REVIEW: ‘Vicious’ Lives Up To Its Title

Between kicking off The Strangers franchise and writing and directing The Dark and the Wicked, Bryan Bertino crafts punishing experiences. Vicious is no exception to that track record. Starring Dakota Fanning, Vicious is a suffocating, often cruel experience that accurately simulates depressive self-loathing and builds out a terrifying, if intentionally vague, horror concept.

Polly (Dakota Fanning) isn’t living; she’s surviving. The nice home she occupies has become littered with trash and unwashed dishes. Phone calls go unanswered as Polly persists in a state of apathy. That is, until a mysterious stranger (Kathryn Hunter) shows up at the door, asking to use the phone. A cordial, if odd, interaction turns sinister when the stranger pulls out a box and declares, “I’m going to start now.”

She opens the box, flips an hourglass, and tells Polly that if she doesn’t present the box with something she hates, something she needs, and something she loves, she will die tonight. The stranger departs, and Polly is left with a vague challenge and an entity—or multiple entities—that appear determined to push her to the edge of reality, warping her perception at every turn. 

Don’t read too much into the logic here and enjoy the ride Dakota Fanning embarks on in Vicious.

Trying to understand how this mysterious box works is a fool’s errand. Despite the clear set of rules established by Kathryn Hunter’s character, the only true mantra the box seems to abide by is torment. Due to this, Vicious fails to work on a logical level that some viewers will need to get swept up into the atmosphere.

However, for myself, that flaw is actually something of a boon to the film. As sloppy as Bryan Bertino’s screenplay can be in actually establishing what the box does, the idea of a potentially cursed object that can weaponize one’s mind against itself works.

Furthermore, Vicious succeeds in the most important department for horror films: being scary. The cinematography by Tristan Nyby characterizes Polly’s house in muted browns and yellows, with shadows peaking out of every corner. The home feels like an extension of a cracked mind, an ever-shifting environment with one goal: tormenting Polly.

Bryan Bertino knows how to use every tool in his belt to unnerve audiences: malevolent reflections, warping sound design, and dismemberment are but a few examples of how Vicious can mess with the audience’s head. Even a moment as simple as the phenomenal Kathryn Hunter standing in the middle of the street and telling Polly that giving her the box was “the worst thing [she’d] ever done” lingers far after the end credits have rolled.

Deeply psychological and unafraid to take viewers on the darkest of journeys, Vicious is unrelenting.

None of Vicious works without the full commitment of Dakota Fanning, who is at a career best here. At the onset, Fanning does a great job of replicating the nonchalant mask that those of us dealing with self-loathing depression put on.

As the film goes on and she starts to spiral, Fanning cuts her character open and spills out the ugly feelings and even torment that accompany mental struggles. Despite having a heck of a scream, Fanning goes beyond the traditional “Scream Queen” role and instead reflects the dark truth of what so many struggle with. You almost want to turn away if she weren’t so compelling.

Vicious is less a standard horror film than a ride into the darkest, most self-harming thoughts that occupy a struggling mind. This is not a film that provides an answer to self-hatred or a lack of a steady mental ground to stand on. Instead, Bryan Bertino forces the audience to confront this reality straight-on. To me, that’s more of a validating experience than treating mental illness as a dragon to be slayed or a problem to be solved. 

Bryan Bertino brings a horror experience that eschews genre conventions and internal logic, instead crafting a unique, layered horror that often fails to receive its proper due. Nor does Bertino relent, having no qualms about portraying the subject matter in a manner that assaults the senses much like its main character. And for that, Vicious earns its title.

Almost certainly, Vicious will turn off the majority of viewers. It’s a miserable ride into a dissolving mind that doesn’t attempt to give a light at the end of the tunnel. Nevertheless, that’s what makes it special.

Vicious screened as a part of Fantastic Fest 2025, and will stream on October 10 on Paramount+.