Locked Review: A Tense Confined Space Thriller Benefits From Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins’s Engaging Two-Hander
I have always been intrigued by the concept of a character trapped in a confined space such as this one from Locked. The space in question can be any single location that is typically tight and claustrophobic such as a telephone booth (2003’s Phone Booth), coffin (2010’s Buried) and car (2014’s Locke). So, in David Yarovesky‘s new movie under Sam Raimi’s production banner, Locked takes place predominantly in the confine of a black SUV. Or more specifically, a heavily modified Land Rover Defender-style 2024 Dolus.
Unlike the 2019 Argentinian film 4×4 that the movie is based upon, where Peter Lanzani’s Ciro breaks into a parked Toyota Fortuner-like SUV right from the opening frame, Yarovesky gives us a little backstory surrounding Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgård), a small-time carjacker and petty thief who supposed to pick up his little daughter, Sarah (Ashley Cartwright) from school.
But he claims he’s too busy with “work” and that’s where he thinks he scores a jackpot after coming across a parked SUV in the outdoor parking lot. Breaking in is easy. From there, he tries to see if there’s anything valuable inside the SUV to sell for quick cash. Then, something unexpected happens: He can’t get out. The door from the driver’s seat is automatically locked, and so does the rest. Even when he applies physical force to open the door, which further adds to his frustration. Interestingly, the entire scene from when he breaks into the SUV to find himself trapped inside the vehicle is thrillingly captured in a rotating, unbroken take. So far, so good.
The real challenge is whether Yarovesky, who directed Michael Arlen Ross’s (2006’s Turistas) adapted screenplay, can sustain my interest for the next 80 minutes. The word “taut” is crucial for this type of movie to keep the story engaging and thankfully, Locked mostly manages to deliver the goods. As Eddie is now stuck inside the SUV with no way out, it’s nice to see the often-being-typecast-as-antagonists Bill Skarsgård seen in the two-part It, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Nosferatu, plays a helpless victim for a change.
Despite the nature of his character, Skarsgård’s Eddie is depicted as a father, who may have separated from his wife but still loves his daughter. He always breaks his promise even with something simple as picking her up from school, which she looks forward to seeing him. But today turns out to be the biggest nightmare of his life and he happens to be the unlucky one trapped inside the SUV.
The owner is later revealed to be the sound of an old man named William (Anthony Hopkins), who calls from the dashboard monitor. Casting Hopkins is an inspired choice since he’s no stranger to playing the role of a psycho. A different kind of psycho, unlike the one he famously portrayed Hannibal Lecter. Although Hopkins’s presence is mostly heard from the dashboard monitor, he certainly has a field day voicing his role of William, who enjoys torturing him (he would tases Eddie remotely each time the latter spews expletives) both physically and mentally.
The escalating verbal tension between Skarsgård’s Eddie and Hopkins’s William often resulted in a combination of tense and funny moments of them playing off each other well. The bulk of the movie sees William taking his time teaching Eddie a hard lesson and the consequences of trying to steal his vehicle. While it can get repetitive after a while, the movie’s two-hander is enough to have me stay invested in the story.
Yarovesky doesn’t forget to raise the stakes, evidently during the later part of the movie as the story eventually moves from a stationary SUV position to a self-driving mode at one point. Beyond the conceptual trapped-inside-the-SUV premise, Ross’s screenplay also incorporates thematic subject matters about injustice, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and generational differences without getting too preachy about them.
Locked retains most of the storytelling traits previously established in 4×4 but it was in the second half where Yarovesky takes plenty of creative liberties in depicting the fates of Eddie and William. The third act that leads to a strange tonal shift seems like an odd choice, especially the way the movie is wrapping up Eddie’s arc. A few shortcomings aside, Locked remains one of the well-acted confined-space thrillers worth checking out on the big screen.
