Locked
review by Bobby Blakey
Bill Skarsgård has been taking on a variety of unique rolls in films like IT, Boy Kills World, the reimaging of The Crow, and more recently Nosferatu. His latest film Locked teams him up with Sir Anthony Hopkins from Brightburn director David Yarovesky. Could this unique story manage to deliver something as intense as it promises or will it fail to keep you locked in?
Locked follows Eddie who breaks into a luxury SUV steps into a deadly trap set by William, a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
It’s a hard task to make a film that takes place in one place with limited characters to play off, but when it works it really is something special. This film has just enough set up in the outside world to understand who Eddie is and the situation to make him compelling enough before stepping foot inside the SUV. Once inside it takes on a completely new life much different than I had expected.
The idea of the car seems silly at first but once it is explained it just works. It’s a beautiful car that some might hope to get for themselves, but despite a website promoting the car and its brand is one that doesn’t exist making it all the cleverer. I don’t know how it didn’t get a bigger push from this marketing alone, but it’s on brand for the ride it is going to take us on and props to the creators for expanding the universe to something bigger and so clever.
Skarsgård is fantastic here running through every possible emotion and physical torture you can imagine. He seems just a usual down on his luck guy just trying to get the next big score but the connection with his daughter throughout
grounds him to make him more likeable and someone you might be sympathetic to. Once Hopkins’ voice enters the story the film becomes an intense ride of torture both mental and physical. They have great banter back and forth and feels more like they are there together as opposed to on the phone.
Hopkins channels the intelligence and insanity of Hannibal Lector for this role to bring a whole new level of genius madman to life. Despite being on the phone most of the film his performance is still as strong as ever. When he does finally step into frame, he is even more devilish as he continues to control the situation and takes it in another direction. This moment gets the car moving, that then makes the film feel different in a good way to inject that something it needed to keep it fresh. It gets even more intense and violent, leading into a finale that reminds you that there is more to this film than you might think.
There are moments where I think it lingers too long in pushing things forward but nothing that hurts the film overall. What makes it work even more outside of the chaos and torture is the underlining journey both men are going through. There is a lesson here that the audience is seeing Eddie learn whether he knows it or not, making the final moments of the film so much more impactful. This isn’t just a thriller, but a journey through emotions and life to understand what really matters and what you will go through to have it.
Decide for yourself and check out Locked now on digital and streaming on Hulu or grab the DVD when it locks in on August 26th from The Avenue and Paramount Home Entertainment.