A mystery box unleashes the type of horror that ensures Vicious earns its title in the latest from The Strangers and The Dark and the Wicked writer/director Bryan Bertino. Three simple rules ignite a nihilistic nightmare in this holiday horror chamber piece, one that emphasizes emotional and experiential horror over storytelling. That means that the lofty questions raised by the central premise serve more as a Rorschach test than a narrative puzzle to solve, with a lack of handholding that’s likely to polarize. It’s also what gives Bertino’s scares an unnerving edge in Vicious, anchored by a compelling central performance from Dakota Fanning.
Vicious doesn’t waste time getting straight to the horror, but it does give just enough of an introduction to Polly (Fanning) to know she’s caught in a vicious loop of self-destruction and struggling with her sense of identity. Phone calls and voicemails with annoyed employers and anxious moms indicate turbulent relationships as Polly sets about her untidy kitchen and a sink full of dirty dishes. She’s anxious over a looming job interview, yet Polly’s sprawling house is filled with signs of past careers and hobbies that came and went. That’s when a disoriented older woman (Kathryn Hunter) shows up at her door, giving Polly a strange box that comes with rules: give the box something she hates, something she needs, and something she loves. The woman is gone before Polly gets further explanation, but a ruthless game has already been set in motion.
Dakota Fanning stars in Paramount Pictures’ “VICIOUS.”
Bertino maintains his streak for casting well and eliciting tremendous performances out of his leads. Vicious rests almost entirely on Fanning’s shoulders in a near one-woman show, a showcase for Fanning’s incredible talent. It’s not just in the quick work to establish Polly as a character before the box arrives, flaws and all, but in the daunting physicality required to play in a Bertino horror feature that requires sustained dread and terror for nearly the entire runtime. Vicious puts Polly through the wringer in every possible way, requiring Fanning to navigate the physical horrors of the box’s self-harm demands or the emotional labor of its psychological torture. Torture might be the best descriptor here; Bertino employs some brutal tactics when it comes to testing Polly’s resolve.
There is no shortage of potent scares in store for both Polly and the audience, and the type of visceral bloodletting you expect from a Bertino film. Jennifer Spence‘s detailed production design lends personality, fleshing Polly’s story out further, but it also serves as an eerie funhouse of horrors once Polly engages with the box in earnest. Armed with a soundscape that delivers an assault on the senses, Bertino makes quick work of exploiting just about every shadowed corner of Polly’s home for potent scares. It’s a nonstop barrage of ghastly visions, brutal psychological games, and pain as Polly seeks answers to stop it.
Dakota Fanning, left, and Emily Mitchell star in Paramount Pictures’ “VICIOUS.”
Vicious is at its most effective when allowing viewers to ponder what they’d do if put in Polly’s shoes, and how they’d answer each question. The rules of the box are never as clearly defined as they present, and an extended conclusion will only further frustrate those hoping for an easy explanation. But in that conclusion lies one of the more optimistic endings to come along in a Bertino film, one that instills hope amidst the carnage that unforgiving depressive cycles can be disrupted. It makes Vicious at once deeply personal yet ambiguous, a horror film meant to challenge you as much as Polly. There’s no question it delivers on frights, but how much you get out of Vicious is dependent upon how much you’re willing to put of yourself in that box.
Vicious made its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest and releases on Paramount+ on October 10.
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