Michael you cant leave me here original

and hating Michael, he at first says "Whoever you are", implying he's speaking to whoever found the tape and not anyone in particular, but then at the end he flips to mentioning Michael by name and speaking directly to him. This gives the idea that he may have made the tape with the idea that Michael would find it sooner or later, and he made it to psychologically torment him by saying he never loved him or thought him the failure of the family. It also opens up the idea that he could've once loved Michael like Joseph, perhaps a bit less so, but after the incident, he grew to hate him.

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  • Fredbear/Joseph/Bite Victim. Does he really believe that he and the other missing kids will never be able to move on? Or is he just afraid that he'll be unable to go with them, attempting to break the other kids' hope to make sure they stay with him?
  • Better Than Canon:
    • There's plenty of comments that praise the VHS videos as being more effective horror than the recent FNAF games, thanks to the intense atmosphere and ghastly imagery. Some even joke about Squimp's content being too frightening for the main series's younger Periphery Demographic to handle, due to being more used to the comparatively tame horror of FNAF.
    • Many fans call the VHS' portrayal of William Afton better (and scarier) than the canonical William Afton. In the games, Afton is more of a cartoonish Mad Scientist with an Evil Brit accent. Here, however, Afton is a much more mundane and realistic Serial Killer who murders children because he can't murder his son Michael in revenge of his favorite son Joseph.
  • Catharsis Factor:

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    • Finale has William Afton/Springtrap being burned to death by his abused son Michael, with all the other animatronics going with him. That terrifying picture of William, with that smug smile on his face? It's destroyed, and warped to the point it looks like he's screaming in agony instead as it burns away. It's karmic, well-deserved, and supremely cathartic. Doubly so, as unlike in canon where he keeps coming back to life, it's implied (and confirmed by Squimpus in the comments section) he's finally Killed Off for Real here.
    • For anyone who's upset at the game's rather infamous Never Live It Down plot, people will feel greatly satisfied by the actions of an unnamed security guard from Facial Recognition Testing. Not only did he manage to tase and presumably disable an attacking animatronic intent on killing him, he says "screw it," and gets the hell away from Fazbear's relatively unscathed.

      "Look, I know we can't have that guy back here, but you can't just put shit in without telling me! I could've DIED! I... God dammit, you know what?! How 'bout you take your facial recognition and SHOVE IT?! Because I'm not working in this DEATH TRAP anymore, STARTING RIGHT NOW!"

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  • Cry for the Devil: William Afton is about just as monstrous as he is in canon (being a child-murdering Serial Killer), however it's hard not to feel a little bit sorry for him due to the absolutely horrendous way he lost his youngest (and favorite) son Joseph. In one of the tapes, he even sounds like he's barely holding back tears as he wishes for God to treat him better than he ever did.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: The unnamed security guard from Facial Recognition Testing due to actually managing to TASE one of the animatronics and quit his job at the pizzeria before everything goes to hell, making him seem like the Only Sane Man.
  • Funny Moments:
    • William Afton/The Criminal showing up at the end of Facial Recognition testing? Terrifying. Taking it to its next logical step and combining it with Michael Jackson?
      Michael you cant leave me here original
      Hilarious. The guy's reaction to them even adding Purple Guy to the list also qualifies, with him explicitly asking why the hell they even thought of that.
    • The final line of Fazbear Entertainment Video Manual is darkly humorous for the exact same reasons as it is chilling. It comes right out of nowhere, is said with the same level of calmness as the actual instructions, and is so macabre that it's both hilarious and terrifying at the same time.

      Instructor: Climb inside the torso and accept your dea-

    • "Pirate Cove Pre-Show" gives us this gem.

      Foxy: Aye there buccaneers! The Pirate Cover show's beginning in about...er (looks at his watch, which resembles a sun dial) ...3 sailor minutes! In your lingo, that would be...3 minutes! ...SHIVER ME TIMBERS! THREE MINUTES!?

      • Immediately afterwards, he exclaims that if the kids don't come to Pirate's Cove soon, he'll make Freddy and his band walk the plank! Or worse... he'll ask for a raise!
    • "Animated Cartoon" has even more at the beginning:
      • Cartoon Freddy wastes no time in laying down the sarcasm, especially when it comes to Bonnie.

        Foxy: I've been tired of these kids treating our fine eatery like a food fight ring!
        Bonnie: What's so bad about food fights? I like 'em.
        Freddy: I dunno! Clean it up and find out.

      • After Chica points out that there are two empty chairs at their table, Freddy is for once at a loss for words. Foxy clearly isn't used to this.

        Freddy: Y'know, I... don't actually have an answer for that.
        Foxy: Not even a sarcastic one?
        [Beat]
        Foxy: TELL ME TO SHUT UP!
        Freddy: Shut up...
        Foxy: Ah, the balance has been restored!

  • Heartwarming Moments:
    • After instructing Michael Afton how to destroy Springtrap, The Puppet gives him a few words of motivation, followed by Fredbear doing similar:

      The Puppet: I know how you feel, Michael. It's a lot of responsibility. But when this is done, we'll all be free. You'll be free too. It may not seem like it, but I believe your brother will forgive you. I've forgiven you too. You are good, Michael. Despite what you think, you do deserve this happy ending. I've been working all this time to give you this opportunity. I love you Michael.
      Fredbear: "See? A good friend is the best thing you could ever have. When life just isn't good to ya, they'll always be there to help."

      • Swan-dives into Nightmare Fuel when, 5 months later, it's revealed that Michael's brother does not forgive him. He most certainly DOES NOT.
    • Finale sweetens this a bit. Michael destroys Fazbear's Fright, burning the place down with Springtrap, himself and all the haunted animatronics inside. We then get a montage of all the names of the kids William Afton killed, with Michael and Joseph being stated to be reunited in death. The implication is they all went to a better place when they finally died.
  • Love to Hate: VHS' version of William Afton is seen as this perhaps even more so than his canon counterpart due to being a much more scary and realistic Serial Killer who uses a flimsy excuse to kill several children, and later, try and kill his own son.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • Shortly after the release of the Facial Recognition video, posting the words "CRIMINAL CRIMINAL CRIMINAL CRIMINAL" on fanart of William Afton exploded as a meme on the official FNAF subreddit, often used as a Bait-and-Switch masquerading as more questionable content.
    • Mort the Chicken is a commonly requested project after Squimpus alluded to the game in their 20k Subscriber special. It still gets brought up as an "eventually" project after five times the subscribers have came along.
    • "S-stepbear, what are you doing?" Explanation  "Nonexistent Video" ends with a recording of Fredbear and Spring Bonnie performing on their stage, in which the latter — characterized here as the goofy "Funny Guy" of the duo — brings up a humorous incident where he got stuck in a washing machine and Fredbear had to get him out. The conversation, however, soon drew several comparisons to the set-up of an infamous pornographic work involving Flirty Stepsiblings, where the step-sister also gets her torso stuck inside a washing machine. Cue jokes about Rule 34 artists taking notes for their next FNaF-related drawings, and Fredbear preparing to sodomize his helpless stage partner.
    • William Afton's hellish Big "NO!" as he burns to death during "Finale" has seen some use as a reaction to appropriately agonizing moments.
    • "Michael! Don't leave me here! *Cough* Mi- *Cough* -cheal! MICHAEL!!! HEEELLP MEEEEE-" Explanation "Finale" opens with audio clips of William-as-Springtrap slowly losing his mind inside the safe room, at one point banging against the door and begging for Michael to let him out. It's common to take the voiceclip out of context as a joke, such as playing it over someone or something that's stuck somewhere, or animating it as Springtrap reacting to something Faux Horrific.
    • "VIEWING OF THIS TAPE IS PROHIBITED! DISCARD IT IMMEDIATELY!"note The warning that plays in "Pirate Cove Pre-Show" has been repurposed for other videos with less scary material, like Fredbear suddenly breaking into dance.