Title – Locked (2025)

Director – David Yarovesky (Brightburn)

Cast – Bill Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins

Plot – Petty thief Eddie Barrish (Skarsgård) is imprisoned in a luxury SUV by its wealthy owner William (Hopkins), setting in motion a game of cat and mouse with Eddie’s very survival on the line. 

“Please watch your language. I hate vulgarity”

Review by Eddie on 14/07/2025

A remake of 2019 Argentinian thriller 4×4, Brightburn director David Yarovesky under the supervision of producer Sam Raimi delivers a sleek looking but entirely forgettable high-concept thriller that pits Pennywise vs Hannibal Lector all within the confines of a custom made SUV.

Built around Bill Skarsgård’s down on his luck slacker Eddie Barrish who in a mad rush to get money to be able to pick up his estranged daughter ends up locked in Anthony Hopkins William’s car, initiating a game of life and death as William sets about teaching Eddie a lesson, Locked always faced an uphill battle to ensure its audience was along for the ride for 90 minutes with many likely to be looking for escape before the final stretch takes place.

Continuing on a long hard road to cut it as a leading man when free from the makeup and prosthetics chair, Skarsgård gives it his best shot as the not entirely likable Eddie, a potty-mouthed drug user who really doesn’t endear himself enough for us to care if he escapes the clutches of William’s fairly bizarre plan but despite Hopkins doing a lot with merely his voice, the battle between Eddie and William isn’t that gripping making Locked more of a chore than a joy to sit through.

Attempting to overcome his relatively ho-hum directional outings that were his much hyped Brightburn and his instantly forgotten Netflix original Nightbooks, Yarovesky doesn’t bring any imagination or creative flair to Locked to make its mostly singular location setting work either.

Similar films that transpire in tight spaces such as Locke, Buried or Panic Room all manage to elevate their surrounds by filmmaking nuance or innovation or by a tight and taut script that engages purely by its character interactions or evolutions but Locked doesn’t possess these skills as it heads along its way to a non-event of a finale that makes the whole journey feel like one you’d rather not have started.

There’s a time and a place for mindlessly entertaining games of cat and mouse and high-concept thrillers cut from the same cloth as Locked but with little magic or smarts, this potentially white knuckle ride is a non-starter.

Final Say –

This battle of wits between Nosferatu and Hannibal Lector is only minorly engaging as the potential of this game of life and death gives way to boredom long before the end game is in sight.

2 wishful McDonald’s orders out of 5