Scarier and more coherent than its confoundingly dull (yet wildly popular) predecessor, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" still suffers from a convoluted script, but it at least won't make viewers feel like they've had their head smashed in by a killer animatronic robot.

They will get to watch that happen, though — in a soft, PG-13 kind of way — as the possessed pizza parlor robots from the mega-popular video game franchise return for another round of big-screen terror, this time finding their way beyond the restaurant walls.

Here in Round 2, there are two pizza parlors, the original and the franchise location, both of which were shut down due to demon robot activity but are still attracting waves of curious onlookers.

At the OG spot, a crew of teenage paranormal investigators — Lisa (Mckenna Grace), the host of "Spectral Scoopers," and her two crew members — are snooping around on a tour guided by a creepy security guard (Freddy Carter).

Things go wayward, as they tend to do in this storytelling universe, which calls upon our collective nostalgia — and fears — of Chuck E. Cheese-type establishments and the animatronics that populate them.

Meanwhile, Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson) — no relation to the Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman — is still dealing with the aftereffects of the first film, which took place in 2000, two years prior to the events of "2."

His kid sister Abby (Piper Rubio) is still strangely enamored with the aforementioned killer robot pizza parlor mascots, and he's kinda sorta romantically courting Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), the cop attached to the initial case, and the daughter of demented serial killer William Afton (Matthew Lillard), who did his killing from inside a spring-locked Freddy Fazbear suit. (No judgment, but Mike should probably be expanding his dating pool beyond those so intimately tied to very recent traumatic events.)

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" gets more out of its robots than the first movie was able to, especially Toy Chica, a creepy yellow baby bird character, who is voiced by Megan Fox. (Shout out to the creature effects team, who do a solid job of making these lumbering monsters feel intimidating.)

Returning director Emma Tammi even creates a few effective jump scares, which is more than the first movie was able to muster, and the script by Scott Cawthon lands a few good jokes.

Look, giant killer animatronic robots should be scary, and "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" does a better job of conveying that simple notion than the first film. It won't win any style points (and its finale is a dud), but as a piece of gateway horror floating somewhere between "Goosebumps" and "Stranger Things," "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" finds sturdy ground.

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'FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2'

Grade: C

MPA rating: PG-13 (for violent content, terror and some language)

Running time: 1:44

How to watch: Now in theaters

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