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Jason Blum ought to know what makes a horror movie successful. As the head of Blumhouse, one of the biggest horror movie studios in the world, Blum has overseen some of the biggest titles in modern day horror, including the blockbuster adaptation of the Five Nights at Freddy's game. With a sequel on the way this year, Blum shared his thoughts on what made the first (and hopefully second) film connect with audiences all over the globe. And if you follow FNAF at all, you won't be surprised to hear Blum gives the credit to the franchise's creator, Scott Cawthon.

Blum was recently at CCXP Mexico to celebrate 15 years of Blumhouse (can you believe it's been 15 years?), where an interviewer brought up the studio's biggest success in recent memory. In particular, the interviewer wanted to know whether Blum or his team were "prepared" for the kind of success they saw in the Five Nights at Freddy's adaptation.

"The only person who was really prepared," begins Blum, "And the reason I think the movies connect to fans the way they do, is because of Scott Cawthon." 

At the mention of the creator's name, a massive round of applause sprung up from the audience. When that died down, Blum went on to describe Cawthon as, "amazing, one of the brightest, most inspired people I've really ever worked with. He is so fanatically passionate about every detail of every single thing we do with the movies. I feel it, the fans feel it."

To Blum's point, Cawthon has proven himself to be absolute stickler for getting the Five Nights at Freddy's movies right - you'll recall Popverse's reporting on how the game developer made sure that Living Tombstone's Five Nights at Freddy's song, released for the game, made it into the movies.

It's that kind of involvement that is partially responsible for the movie's success, Blum seems to think. In fact, the horror movie tastemaker even claims that Cawthon's fanatic passion (passionate fanaticism?) had led to FNAF not just being one of the biggest horror hits of the decade, but...

Well, we'll let him tell you.

"In terms of adaptations," Blum concludes, "The movies are the most authentic adaptations ever done. That's thanks to, of course Emma [Tammi, director] and the actors, but especially Scott, who's been a tremendous partner to us, and has helped deliver another incredible movie. Which I can't wait for everybody to see."

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 comes to theaters December 5.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

• The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
• The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
• All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.