Locked: A Surprisingly Effective Single-Location Thriller (DVD)

The Film:

Single-location films have always been one of the most fascinating sub-genres of cinema, and one of the very hardest to do successfully. When a writer chooses to tell their story in one spot, they have to make damn sure that their plot is rather riveting and that their dialogue is sharp & interesting enough to keep the audience engaged for the duration, for a slip in either of these areas could spell disaster. This brings us to "Locked," a remake of the 2019 Argentine film "4x4," in which screenwriter Michael Arlen Ross and director David Yarovesky attempt to deliver a fast-paced, 90-minute thriller that takes place almost entirely within a car. Will their venture into this rather difficult sub-genre be one of the more successful ones, or will their attempt merely run out of gas before the journey is through?

The film centers on former criminal Eddie Barrish (Bill Skarsgard), who is currently having money problems as he tries to provide for his daughter and get his van fixed. In desperation, he tries to find cars that he can rob, eventually finding a rather fancy "Dolus" SUV unlocked and unattended. He gets in and searches for anything he can sell, but soon finds himself locked & trapped inside. He answers a call from the car's phone system and discovers that the owner, William (Anthony Hopkins), has deliberately set this trap because he's had six prior break-ins and has decided to take justice into his own hands. With bulletproof glass, tinted windows, soundproofing, tasered seats, and cameras all around, Eddie is forced to play his game in the hopes of surviving and getting back to his daughter.

David Yarovesky's "Locked" is a surprisingly effective, fast-paced thriller that could've easily gone off the rails at any point during its attempt to keep its audience engaged for its brief 90 minutes, but which achieves its goal simply by keeping the situation fresh with the introduction of new elements throughout. It starts off simply by giving us the run-down of its set-up, that is the cameras, soundproofing, tasered seats, and all of the basic trappings of the car, but we soon find out that there are other surprises in store, included to make Eddie's lesson an even more impactful one.

However, it doesn't stop there, for just restricting the story to these simple conditions could easily lead to it becoming stale. Without going into any spoilery detail, it continues to go further by shaking things up even more as it proceeds, and therefore continuing to keep the situation fresh & compelling. It's not the kind of film that anyone's going to accuse of being particularly great cinema, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do, and that's to give the audience a fun, exciting, and engaging thriller that has you curious as to what's going to happen next over the course of its short runtime. Plus, you get to enjoy a delightfully demented performance from two-time Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, who appears to be enjoying himself quite a bit.

In the end, it may not be the most memorable thriller you've ever seen, but as far as single-location films go, it works quite well enough. Again, it's the kind of film that's extremely difficult for any writer to pull off given the extremely restrictive circumstances that come with it, but when all is said and done, and you find that the time has gone by rather quickly, and that you've gotten a fair amount of entertainment in that time, it's hard not to admit that it's done its job in a satisfactory fashion.

Video/Audio:

"Locked" comes to DVD in a 2.76:1 transfer of pretty good quality. As a DVD, it's not going to be perfectly sharp, but it is a rather clear picture throughout the entire 90-minute duration. The 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, for the format, Paramount has done a rather nice job in both areas for the film's physical release.

Special Features:

None.

Conclusion:

David Yarovesky's "Locked," a remake of the Argentine film "4x4," is an effective, fast-paced single-location thriller that manages to keep its premise surprisingly fresh enough over the course of its brief 90-minute runtime to prevent the story from turning stale, ultimately delivering a fun, exciting, and compelling experience that may not be the most memorable of its genre, but which gets the job done well enough.

Score: 3.5/5

Available on DVD starting today.

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