PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Bryan Bertino really cultivated the ultimate realistic modern home invasion setting with The Strangers (read our retro review here) back in 2008. But his newest directorial effort, Vicious, takes that premise to another level. What if you were trapped in your house with no escape, as your own personal demons and past decisions threatened your life? Vicious explores that in a way that includes a brand-new challenge.
Vicious is written and directed by Bryan Bertino (The Dark and The Wicked 2020) and it stars Dakota Fanning (The Watchers 2024) and Kathryn Hunter (The Front Room 2024). Fanning’s character (Polly) is a messy young lady who has never quite recovered from grief and family trauma. She’s greeted by Hunter’s character (The Woman) who unsettlingly gives her a box and says she’ll die soon if she doesn’t fill that box with three items: something she loves, something she hates, and something she needs. It’s a classic evil totem movie that calls for personal sacrifices in the name of survival in the vein of Saw, Choose or Die, or Would You Rather.
First and foremost, this may be the shining star moment for Fanning. She really nails the grit of Polly, carries the solo scenes, and genuinely makes the audience feel her suffering. But that takes nothing away from Hunter, who delivers chills as the creepy old bearer of the bolstered box. Vicious traps us in one location for most of the movie, as we get Polly’s story and follow her between ambient supernatural scares. A lot of movies rely on jump-scares that feel cheap and unearned without investment in its characters. Vicious gives you a journey that has timing and backstory, with a great peppering of frights that release more exposition.
The sound design in Vicious is superb. Once the premise is set, the viewer isn’t able to trust anything that they see or hear. As Polly descends into madness through the box’s torment, we are left to wonder if each moment is a delusion or a reality.
The ending of Vicious may be a point of contention for some viewers. While there’s an obvious conclusion with a fun path to arrive there, the motivation of the story might seem too basic for some people. But for those who like a thrill ride of seclusion and sinister spirits, it’s one that may stay on your mind for a long time. Vicious is currently available to stream on Paramount Plus.
