Big Scares Inside ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ At Halloween Horror Nights

When the creative team behind Halloween Horror Nights set out to bring the 2023 movie Five Nights at Freddy’s to life at Universal Studios, they didn’t hold back.

“Fans have been asking for Five Nights at Freddy’s for a long time,” reveals John Murdy, HHN’s Creative Director and Executive Producer at Universal Studios Hollywood. “It started way before the film came out. They’ve been hitting us up about it on social media for years.” Now, months before the sequel lands in theaters, it’s happening with groundbreaking eight-foot-tall animatronics taking center stage.

Housed in the Lower Lot soundstage that has previously been home to houses inspired by Stranger Things and The Weeknd, Five Nights at Freddy’s will allow fans to follow in the footsteps of Mike, played by Josh Hutcherson in the movie, after he takes a job as the night security guard in the rundown themed entertainment center, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. It was abandoned after several children disappeared there. The haunted venue has been recreated to resemble the iconic façade through which guests enter.

“The first time I walked in here and saw that, I was like, ‘It’s the movie.’ It really is,” Murdy, now approaching his 20th year of overseeing the event, enthuses. “I have a lot of behind the scenes images from the movie that we studied in depth in terms of how we were doing the scenic elements and that is spot on.”

“The film is visually very dark, but they did really well with scouring behind-the-scenes content where a bunch of influencers went on set when they were making the movie. In all of those YouTube videos, you could see it with all the lights on. We used a lot of that, along with all the assets we get from Blumhouse, to piece it all together.”

Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, based on another widely popular videogame IP that inspired a hit movie, grossed $291.49 million at the worldwide box office in 2023. The sequel will land in theaters on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Inside ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ At Halloween Horror Nights

As soon as ticketholders step inside, the attention to detail blows you away, right down to the gumball machines and the carpet.

“It’s different from a lot of our houses because there are a lot of bright colors but that is the world of Freddy Fazbear. As you enter the house, there is a training video giving you the little back story about the venue and then we go into the showroom pf the restaurant and there is a giant Freddy,” the creative teases.

Standing on a podium, the titular towering animatronic springs into action, and it’s showtime. The creation is a joint project between the team at Universal, who created the mechanics, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, who recreated the outer bodies to almost screen-match what they made for the movie.

“You walk in and you hear Talking in Your Sleep by The Romantics,” Murdy explains, referencing the 80s tune synonymous with the Five Nights at Freddy’s, or FNAF for short, franchise. “Freddy is the most sophisticated animatronic that we’ve ever built for Halloween Horror Nights. It features a multitude of functions, including moving eyebrows, ears, a mouth for lip-syncing, a head, arms, and a torso that twists and bends. The power cuts out, and he slumps forward. Freddy cocks his head, and then his eyes start glowing; he’s looking at you. We got another curtain where we see the silhouette of Foxy and his glowing eye, and you hear his trademark song that he hums. That’s when you get scared by the first of a series of ghost kids in this attraction.”

Moving through to the kitchen area of the complex, fans will be greeted by Chica and find themselves in the middle of “terrifying chaos” as their ghost kid rushes through the space, clattering pots and pans, directing everyone past the fridge where it sounds like someone, or something, might be trapped. From there, it’s on to the classic security station.

“There are actually no performers in here. It’s all a visual nod to the classic security room scene from both the film and the original games. On the monitors, you’re seeing different shots of the facility, except there’s nobody there,” Murdy reveals. “It’s all empty, and the cameras are cycling through that, then the room changes. A power light turns red, someone throws the switch, and all of a sudden, you see all of the characters looking at you on the security monitors.”

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It’s another example of where hardcore FNAF content creators helped drive the creative teams at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort.

“I watched a lot of fan videos and noticed things like the tin foil ball and the red and white striped cup,” he continues, “When they were walking onto the set for the movie, they were like, ‘Oh my God, they’ve got the tin foil ball,’ and it’s a reference to the games. I was like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to have the tin foil ball and the red and white striped cup.’ We got a note from FNAF creator Scott Cawthon’s people, and they were like, ‘Can we have all the clocks be it ten minutes to six?’ It’s because in the world of Five Nights at Freddy’s, what starts at night ends at six o’clock.’ So, you’ll notice, all the clocks in the attraction are set to that time.”

“In the next space, there’s an Employee of the Month board. All the employees, I’ve been told, are Five Nights at Freddy’s influencers. They did a thing where they put them in the movie. We were originally going to include our crew’s images, but then they said, ‘No, we really want to use the thing from the movie,’ so he obtained permission to use that. It’s a tiny detail, but it’s cool.”

The Level Of Detail In ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ Is Wild

That space is also where fans get to come face-to-face with Foxy, a corridor encounter that is almost certain to frighten many people.

“We were doing the Ecto-1 for Ghostbusters and making it move on a track system, we decided to apply that to Foxy in the scene,” Murdy says. “When you come in, he’s all the way tracked back, it’s dark, and you can’t really see what’s going on, and he comes to life and starts tracking towards us. It’s lit with really quick, precise strobe flashes to try to get that moment in the movie where you see him moving closer each time.”

From there, it’s through to what the creative team calls the Tech Room, a place where things get gory, and anyone who has made it this far comes face to face with Freddy Fazbear, animated in a way that makes every interaction unique.

“A few years ago, we did a Chucky house and had this crazy idea about a mega Chucky figure. He was this giant Chucky that took a couple of steps towards you. We applied the same idea, took that further, and then took that to the team at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop,” the producer confirms. “There’s actually a performer in this, and it’s on an overhead track, so they can take some steps and look like Freddie is walking towards you.”

From there, it’s into the final space in the house where, no spoilers, all bets are off, and Chica, Foxy, Mr. Cupcake, and more go full throttle. Over a year in the making, Five Nights at Freddy’s is the biggest attraction at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and Murdy is satisfied they have delivered a blockbuster experience that will blow fans away.

“Since we’re smack dab in the middle of Hollywood, we have the benefit of all of the resources of being at a movie studio,” he concludes. “The folks who physically constructed this set are the same people who build sets for movies and television shows. Even the people that do the design drawings, we use individuals that are film and television people.”

“We can utilize all that great talent here in Los Angeles to bring our sets to life in movie quality. Five Nights at Freddy’s is a great example of that.”

This year’s Halloween Horror Nights line-up also includes Terrifier, Poltergeist, Fallout, Jason Universe, and WWE Presents: The Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks, as well as a bunch of original houses and the return of Terror Tram and The Purge live action show. Halloween Horror Nights kicks off at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday, September 4, 2025. Tickets are now on sale.