Mikes Film Talk

The 2025 psychological thriller Locked is a tough one to watch. Despite the grueling nature of the material though, it is difficult to stop watching it. Director David Yarovesky (Brightburn) rubs our face into the torture session that the unlucky “hero” endures.

*I admit to being a huge fan of Yarovesky. I adored Brightburn.*

The Locked Story

A down on his luck thief tries to steal a luxury SUV. The vehicle turns out to be a mechanical Venus fly trap of sorts. Like the roach hotels featured on those old Raid commercials, he is not meant to check out. Locked then turns into a harsh psychological battle of wits.

To the death.

The Cast

Bill Skarsgård is Eddie Barrish.

Anthony Hopkins is William.

Ashley Cartwright is Sarah.

Michael Eklund is Karl.

Young Cartwright knocks her portrayal of Eddie’s daughter right out the park. Keep an eye on this one, she is bound to go far in the industry.

Locked is Claustrophobic

Locked is not too dissimilar from Inside; in each story a thief goes somewhere they should not. In each film, the journey of the “everyman” criminal is brutal and painful. Both films are intensely claustrophobic. Locked, however, wins the award for being extremely closed in.

Of course the big difference is that Defoe’s character Nemo in Inside fights the environment, the flat, itself. Eddie initially fights the Dolus, the vehicle, but soon finds a far more evil adversary; William.

Mind Games and Murder

Eddie is essentially tortured once he is entombed in the vehicle. William, the car’s owner, is delighted to have caught another “fly” in his trap. There is a lot of blood. In a short time the thief is injured twice. His benevolent benefactor, William, dresses his wounds and starts the psychological torture he so clearly delights in.

It is all mind games and, according to William, murder. Eddie is not meant to get out of his tiny prison alive. His captor relishes the “hell” that he puts the young father through. Before the film ends there will be a few life lessons learned.

The hard way.

It Works

Despite the sheer overabundance of dialogue in Locked, it works. Yes, there is a lot of talking; think Japanese cinema in the 1960s, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, et al. It is necessary though, integral in fact, to move the story along. It is a credit to the whole team, from the actors, the director, and the writers that it works.

This is another example of the old bon mot of “too many cooks spoiling the broth,” not holding true. There are three writers credited for this one. Michael Arlen Ross, Mariano Cohn, and Gastón Duprat all had a hand in the script.

*More accurately, as this is the third remake of the film, Ross probablu polished and changed the screenplay accordingly. Both Cohn and Duprat are credited with both prior versions of Locked.*

The FX look great and the blood looks pretty realistic.

Kudos

Locked says a lot about the acting abilities of both Skarsgård and Hopkins. Both men keep us engrossed, and Hopkins is mainly off screen throughout. The men are personal favorites and usually sell any role they play. Each have their own sort of gravitas. They also have the ability, as different characters, to scare the pants off the audience.

Kudos to both these actors for making this whole thing work. Hats off to Michael Eklund also who manages to rule every scene he appears in.

It is admirable that before the film ends we are behind Eddie. This is not just down to the story itself, but the two main actors killing it.

The Verdict

Locked may be a tough one to watch, but it easily earns a 4.5 stars. There are moments that, when viewed twice, we wonder why we never noticed certain things. That alone accounts for the loss of a half star. However, this issue does not harm the film. One can only wonder how it got a metascore of only 45. It is streaming on Hulu right now. Head on over, give it a try and see what you think.

The trailer