“I read somewhere, thou shalt not steal. I think it was in the Bible, “Thou shalt not steal.” That’s not complicated, is it? But, if you do have a problem with that, you can always take it up with God, or Karl Marx, or the Kardashians, or anyone.”
Unfortunately, even Anthony Hopkins wasn’t enough to elevate this film beyond just an OK watching experience. A remake of a remake, Locked stars Hopkins as well as Bill Skarsgard, who I am convinced struggles with picking good movies to become attached to. Not saying that this is a shining example of those difficulties, but I doubt it will do anything to further his reputation in the industry. The film is a remake of the Argentine film 4×4 (2019), which was previously remade in Brazil as A Jaula (2022). Despite not being in the same room for the bulk of the film, I will say that the two played off one another quite well, which I attributed to both actors having significant stage presence. That aside, the film drew too many parallels to another psychological thriller franchise starring an enigmatic actor whose character had penchant for entrapping individuals who needed to learn a lesson.
The film takes place predominantly in the interior of a “Dolus,” a custom-built Land Rover Defender-based SUV that was purpose-built for the film and heavily modified from the Defender platform. The name of the car, Dolus, is from the Latin meaning deception, deceit, or guile, and is a character from Aesop’s fables. Skarsgard stars as Eddie Barrish, a low-level former criminal struggling to provide for his daughter. While searching for unattended cars to rob, he comes across an unlocked Dolus luxury SUV. As he gets in to loot the valuables, the vehicle locks itself, trapping him inside. Unable to escape, he is forced to answer an incoming call from William, the vehicle’s owner, who explains that, after six previous break-ins, he had the Dolus customized into an elaborate trap, and demonstrates by shocking Eddie with tasers built into the seats.
What transpires over the next several days can best be described as psychological warfare, as William torments Eddie in a multitude of ways. What initially seemed to be a lesson in decency and morality delves into psychosis as William transforms from a eccentric individual with high morals to an indiscriminate agent of chaos. All the while, Skarsgard, as expected, spends this time looking for a way to secure his release from a mousetrap of his own making.
For me, this film could easily serve as another installment in the previously-mentioned, long-running psychological thriller franchise. In all honesty, if it had been an installment, I might even have liked it better, because it would then explain this film following the template laid out by that franchise. However, Locked is not part of the franchise and does not do enough to differentiate itself from it to make this film a unique experience in my eyes. There are too many parallels that I can draw to include Hopkins’s character’s motivations, which include loss and personal tragedy. Additionally, Hopkins’ character loses the moral high ground towards the film’s climax when he begins to delve into the indiscriminate chaos.
As the film is a remake, I understand it likely had limited deviation power, and Hopkins’ and Skarsgard’s performances do keep the film from becoming stale. Their battle of will added layers of tension to the film, as Hopkins employs a reward-and-punishment-based system against Skarsgard, such as rewarding him with hidden sweet treats for sincerity and punishing him with shocks, freezing air conditioning, and yodeling music for instances of vulgarity, as Hopkins eloquently put it in the film.
While it is difficult to look beyond the parallels, Locked remained a solid psychological thriller movie for a majority of its run. It kept me on my toes and didn’t feel the need to pull any punches when it came down the harsh realities that a person would face if they were locked in a car for multiple days. It is an entertaining one-time watch with quality performances from the two leads for fans of this particular genre.
