'Five Nights at Freddy's': The Fall's Surprise Hit

Across the Movie Aisle

On this Tuesday’s show, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) discuss the fall’s surprise breakout at the box office: Five Nights at Freddy’s, a property you’ve almost certainly never heard of if you’re over the age of 35 but almost certainly love if you’re under the age of 18. How did Universal turn this into a monster hit despite putting it on Peacock and in theaters simultaneously? And then we review The Killer, David Fincher’s latest for Netflix starring Michael Fassbender as the titular killer. Is it a slick exercise in style, a sly comment on the whole hitman subgenre, or a scathing indictment of modernity’s detachment of labor and laborer? Maybe all three, wrapped up in a little techno-critical ribbon, a perfect gift for Fincher’s Netflix overlords. Make sure to swing by Friday for our bonus episode on the meaning of the explosion of hitmen on film in recent years and what it all might mean. And make sure to share this episode with a friend if you enjoyed it!