Vicious (2025) is written & directed by Bryan Bertino. It stars Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, Emily Mitchell, Bauston Camilleri, Drew Moore, and Michael Abbott Jr. The film follows Polly (Fanning), a woman whose life is upended when a mysterious stranger (Hunter) knocks on her door, asking for help. Polly invites her inside, but soon realizes that the woman’s intentions aren’t as innocent as they seemed. She leaves Polly with an otherworldly wooden box that, when opened, demands three sacrifices—something you hate, something you need, and something you love. If she fails to meet these demands, the people she loves begin to die. As she struggles to please the box’s vague demands, its supernatural effects also start to blur the line between fantasy and reality. Can Polly figure out a way to please the box, or was it all just a losing game from the start?

In what’s primarily a one-character showcase, Dakota Fanning provides a serviceable, mostly satisfying lead performance. She doesn’t do enough to demand future lead roles, but effectively conveys the stress, fear, and frustration her character requires. The only real issue with the Polly character, which is also the more general problem with the film, is that too much of her characterization is left to our interpretation. We’re told to believe she’s a traumatized, depressed, and generally broken person, but we are never given any context as to why. This becomes a problem in the third act when she has a series of realizations about her past mistakes. It makes these moments fall completely flat because we don’t even know what she did wrong. It honestly just feels like she’s apologizing to thin air. 

This annoying lack of clarity also applies to the nature of the box’s powers and motivations, which are often confusingly inconsistent. At first, this appears to be a sick, but otherwise “fair” game with clear rules. Once it reaches the third act, however, it begins to seem like the game is unwinnable and the box is just messing with her. Before we get any answers to this, the film ends. This lack of satisfying answers extends to nearly every other aspect of the experience, leaving the viewer wholly unsatisfied when the credits roll. 

It’s not like this film doesn’t make sense (I wouldn’t argue if you disagree); it’s just frustratingly vague. I’d compare it to watching a movie with no sound—you understand the bones of the story, but there’s clearly something missing. Things just happen, and there’s no “why” other than “the box wanted to, I guess.” 

Thankfully, writer/director Bryan Bertino of The Strangers (2007) injects the film with a strong sense of overarching dread. The horror of the situation is palpable, which keeps the experience compelling on a moment-by-moment level, despite never quite coalescing into a cohesive whole. It’s actually a similar film to The Strangers in the sense that, other than its visuals and vibes, it has almost nothing to offer on a story or character level. 

Overall, the film is a perfectly serviceable source of ‘spooky vibes,’ but that’s about all. Exposition here is minimal to the point of ruin, often giving off the feeling that Bertino didn’t intend for it to be this vague, but was rushed to finish the script. This results in the experience lacking even the smallest of satisfying answers—one that makes the viewer just want to roll their eyes. Other than some momentary chills, there’s not a lot to see. It’s style over substance all the way, which isn’t nearly enough to earn my recommendation. C