Bill Skarsgård leads Locked with brilliance, always keeping the audience entertained and on the edge of their seats.
Locked is a high-octane, intense, thrill ride from start to finish. This is one of those movies that puts right in the driver’s seat (no pun intended) with the main character. Thanks to an unforgettable performance by Bill Skarsgård, Locked is something you won’t soon forget.
While it has one glaring issue, which we will get into later, overall the movie is great. I was not sure what to expect but I should have known with two of today’s best actors, Locked was going to be more than worth checking out.
Eddie (Skarsgård) is down on his luck when he stumbles across an unlocked, very expensive-looking, car. He makes the call to see what he can find and ends up being locked inside by the owner Wiliam (Anthony Hopkins). What follows is ninety minutes of Eddie trying everything he can think of to escape, and William clearly having a blast messing with him.
Skarsgård is on screen for the entire run of the movie, more or less. This is a lot for an actor. To be able to carry an entire film is no small feat, and Skarsgård does it brilliantly. Hopkins has a lot of lines, but he is mostly just a voice on the speakers until the third act.
As a parent, there are a lot of moments that hit especially hard for me. I do not want to give anything away, but Eddie has a daughter and William knows that she is his weak point. There is one scene in particular that was so hard to watch, that I did so through my fingers. Skarsgård absolutely crushes it, making me feel exactly what his character is feeling.
Considering that Skarsgård is the eyes and ears of the audience, a lot of pressure falls on his shoulders. If we do not believe him and his journey, the movie is not going to work. To no one’s surprise though, he is phenomenal in the film.
Locked works as well as it does because of him. Because of the intensity in his eyes and the way we feel his desperation to get out and get back to his daughter. He is willing to do anything to escape, which is what makes this movie so scary – especially for parents.
My only real gripe with this movie is the ending. Not so much the events of the ending, or the way things play out, but the fact that it is so abrupt. Throughout the entire film, I was locked in. I was there with Eddie and I was rooting for him.
I wanted nothing more than for him to escape the clutches of William, but when the credits hit, it felt as if I slammed into a brick wall. It is that jarring. Hearts are pounding and then, it just ends. I thought perhaps there was going to be a mid-credit scene to soften this blow, but no, there is not.
That said, Skarsgård is incredible in this movie, as is Hopkins. The story may be more on the simple and predictable side, but it is still entertaining and intense. I had a lot of fun with this one, much more than I anticipated.
Locked comes to theaters on March 21 – be sure to see it on the big screen!
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About Locked
From producer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell) comes a relentless horror-thriller where luxury becomes deadly.
When Eddie (Bill Skarsgård) breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William (Anthony Hopkins), a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
Locked comes to theaters on March 21.
Bill Skarsgård leads Locked with brilliance, always keeping the audience entertained and on the edge of their seats.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.