Why is springtraps suit being fixed? Have people not heard of flashback scenes?” This gives the impression that the sequel might be following a non-linear narration technique to showcase different eras of Afton’s bloody spree. The hashtags used by Lillard – #williamafton, #FNAF, #IALWAYSCOMEBACK, and #purpleguy – refer to the game mythology that only the most dedicated fans will know, particularly, Afton’s famous line about his unavoidable comebacks.
Besides the Ulrich reunion, fans also noticed other casting surprises that have given them joy. A comment from one user went, “GUINEVERE BECK? + Josh + my gay horror dads Billy & Stu???” In the comment, the user is referring to actress Elizabeth Lail’s character in ‘You’, where she works with ‘Scream’ veterans. The assembling of horror talent is a clear indication of the producers’ intention of making something extraordinary in the eye of the staunch genre enthusiasts. Another comment simply said, “billy stu & beck??? i’m sold,” emphasizing the fact that the fans are actually getting really thrilled by such casting pairings.
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The trailer’s mood could somewhat be interpreted as a complete metamorphosis from the first part that some critics deemed too tame. Now, with the punchline “Half of this town will be dead by morning” and the overall dark styling, it appears that the sequel is welcoming the R-rated potential that many fans thought was lacking in the first adaptation. Lillard with his final line in the trailer – a wacky “Oh!” – gives an impression of the foolish energy that was so typical of his original ‘Scream’ performance and it. In other news, Ice Nine Kills recently announced a horror collaboration. Lillard is also known for his involvement in various projects, including a colon cancer screening campaign where he brings his signature scare. Additionally, he faced off against Isaiah Mustafa in a historic game.