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Isn't this the greatest thing you've ever seen in your entire life?
~ Vanessa showing the animatronics off to Mike.

Vanessa Afton, also known as Vanessa Shelly, is the tritagonist of the 2023 supernatural horror film Five Nights at Freddy's, which is based on the video game franchise of the same name.

She's a patrol officer and daughter of child serial killer William Afton. Despite assisting Afton in covering up his murders, as well as lying to Mike and Abby about her true identity, she ultimately redeems herself when she helps them defeat her father. She is based on Vanessa A. from the games.

She is portrayed by Elizabeth Lail, who also plays Anna from Once Upon a Time, Guinevere Beck from You and Amy Hughes from Dead of Summer.

Biography[]

Past[]

While not much is known about her past, Vanessa was the daughter of William Afton, an employee or potential co-founder of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. When she was a kid, her dad kidnapped and murdered numerous children and hid their bodies in the animatronics at the Pizzeria. This would result in the restaurant being shut down, though the bodies were never found and the police couldn't trace the disappearances back to her father.

It's implied that her father was abusive toward her, and when she learned of his double life as a serial child murderer, he threatened her life and manipulated her into either assisting him in the killings or at the very least, covering them up.

At some point in her adulthood, Vanessa became a police officer in the Granite Falls Police Department, that would make frequent stops at Freddy's and befriend the various security guards there.

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)[]

One night while she's out on patrol, Vanessa learns that Freddy's has a new security guard and goes to meet him. Upon being let in, she notices Mike is distressed and wounded, and she helps patch him up. The two quickly form a friendship and grow closer to one another when Vanessa reveals to Mike the history of Freddy Fazbear's and its connections with the children's disappearances. She also grows close to Mike's younger sister, Abby, seeing her as a younger sister figure.

When Mike becomes suspicious of Vanessa's intentions helping him, she confesses to being related to William Afton, the man responsible for the disappearances/murders of the children, including Mike's younger brother. She also reveals that William has some control over the killer animatronics and the souls of the children inside them.

With this info, Mike pieces together that William is planning on killing him and Abby, and he almost does, until Vanessa holds him off while Mike and Abby work to convince the animatronics to turn against their creator. She's stabbed and hospitalized as a result, but her efforts prove worth it, as the animatronics finally see William for who he really is and trigger the springlocks in the Yellow Rabbit suit, killing him.

Personality[]

Vanessa was a devoted daughter to William Afton until she discovered his true, horrifying identity as a criminal mastermind responsible for the deaths of numerous children. In light of this revelation, she chose to assist Mike in his mission to rescue his sister, Abby. In doing so, she helped Mike realize how important Abby truly is to him.

Vanessa had a special bond with Mike, and eventually revealed her deepest and most unsettling secrets in him to ensure his safety. In a pivotal moment, she intervened to prevent her father from harming Abby, a courageous act that led to her being stabbed by William. Remarkably, she survived this encounter but was hospital-bound.

Trivia[]

  • Both of Vanessa's tracks have a melody and tune that sounds similar to the Princess Quest OST.
    • This further theorizes that she could be related to or is Vanessa from Security Breach yet this remains unconfirmed.
  • Vanessa appears to have some similarities in role to the Phone Guy.
    • She tries to help Mike with his job as a security guard at Freddy's and advice for making it through.
    • But at the same time, she has at times concealed information from Mike and said the infamous quote, "There is nothing to worry about."
  • In the trailer, the scene where Vanessa corrects Mike about the animatronics is not shown in the actual film.
  • In the novelization, Mike and Vanessa are implied to be love interests but those moments were written out of the film, so it’s likely non-canon to the movie.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

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