Locked (film)

Locked
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Yarovesky
Screenplay by	Michael Arlen Ross
Based on	4x4 by Mariano Cohn Gastón Duprat
Produced by	Ara Keshishian Petr Jákl Sam Raimi Zainab Azizi Sean Patrick O'Reilly
Starring	Bill Skarsgård Anthony Hopkins
Cinematography	Michael Dallatorre
Edited by	Andrew Buckland Peter Gvozdas
Music by	Tim Williams
Production companies	ZQ Entertainment R.U. Robot Studios Arcana Studio R Productions Sillen Productions
Distributed by	The Avenue
Release date	March 21, 2025 (2025-03-21)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3.6 million

Locked is a 2025 American thriller film directed by David Yarovesky and starring Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins. It is an English-language remake of the 2019 Argentine action film 4x4.

The plot follows a young, flippant thief who becomes trapped in a heavily modified car by its mysterious owner, who intends to teach him the "consequences" of his lifestyle.

Locked was released in the United States on March 21, 2025, by The Avenue.

Plot

Unable to afford to repair his van, Eddie Barrish cannot pick up his daughter, Sarah, from school. Desperate, he steals a mechanic’s wallet and buys lottery tickets, makes fruitless calls to borrow money, and searches for unattended cars to rob. Apologizing to Sarah over the phone, he comes across an unlocked Dolus luxury SUV. He enters the car and searches for valuables to steal, but when he tries to leave, the vehicle locks itself, trapping him inside. In the trunk he discovers both a lug wrench and a jack, but in his panic, he only grabs the lug wrench, never considering that the jack could help him escape, and he slams the wrench against the interior as he tries to frantically batter his way free. In the chaos, his arm strikes the left rear door frame and he bleeds from a painful cut.

The car receives a call, which Eddie ignores as he struggles to escape and bleeds from his wound. Finally, he answers the incoming call from William, the car’s owner, and is shocked by tasers built into the seats. Watching Eddie through hidden cameras, William explains that he had the Dolus built as an elaborate trap after six previous break-ins.

Taking out his gun, Eddie shoots at the bulletproof glass, but the shot ricochets into his leg. The car is too darkly tinted and soundproofed for passersby to notice him. Demanding conversation, William reveals he is a wealthy doctor, but a badly bleeding Eddie passes out. Night falls, and Eddie awakens to find his wounds treated, yet he is still locked inside.

The following day, the foul mouthed Eddie refuses to listen as William talks about his own daughter Emma, and torments him with shocks, freezing air conditioning, and yodeling music. By nightfall Eddie apologizes for cursing, and William relents calling from the balcony of his nearby condo. With terminal cancer, William has taken it upon himself to deliver his own justice. He offers to let Eddie go if he can prove that breaking into the Dolus is his first offense, then subjects him to punishing heat.

Starving and dehydrated, Eddie surrenders his personal information. William turns off the heat and directs him to a bottle of water. Scratching off his last lottery ticket, Eddie discovers he has won the money he needs. He apologizes sincerely, and William rewards him with a cookie hidden in the glovebox. Eddie realizes he can access the car’s electrical system below the glovebox, which the cameras cannot see, and begins probing for loose circuits with his foot.

The following day a delirious Eddie resorts to drinking his own urine. That night he thinks he’s managed to start the car, but William reveals he is piloting the Dolus remotely, sending Eddie careening through the city. Interrupting a pair of muggers, William ignores Eddie’s pleas and crushes them to death with the SUV. The high speed joyride ends when an abrupt stop knocks Eddie unconscious.

Awakening the next day, Eddie learns that William used his information to track down Sarah. Helpless, he watches William attempt to run her over on her way home from school. Threatening to shoot himself and end William’s game, Eddie pulls the trigger only to discover the gun is unloaded. Sarah is spared, but Eddie smashes the car’s cameras and dashboard display, sending his daughter a farewell message.

William arrives to complete Eddie’s punishment, forces him to cuff himself, and reloads the gun. Allowing Eddie to smoke a final joint, William drives them out of the city to kill him and dispose of his body. He reveals that Emma was killed during a robbery, fueling his plan. Eddie succeeds in disconnecting the car’s power. As the SUV tumbles off the road, the gun goes off and William is shot.

Eddie frees himself and attacks William just as a call from Sarah comes through. Promising to pick her up, Eddie begs William to unlock the car which is now catching fire but William dies before he can comply. Breaking through the smashed rear windshield, Eddie is rescued by a passing driver. He returns to the auto shop with his lottery winnings, but when the van still won’t be repaired in time, he buys a bike for Sarah and rides it to school, reuniting with his daughter.

Cast

• Bill Skarsgård as Eddie Barrish
• Anthony Hopkins as William
• Michael Eklund as Karl

Production

The film is a remake of the Argentine action thriller 4X4 for ZQ Entertainment and Raimi Productions with David Yarovesky as director and Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl producing under their ZQ Entertainment banner, with Sam Raimi and Zainab Azizi producing for Raimi Productions. In February 2023, Anthony Hopkins and Glen Powell were attached to the project in acting roles. Later, it was revealed that Bill Skarsgård replaced Powell. In February 2025, it was revealed that Ashley Cartwright, Michael Eklund, and Navid Charkhi had also joined the cast.

Principal photography took place in Vancouver in November and December 2023.

Release

The film was shown to accredited buyers in the Industry Selects program at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.

The film's rights were bought by The Avenue. Locked was released on March 21, 2025 by The Avenue.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 66 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Matching up Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins in a battle of wits, Locked is loaded with plenty of clever jolts even if it doesn't quite know where to park its story." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

See also

• Captured

External links

• Official website
• Locked at IMDb