Even the kiddies love a good Halloween party and parents love a kid’s party they don’t have to clean up after, which is exactly the market that Chuck E. Cheese is trying to corner with their Five Nights of Fun “late-over” this Friday. The fact that they’re throwing this thinly veiled Five Nights at Freddy’s parody event – which their CEO assures us is just a coincidence – on the day that the new horror film hits American cinemas is totally irrelevant.

We talked about how strange it was that Chuck E. Cheese, who has made “creepy animatronic mascots” their core brand identity, chose to parody a film where creepy animatronic mascots eat people before, but the whole event is about to build to its fate-tempting climax on 27 October, when Chuck E. Cheese will host their Big Night of Fun late-over. From 8 pm till midnight, kids will be invited to their local purveyor of subpar pizza for a night of fun, games, and – hopefully – no murder.

Look, we’re sure it is totally safe to take your kids to a Chuck E. Cheese late at night. Most of the venues don’t even use the old animatronics that inspired Five Nights at Freddy’s anymore – they’re probably safely stored in the back somewhere gathering dust and/or malice. We’re sure the free games, pizza, and drinks described on the event’s website will put everyone’s mind at ease.

Chuck E. Cheese might not be acknowledging the similarities between their Five Nights of Fun event and Five Nights at Freddy’s, but we know what they’re up to. It still sounds like a nightmare to us, but we respect anyone willing to tempt fate by staying in a Chuck E. Cheese until midnight during Halloween.

The Five Nights at Freddy's phenomenon is lasting longer than five nights. Get up to speed, with how to stream the movie, details on the characters and lore, getting to know the FNAF animatronics, how it fits in the canon of the games, talks of sequels, how Chuck E. Cheese is responding, and even a guide to how to play all the FNAF games.

Can't get enough? We have have recommendations for five movies to watch after Five Nights at Freddy's.