The nightmare has a new face, and it’s inside a box you should never open. Following its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 19, Vicious has officially arrived for streaming on Paramount+, marking the return of The Strangers director Bryan Bertino to the genre that made him a master of slow-burning dread.
Dakota Fanning stars as Polly, a young woman battling severe anxiety and depression who becomes cursed after a chilling encounter with an elderly stranger. Left with a small, ancient box that seems to whisper her deepest fears, Polly discovers it demands three offerings: something she hates, something she needs, and something she loves. Each demand grows more disturbing, tearing apart her sanity and body in equal measure.
As the trailer reveals, Bertino’s horror is less about what’s seen and more about what’s felt, the gnawing dread of being consumed by one’s own mind. “Fear feeds it. Resist it… and maybe you survive,” Bertino said during a Q&A at Fantastic Fest, describing the cursed box as a metaphor for anxiety itself. The film’s blend of psychological terror and symbolic storytelling continues the filmmaker’s signature approach seen in The Dark and the Wicked (2020).
Shot primarily in Austin, Texas, Vicious features haunting cinematography by Tristan Nyby (The Dark and the Wicked) and an unsettling score by Tom Schraeder, whose minimalist tones amplify the suffocating atmosphere. Early critics’ reactions highlight Fanning’s harrowing performance, with Bloody Disgusting calling it “her most haunting role since The Alienist,” and Collider praising Bertino’s “mercilessly human approach to horror.”
At just under 100 minutes, Vicious refuses to rely on jump scares. Instead, it leans into psychological disintegration, using the cursed object as an allegory for mental illness, a choice that has drawn comparisons to films like The Babadook and Hereditary.
