THE STORY – Polly receives a mysterious box that comes with instructions to place three things inside: something you need, something you hate, and something you love. What begins as a strange ritual quickly unravels into a waking nightmare as she becomes trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays. As time slips away, she must confront the darkness not just around her, but within her, before it consumes everything and everyone she’s ever known.
THE CAST – Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard & Devyn Nekoda
THE TEAM – Bryan Bertino (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes
Sometimes, a horror movie doesn’t need all that much to be genuinely terrifying. Sometimes, less is more. We’ve seen it work many times in various ways throughout the history of the genre, and to varying degrees of success. But horror maestro Bryan Bertino does it exceptionally well in his exciting new horror fable “Vicious,” which is quite the rollercoaster ride to hell, if I do say so myself.
Simplicity becomes the key to this deeply harrowing tale, which focuses on Dakota Fanning as Polly, a young woman struggling to build a comfortable life for herself. As the outside pressures in her life collide with her own expectations of herself and her place in the world—perhaps the most relatable element of this story—she gets a knock on her door one dark night. A strange woman (Kathryn Hunter) asks to come in, and as she spends time inside, it becomes increasingly clear she has sinister intent. However, that intent is more puzzling than Polly ever expected. She brings with her a box that requires three sacrifices: something you hate, something you need, and something you love. Fulfilling those requests will test all of Polly’s limits.
Again, the plot and narrative are, all in all, relatively simple here. But by keeping things within the framework of Polly’s quest to be free of the box and to satisfy its needs, that simplicity works in the film’s favor. Focusing the story on Polly’s one-night experience narrows the movie’s scope, allowing the audience to truly engage with the horrific reality of what is being asked of the main character and how it will shape her as she moves through the narrative. The film literally takes us through Polly’s journey to give each thing the box wants. We don’t need anything more than that, along with the demons in her that it resurrects, to be fully engaged and desperate to see where things go.
Part of that may also be because this film feels like a classic Bryan Bertino. It is steeped in the dread, despair, and trapped terror of his older, more famous projects like “The Strangers” and “The Dark and the Wicked.” With “Vicious,” though, there are flashes of mainstream studio polish. At times, it feels like the studio had a few notes they wanted implemented, but at the same time, it also feels like Paramount let Bertino off the leash to do what he does best: fill us with a sick sense of foreboding horror. Because of that balance, “Vicious” plays much better than the typical studio horror fare.
The performances in this film also elevate it far beyond the usual studio horror noise. This is absolutely a vehicle for star Dakota Fanning, no question about it. She hasn’t done a ton over the last few years, and in a way, her sister Elle has been dominating the landscape as her older sister did earlier in her career. Though this certainly isn’t the first recent leading role Fanning has had—after all, Ishana Night Shyamalan’s “The Watchers” was just last year—this is definitely the first part in a while that feels truly impactful in her hands.
Fanning is truly a powerhouse here, letting the realities of her character’s mental anguish wash over her and force her hand. She is acting purely on impulse in this role; her character’s choices propel her further and further toward the dark heart of both her shortcomings and her strengths.
While Fanning’s role is fully three-dimensional on its own, it is irrevocably shaped by Kathryn Hunter’s pitch-perfect turn. Hunter is truly batting 1,000 at this point when it comes to her appearances in pretty much everything she’s ever been in; she always adds immensely to the tone and color of a scene or a story at large, and she has an innate and obvious talent for molding and morphing text with such a natural command. Naturally, she employs all of those skills within this mysterious and near-monstrous role. Hunter is such a major asset to the story Bertino wants to tell, and without her bold, brash, and downright menacing performance, the film wouldn’t be what it ultimately is.
All in all, I’m happy to say that “Vicious” doesn’t have a ton of flaws, especially when you evaluate it as a mainstream studio picture. But there is one thing about the film that could’ve been handled differently: the last ten or so minutes. While the ending isn’t bad on its face, the movie could’ve ended in an earlier, more satisfying spot, a place that feels intrinsically like the perfect ending. My lips are sealed for spoiler reasons, but you’ll know it when you see it. It keeps going, though, and the film ends up suffering from a bit of what I call “Lord of the Rings syndrome” (remember how many times it seemed like “The Return of the King” was coming to a close?) as a result.
That said, it doesn’t entirely blunt the film’s impact up until that point, nor does it negate all the high-stakes fun or the messed-up terror inflicted on both the audience and the central lead. Though it could’ve been tighter and more succinct, the movie’s closing minutes still let a chilling sense of trepidation echo in the air, leaving the audience nearly as changed as Polly by the ordeal she just endured—and by the idea that it isn’t, simply, over.
Ultimately, “Vicious” is one hell of a journey to the depths of our own personal and emotional hells, exploring what it means to be ruthless in your quest to reframe your world while desperately trying to cling to the few things that anchor you to it in the first place. It’s a tricky balance for anyone, and in this case, we feel that both the lead and the directorial and writing choices behind her are essential. Bertino and Fanning make some wholly horrific magic together, and their diabolical efforts culminate in a wonderfully sinister parable that is nearly impossible to forget.
