Five Nights at Freddy's, the upcoming horror movie starring Josh Hutcherson, obviously found most of its inspiration from the video game series in which its based. But according to director Emma Tammi, it was influenced by some unexpected titles too, including a bunch of Spielberg movies and Todd Phillips' Joker.
"We were constantly referencing Steven Spielberg – you know, that childhood wonderment quality," she tells Total Film magazine as part of an interview in the new issue out on September 14, which features Wonka on the cover. "Alongside kind of a darker world that felt akin to Joker," Tammi continues, explaining that the Joaquin Phoenix comic book drama mainly prompted visual ideas.
"Those were some of the cinematography references that Lyn Moncrief and I were pulling. Also, just the haunted house element of it was such a big influence. Some of our scenes that have to do with our main character's backstory and memory were also influenced by a [Terrence] Malick-esque camera style, to give them a more dreamlike quality… those scenes that were taking place in forest campground settings. There were a lot of different types of references we were pulling to really craft something that felt unique."
Also starring You's Elizabeth Lail and Scream's Matthew Lillard, Five Nights at Freddy's follows Hutcherson's security guard Mike, who gets more than he bargained for when he takes a nightshift job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Can he escape the mechanical clutches of the murderous animatronics long enough to survive the night? We'll find out once it hits theaters on October 27.
While the quotes above didn't actually make it into our published interview with Tammi, you can find the rest of our chat in the new issue of Total Film magazine, which features Wonka on the cover. The magazine hits shelves this Thursday, September 14, and features new insight into everything from The Exorcist: Believer to Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as plenty of reviews for all of the latest releases.
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