The early box-office numbers for Five Nights at Freddy’s are in, and it looks like a major hit for Universal. Despite hitting theaters at the same time that it made its streaming debut on on Peacock, the current projections have this film opening at $73 million for the pre-Halloween weekend.
This suggests that there’s been a woefully underserved audience for movies about killer toys and murderous animatronic creatures. However, Five Nights at Freddy’s is far from the first film to embrace that premise. Some of the other movies with similar stories are even much better flicks than this one. So, if you’ve already seen the film in theaters or on Peacock, these are the five movies like Five Nights at Freddy’s that you should watch if you’re looking for something in that same vein.
Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
Two years ago, Willy’s Wonderland shamelessly lifted the premise of Five Nights at Freddy’s … and ended up making a better movie out of it too! It certainly helps that this film has Nicolas Cage in the lead as the unnamed janitor who is tricked into working at the long-abandoned Willy’s Wonderland amusement center.
On his first night, the janitor is attacked by eight murderous animatronic characters: Willy Weasel, Arty Alligator, Cammy Chameleon, Ozzie Ostrich, Knighty Knight, Tito Turtle, Gus Gorilla, and Siren Sara. Fortunately for the janitor, he dishes out punishment faster than the animatronics can take it. The only thing holding back the janitor’s escape is a group of kids, including Liv Hawthorne (Emily Tosta), whose lives are endangered by Willy’s pack of killers.
Watch Willy’s Wonderland on Hulu.
The Banana Splits Movie (2019)
Unlike the characters from Five Nights at Freddy’s, the characters known as The Banana Splits actually had their own live action/animated variety TV show in the late 1960s. Fleegle the Beagle, Bingo the Gorilla, Drooper the Lion, and Snorky the Elephant were just wacky characters until The Banana Splits Movie came along and reimagined them as bloodthirsty animatronic killers.
After watching Five Nights at Freddy’s, it’s clear that director Danishka Esterhazy had a lot more leeway in this film by letting the Banana Splits mercilessly murder several people without showing a shred of remorse or any redeeming characteristics. Now, it’s impossible not to think of the Banana Splits as slasher villains!
Rent or buy The Banana Splits Movie on Google Play, Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple TV+.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
The title of this film is as literal as it gets. These Killer Klowns are indeed from outer space, and they really carry the clown motif all the way through to the bloody end. The Chiodo brothers’ most famous film has become a cult classic because it actually injected some new blood into ’80s slasher flicks.
All of the Killer Klowns’ kills and weapons are inspired by circus fare, and it’s up to some plucky teens and a few responsible adults to stop this alien invasion before they all head to the big top in the sky.
Watch Killer Klowns from Outer Space on Freevee.
Puppet Master (1989)
There have been a ton of Puppet Master movies, 15 total by our last count. This direct-to-video franchise just never seems to stop. But if you’re looking for a pure horror experience, before the puppets went off to fight Nazis and torment other bad people, the original Puppet Master is pretty decent. In the prologue, the puppets’ creator, André Toulon (William Hickey), goes to great lengths to keep his secret about living puppets from the Nazis.
In the present, Alex Whitaker (Paul Le Mat) and a few of his fellow psychics are drawn together following the death of their former acquaintance, Neil Gallagher (Jimmie F. Skaggs), a man who discovered how to make the puppets obey his commands. Now, the puppets are coming for each and everyone of the psychics, even if they saw their own fates ahead of time.
Watch Puppet Master on Freevee.
Child’s Play (1988)
Child’s Play is by far the most successful film on this list, since it launched multiple sequels, a complete remake, and even a Chucky TV series that is currently running on USA and SYFY. Of course, the original movie made the best use of the premise, as serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) was mortally wounded before using magic to transfer his soul into the body of a Good Guy doll named Chucky.
Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) buys the doll for her son, Andy (Alex Vincent), and Chucky reveals himself to and befriends his newyound owner as a pretense for his true agenda. While Chucky goes on a quest for revenge against anyone who wronged him, he also plots to steal Andy’s body. When Karen discovers the truth about the doll, she learns the hard way that few will believe her claims about Chucky’s true nature.
Watch Child’s Play on Max.
