David Yarovesky’s Locked is a claustrophobic thriller that takes the concept of a high-stakes survival game and distills it into one suffocating, unrelenting location: the interior of a state-of-the-art luxury SUV. With a taut premise and powerhouse performances from Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, the film crafts a nerve-wracking experience that forces both its protagonist and the audience into a relentless battle of wits and endurance.
The setup is simple yet effective: Eddie (Skarsgård), a thief looking for an easy payday, breaks into what he believes to be a jackpot - a high-end SUV. Instead of a quick score, he finds himself trapped in a technological prison designed by William (Hopkins), a man with his own twisted sense of justice. What follows is an intense psychological showdown, one that pits Skarsgård’s desperate, resourceful criminal against Hopkins’ cold, calculating captor. It’s a game of survival played in real-time, with no way out and no margin for error.
The film thrives on its minimalism. By keeping the action contained within the vehicle, Locked weaponizes its limited space, making every movement and every decision a matter of life and death. Yarovesky (Brightburn, Nightbooks) ensures that the setting never feels repetitive, using dynamic cinematography and creative angles from DP Michael Dallatorre (Brightburn, Studio 666) to amplify Eddie’s growing desperation. The SUV itself becomes an omnipresent threat - its high-tech security system a relentless adversary that responds to Eddie’s every move, tightening the noose around him with each failed escape attempt.
Bill Skarsgård delivers a gripping, physically demanding performance that serves as the film’s emotional anchor. He embodies Eddie’s raw desperation, portraying a man who is constantly thinking, adapting, and barely holding onto hope. His physicality sells the intensity of the film - sweat-soaked, shivering, enraged and frantic, he doesn’t just act like a man fighting for survival; he is a man fighting for survival. Every gasp for air, every desperate attempt to override the system, and every moment of exhausted panic is palpable.
On the other side of the battle is Sir Anthony Hopkins, who returns to his sinister roots with a performance that is both chilling and unpredictable. William isn’t a raving lunatic or a cartoonish villain - he’s methodical, intelligent, and disturbingly amused by his own game. Hopkins brings a quiet menace to the role, making William’s every word feel like a veiled threat. His control over the situation is absolute, and the way he toys with Eddie - speaking in calculated, almost casual tones and constantly dangling hope in front of him - only heightens the film’s tension. He is a man who sees himself as a judge and executioner, but Locked constantly challenges the audience to decide whether his sense of justice is noble or merely another form of cruelty.
Beyond its two lead performances, Locked benefits from the guiding hand of producer Sam Raimi, whose influence is evident in the film’s suffocating atmosphere and precision-crafted tension. While Locked avoids Raimi’s signature bursts of manic horror, it leans heavily into psychological dread, playing with themes of control, justice, and moral ambiguity. The film doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares - it thrives on a constant sense of unease, making the audience feel as trapped as Eddie himself.
One of the film’s strongest elements is its ability to maintain tension without ever feeling redundant. Trapping a character in a single location for an entire film is no easy feat, but Locked keeps things unpredictable, shifting the balance of power between Eddie and William at just the right moments. The film’s pacing ensures that no scene overstays its welcome, and every bid for survival or attempt at escape feels different from the last, constantly evolving as Eddie learns more about his captor’s deadly game.
While Locked is undeniably effective as a thriller, it also raises deeper questions about morality and vengeance. William sees himself as an arbiter of justice, punishing those he deems unworthy. But as the film progresses, it becomes clear that his methods are just as brutal as the crimes he claims to condemn. Eddie, for all his flaws, is still a human being fighting for his life. The film forces its audience to wrestle with the ethics of punishment - does William’s brand of justice serve a purpose, or is he simply another predator playing god?
Visually, the film embraces a gritty, immersive aesthetic. Yarovesky’s decision to shoot in real locations, rather than rely on soundstages, adds a layer of authenticity to the experience. The harsh environments surrounding the SUV - contrasting the wealth of the vehicle with the struggles of the outside world - reinforce the film’s underlying themes of disparity and survival. The cinematography, utilizing custom anamorphic lenses, puts the audience directly in Eddie’s shoes, creating a visceral, almost suffocating experience.
If Locked has any shortcomings, they are minor. The film’s intense focus on its core concept leaves little room for deeper character exploration beyond the immediate survival scenario. While the psychological battle between Eddie and William is compelling, those looking for a more intricate backstory or complex motivations might find the film slightly lacking in that department. This streamlined approach is part of what makes Locked so gripping, but by its end, it does leave you wanting just a bit more out of its psychological elements.
In the end, Locked is a relentless, edge-of-your-seat thriller that maximizes its confined setting to a successful degree. With stellar performances from Skarsgård and Hopkins, razor-sharp direction from Yarovesky, and a sense of desperation that never lets up, it’s a film that proves you don’t need sprawling set pieces or excessive action to create true cinematic tension. This is psychological warfare at its finest - a battle of wills fought within the confines of a deathtrap on wheels. Once Locked starts, there’s no escape, and that’s exactly what makes it so damn thrilling.
'Locked' is now playing in theaters.
