Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is still playing in theaters, but if you’d rather make your own pizza and freak out to terrifyingly alive animatronics from the safety of your couch, you’re in luck. The hit sequel arrives on digital platforms today, ahead of its physical release on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 17.
It comes with an array of extras, including cast interviews, a behind-the-scenes featurette focusing on the puppeteers and stunt performers, and a look at how the creepy new big bad, the Marionette, was constructed for maximum frights.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 director Emma Tammi—returning from the blockbuster first film—recently told io9 about the decision to center the character of Abby, played by young actor Piper Rubio. The story picks up a year after part one and sees Abby and her brother, Mike (Josh Hutcherson), digging deeper into the secrets of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza—with Abby in particular forging a bond with its haunted residents.
“She, in so many ways, was the key to seeing this world from multiple perspectives, not just total terror and mayhem, which of course is a big part of it and super fun,” Tammi explained. “But the fact that Abby has this deeper connection with the ghost kids inside of the animatronics in movie one and then [carries] that love and adoration for them into movie two—it just created all these other levels for the way in which the audience experiences the animatronics. Without her seeing them in that light, I think the film would lose some of its wonderment.”
Also important, as Tammi added: “Simultaneously, it would also not be as scary because one of the things that’s so great about the animatronic characters is that they can flip on a dime, and you don’t know when they’re going to. So I think that uncertainty really also helps with the horror aspect of it. And then, of course, the other really, really important element that Abby brings to the table is her relationship with Mike. And the way in which our actress, Piper Rubio, and Josh Hutcherson connected on screen and off screen was super powerful. So that just felt like the heart of the film and the relationship that we were rooting for the most from the get-go, and that was really essential in both films.”
Rubio also got to show off her chops in scenes where Abby is briefly possessed by the Marionette.
“She just inhabited that version of herself in such a fully committed and deeply creepy way,” Tammi said. “We were all just shook on the days that we were filming those scenes because she was walking around set in character, wouldn’t get out of character, [and] was doing this maniacal, amazing, creepy laugh while we were shooting, but also full-time [while] we were not shooting as well. So everyone was really living it with her. And that was so cool.”
You can rent or buy Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 on digital platforms starting today; Universal Pictures Home Entertainment will also drop a physical release on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD February 17.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
