Locked

Locked
Starring Bill Skarsgard, Anthony Hopkins, Ashley Cartwright, Michael Eklund
Directed by David Yarovesky

In 2013 there was a movie called "Locke" which featured Tom Hardy alone in a car as he drives to his mistresses' side as she gives birth, foregoing his family and his job because he doesn't want to be like his father. The movie was shot entirely in the car, and Tom Hardy is the only actor seen on screen, and the film was a tense, suspenseful thrill ride due to the story and Hardy's performance - something that could've ended badly if either/or was faltering. Apparently, director David Yarovesky wanted to add the -D to the title and throw in Bill Skarsgard, but lightning doesn't strike twice with this gimmicky premise.

Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgard) is your typical bad boy with the heart of gold, who is down on his luck and can't provide either monetarily or fatherly for his daughter Sarah (Ashley Cartwright), and resorts to breaking into cars to find money or something he can sell. He finds a fancy car parked and unlocked, but once he gets inside the doors shut and lock, and he's unable to get out. His cell phone won't work, and suddenly a call comes on screen from William Larsen (Anthony Hopkins) - the owner of the vehicle. He's dying from cancer, he's lost his daughter in a robbery gone wrong, and he sets out to be a vigilante for anyone who breaks into his car, and unfortunately for Eddie, that's him. William gleefully tortures Eddie as they discuss different social themes, and as the torture amps up and other peoples' lives are in danger, Eddie has to find a way out of the vehicle before it becomes his tomb.

There's a few similarities between "Locke" and "Locked," mostly having both take place in a car, focusing on one central character, and both being under 100 minutes ("Locke" at 85, "Locked" somehow at 95). That's where the similarities end. "Locked" has more characters that muddy up the waters, the script is thinly written at best, and would've fared a bit better if it had cut at least ten...or ninety five...minutes.

The story is a wannabe "Saw," with Hopkins' William being the Dollar Store John Cramer, who sets out to show villains the error of their ways and appreciate living on the straight and narrow through torture. Skarsgard's Eddie just wants to do right by doing wrong, and finds himself caught in Williams' trap. What follows is repetitive dialogue, unintentionally humorous torture, not-so-humorous torture for the viewer, and an elongated film that stretches itself longer than Stretch Armstrong.

Skarsgard is a tremendous actor who's proven his meddle time and again, and while he does try his best, he's given nothing to work with here (in fact, the role could've gone to Pete Davidson, since Skarsgard is a dead ringer for him here) except for screaming, yelling, cursing, and asking the same question over and over in different ways. He's already not a likable character and his only redeeming quality is wanting to do right for his daughter, but this is a role we've seen done better in better movies.

Likewise, Hopkins isn't very redeeming either, even though he lost his daughter to a robber and is dying of cancer. You'd expect him to show some empathy, but even as his daughter was dying he didn't really seem phased by it. There's a few genius moments of him and Eddie discussing the divide of the rich and poor, but sadly those deep conversations were limited to one scene. The rest of the time, Hopkins literally phones it in (since he's mostly heard through the car's phone system) in what is probably a great gig for him - he probably sat at his home sipping on whiskey while talking on the phone and reading the script in front of him.

The logistics doesn't make a lot of sense either, considering the vehicle itself. The windows are tinted so no one can see in, which makes sense. The vehicle is also sound proof, which doesn't make as much sense because there doesn't seem to be any sound-deafening mechanics to it. The car remains on for days on end, and my car barely lasts twenty minutes without the battery dying. The car then drives off driven remotely (makes sense), but for the fact that it's been idling for a few days, there shouldn't had been enough gas to get out of the parking lot let alone drive through the town. I'd say this took me away from the experience, but it wasn't an experience worth having, so I guess I was grateful for this machination to keep me at least a little bit interested in what was going to happen.

The Score: D-