Locked (2025) Movie Review

Locked (2025) Movie Review

As I have said many times before, the horror genre is back baby! It feels like lately we are getting nearly a new horror flick every week, which is a good thing. You won’t hear any complaints out of this guy. In 2025 alone, we have received some truly amazing entries, including but not limited to, ‘Sinners’, ‘Companion’, ‘Bring Her Back’, ‘Weapons’, ‘Together’, ‘Dangerous Animals’, ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ and ‘Locked’. ‘Locked’ was kind of slept on this year, not receiving a wide release in cinemas, only taking in $4.6 million worldwide, only really finding its footing on home media. Whilst not receiving the commercial success it should have, Locked still holds an impressive 63% critical rating and 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by David Yarovesky and starring Bill Skarsgård and Sir Anthony Hopkins, Locked follows Eddie Barrish played by Skarsgård, a struggling father and former criminal, breaks into what appears to be an unattended luxury SUV, only to find himself trapped inside. The vehicle, a heavily modified "Dolus" SUV, is rigged with bulletproof glass, tasers, and remote controls. Its owner, William played by Hopkins, watches Eddie through interior cameras and begins a psychological and physical torment campaign. William, grieving the loss of his daughter to street crime and dying of cancer, has turned the car into a high-tech prison to punish would-be thieves. As Eddie battles dehydration, injury, and psychological breakdown, he also confronts his past and his motivations. The story escalates into a deadly confrontation between captor and captive, culminating in a fiery crash and a desperate escape. As a massive fan of contained, suspense thrillers, in limited locations, I’m pleased to say, ‘Locked’ scratched that itch for me, being one of the best we’ve received in quite some time.

Locked benefits from director David Yarovesky’s ability to create tension out of such a limited setting. The entire film up until it’s third act, is all set within the confides of a car, in one location. It’s super tense, and elevates, what could have been, a limited and shallow script, into something far more. Its commentary on classism is also earned and feels very natural. Sometimes, when there is political and/or social commentary in a horror film, it can feel very unnatural and forced, but here, it fits. The various scenarios that Eddie is put in, are also tense, creative and quite frightening.  Even though there is quite literally a limited space to work with, these sequences still work.

The other strengths lie within the lead actors, Bill Skarsgård and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Bill Skarsgård has made quite the name for himself in the horror genre in recent years, with roles in films ‘The Crow’, ‘IT’, ‘IT - Chapter 2’, ‘Nosferatu’ and ‘Barbarian’. ‘Locked’ is another worthy addition to his already impressive resume. He is excellent here, once again, showcasing a completely different side of him, that we haven’t seen. Here, he has to play a morally questionable character, but in a sympathetic way. This is a hard balance to strike, but Skarsgård toes that line beautifully. Hopkins is also terrific here. He has shown us over his near 66-year career. He has worked across multiple genres over nearly 7 decades in the industry. He’s truly fantastic here, providing moments of levity, alongside his menacing and quite frightening tone. He’s fantastic!

I’m a huge fan of the contained thriller. One location, high stakes, claustrophobic as hell, ‘Locked’ hits all of those beats and then some. Bill Skarsgård continues to prove himself as the genre king when it comes to horror/thrillers. He’s excellent as always here and Sir Anthony Hopkins, is of course fantastic. The film is tense, and creative and I found myself gripped throughout. Be sure to pick-up your copy of Locked from Sanity today on DVD or BLU-RAY, just in time for Halloween!

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Christopher Pattison from Oz-Movie Geek wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here