Movie Review: LOCKED

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: March 21st, 2025 / 08:18 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins, Ashley Cartwright, Michael Eklund, Navid Charkhi
Writer: Michael Arlen Ross, based on the film 4×4 by Mariano Cohn & Gastón Duprat
Director: David Yarovesky
Distributor: The Avenue
Release Date: March 21, 2025

LOCKED is based on the 2019 Argentinian film 4×4. Without having seen the original, it’s not possible to say how tonally faithful LOCKED is to its inspiration, though both involve a thief trapped in a high-tech vehicle.

However, genre fans may note certain similarities between LOCKED and the SAW franchise. Both involve a criminal who is ensnared by a master gamesman who uses torture to make socio-political points.

The main differences are that the SAW movies are way bloodier, have more characters, and are less didactic.

Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgård) is a low-level thief and loser, trying unsuccessful scams to get enough money to retrieve his van from the mechanics.

Eddie’s ex-wife is understandably exasperated with him for failing to pick up their little girl Sarah (Ashley Cartwright) from school when he promises to do so. Since Eddie genuinely loves his daughter, he’s ashamed of himself for this lapse, and he’s none too thrilled with how life is shaking out. However, a better path doesn’t occur to him.

Then Eddie comes across an ultra-high-end (indeed, one of a kind) SUV in a mostly empty city parking lot. Eddie lets himself inside – and finds that the doors won’t unlock, the glass won’t break, and eventually that he really needs to answer the insistent in-car phone system.

On the other end is the SUV’s owner, William (Anthony Hopkins). William is a doctor with virtually unlimited funds, although not a projected lifespan to match. William and Eddie don’t know each other, but William knows Eddie’s type – someone who justifies taking what he wants and doesn’t care who he hurts in the process.

It’s easy to see why Skarsgård took the role of Eddie, since it allows him to go through a wide gamut of emotions, as well as being on screen for practically every shot. He is certainly up to the challenges, letting us see Eddie break down and re-form bit by bit.

What probably no actor could do is make the surroundings more interesting, at least without better assistance from the filmmakers.

Hopkins is assured and perfectly cast as the erudite sadist who has provided for almost every eventuality.

Director David Yarovesky and screenwriter Michael Arlen Ross seem to be aiming at an arc that has us sympathizing with William at first, both because he’s got some legitimate grievances and because Eddie is such a jerk at the start. Then our sympathies are evidently meant to shift, as we see more of Eddie’s humanity and empathize with some of what he’s going through.

But once we’ve gotten a good look at the SUV, it isn’t intrinsically fascinating, nor is Eddie’s ordeal. Because it’s never very graphic, and because William’s stated intention is to torment rather than kill Eddie, we’re never too worried for him, at least until the climax.

There is also the matter of William’s screeds, which some may find righteous, while others will hear as objectionably self-satisfied and insular. (If William is so upset about neighborhood safety, why hasn’t he used any of his wealth to do something about it, instead of spending a fortune to capture one random schmoe?)

There is eventually some scenic movement that leads to tension, but it’s not enough to make up for so much inertia. LOCKED is better than it might have been, but it’s also not scary enough to qualify as horror, not insightful enough to be character study, and not profound enough to justify all the lectures we get.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

The softer side of SAW

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: LOCKED

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status