Prime Time: Locked (2025)

A remake of an Argentinian thriller, 4x4, that I haven't seen, Locked was a film that ended up reminding me that, no matter how much older I get I can always be suckered in by a decent trailer. I was convinced that I was going to have a good time with this. Then it soon became clear to me that there was a big problem at the heart of the story that couldn't be overcome.

Bill Skarsgård plays Eddie Barrish, a petty criminal who is trying to get part of his life in order. Unfortunately, he needs money that he doesn't have to get his van repaired. He thinks there may be something valuable in a luxury SUV that he finds unlocked in a quiet parking lot though, and that's when his troubles really begin. The SUV is owned by William (Anthony Hopkins), a man who has rigged the whole thing with surveillance equipment, remote-controlled systems to make life as comfortable or uncomfortable for whoever is inside, and a whole lot of reinforcements on the body and windows. Eddie is trapped, and his only way out is to convince William that he's not the criminal that he appears to be.

Although I am not sure how closely this sticks to the screenplay by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, writer Michael Arlen Ross shows no real imagination or care, and he probably thanked the day that both Skarsgård and Hopkins signed on to play the two leads. Director David Yarovesky has kept me highly entertained with his last couple of features (Brightburn and Nightbooks), but he obviously needs a decent script to work from. This isn't it, mainly due to the fact that once Eddie is in the SUV everything becomes a series of circular moments until we get to the inevitable final act in which our anti-hero has been shown to have just enough goodness within him to allow a potential reprieve . . . depending on who the movie sides with in the final scenes.

Skarsgård tries his best here, and it's the kind of role that he has done in a few other movies from the past few years, but he's as trapped by the script as his character is trapped by William. Hopkins is allowed to have a bit more fun, as expected, but even he is let down by a screenplay that is forced to give too much baggage to both leads, steadfastly aiming for a middle ground between the two that should allow for viewers to enjoy some self-reflection and conversation after it's all over, but sadly just leaves it feeling like it was neutered to appeal to the widest possible range of opinions. We know Eddie is a bad guy, but he wants to become better for his daughter. We know William is a bad guy, but he's doing all of this in the name of someone he once loved. The more potentially interesting conversations that could be had, about the growing chasm between the very rich and those living in poverty (for example), are given brief lip service before we get to another sequence showing Eddie trying to outwit his tormentor. I understand why this was done, it's a thriller and not a social commentary piece, but I think adding more commentary would have made it more worthwhile. At least it would have felt as if it had something to say.

It can be difficult to make a movie all set in one location. While this isn't exactly that, the fact that so much of the runtime involves Skarsgård stuck in a car and talking on the phone to Hopkins makes it feel like a one-location film. And all of the added tech contained within the car cannot make up for the fact that it's not a very good one. The engine goes flat after the first 15-20 minutes, and any attempt to jump-start things before the end credits roll is just too little, too late. I give it a generous bonus because of my appreciation for the two star names.

4/10

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Netflix And Chill: Nightbooks (2021)

Although set in modern times, Nightbooks is a very standard fairytale premise of children who have been ensnared by an evil witch. It's a story about stories, and one that celebrates what we like about the classics we are introduced to at a very young age, from the basic moral lessons to the sheer fun of evil beings being simply evil.

There's not much time spent setting things up here. Viewers are introduced to young Alex (Winslow Fegley), a boy who has suddenly stopped writing the scary stories that he used to have so much fun with. Alex enters an apartment, drawn there by a TV screen that has The Lost Boys playing on it, and a moment later he is trapped. His captor is a witch named Natacha (Krysten Ritter), and there's another youngster, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), being held there against their will.

Based on a book by J. A. White, Nightbooks feels like an easy hit for Netflix, although I am surprised that they didn't hold it back a few weeks, or even a month, to time the release more in line with Halloween. It's a fun horror movie that pitches things almost perfectly for both adults and younger viewers (although every parent will need to carefully judge whether or not their children will enjoy this without being too scared - the final act does ramp things up a bit).

Director David Yarovesky, who previously helmed the enjoyable Brightburn, does well enough, guided along the way by a screenplay co-written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. It's very simply put together, with a few stories within the main story (as Alex is ordered to entertain Natacha with his tales), an exploration of the magical apartment, and an ongoing attempt to figure out a way to escape. The fact that the third act involves an actual "gingerbread house", an even more dangerous enemy, and a big oven underlines the simplicity of it all. It's Hansel & Gretel wandering through Tales From The Darkside: The Movie.

The production design is generally pretty good, although a middle section overuses CGI for one extended set-piece that I can't help feel would have been better with some practical effects, and there are some great uses of makeup and lighting to keep things feeling magical, spooky, and off-kilter. The music may not be great, but fans of Cry Little Sister will enjoy how that is used and covered.

As for the cast, both Fegley and Jewett are fine in their roles. They are believable and likeable enough. It's Ritter who is allowed to have the most fun though, making a strong impression from the very beginning with her mistreatment of the children she has caught. That covers the main cast, aside from a memorable cat named Lenore, although you get a few people popping up to lend support occasionally, usually in flashback scenes.

Obviously primed to kickstart a potential film series, Nightbooks is enjoyable and undemanding fun. I'm not sure if I would rush to watch a second one, but I certainly wouldn't be strongly opposed to the idea, especially if a bit more thought was given to showcasing the stories being told to keep the witch entertained.

7/10

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Brightburn (2019)

Brightburn can be summed up very easily in one sentence. What if Superman was evil? That's really all there is to it. Comic fans will already have some idea of what happens in that instance, because it has been done on a number of occasions. I'm not sure if it has been done quite like this though, with the real turning point occurring with our main character as a child, just figuring out who/what he is and then immediately starting to use his powers to get revenge on people he wants to lash out at.

Elizabeth Banks and David Denman are Tori and Kyle Breyer, a couple who have been unsuccessfully trying to have a child for some time. So they think their prayers are answered when something crash lands near their farm and they find a baby. Years later, all still seems to be going well, and young Brandon (Jackson A. Dunn) is growing up much like any normal boy. Except he isn't a normal boy. And he is starting to figure that out. He cannot be cut by normal blades, he can blast heat rays from his eyes, he can be superspeedy, and, of course, he can fly.

Written by Brian and Mark Gunn (the former being a brother of James Gunn, the latter being his cousin), this is a film that would seem to have come along at the perfect time to entertain both those feeling that the superhero films are oversaturating the cinema screens and those who simply want an unpretentious, gory horror movie. Unfortunately, the timing hasn't been reflected in the box office, which was pretty poor when it opened over in America (although, to be fair, it was the much smaller film sandwiched amongst some big hitters). Whatever the numbers say, this is a pretty great twist on familiar material. The Gunns don't take long to start building the tension and, once the establishing scenes are out of the way, things move from one entertaining set-piece to the next, with young Brandon trying out his superpowers in different ways.

Director David Yarovesky hasn't done anything before this to make me take much notice of him, although he's definitely known members of the Gunn family for some time, with a couple of his previous jobs connected to the Guardians Of The Galaxy movies. He does well here, balancing a bleak horror aesthetic with imagery that feels akin to the iconography we have seen in comic book tales over the years. Brandon Breyer is a classic superhero-type name, in the Stan Lee mould, and the main character spends a good amount of time positioning his initials in a way that makes for an eye-catching emblem.

Banks and Denman are both really good as the concerned parents who see a situation spiralling dangerously out of control here, and Dunn is perfect in his role, wobbling between being confused about his place in life and absolutely determined to make the most of his superpowers and claim his position at the top of the "food chain", as it were. Meredith Hagner and Matt Jones are both good as the next two people closest to Brandon, and therefore the people in danger from him as he starts to leave death and destruction in his wake, and Emmie Hunter does well as a young girl who is the first to realise what Brandon might be capable of, thanks to his interest in her.

Not for the faint of heart, there are some moments of pain and gore here that will make even the most hardened horror movie fan wince, Brightburn knows exactly what it wants to be, knows what fans will want to see, and delivers everything you could want from it. I hope more people discover it, even if they wait until it's available for home viewing.

8/10

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