How ‘Locked’ Captured Anthony Hopkins’ SUV Torture of Bill Skarsgård

What do you get when you lock a young criminal in a luxury sports utility vehicle that is booby trapped to punish its intruder, thanks to some twisted, masochistic planning by its wealthy, vengeful owner? Well, if those two characters are played by Bill Skarsgård and Anthony Hopkins, and the film is directed by David Yarovesky, you get a wild, claustrophobic ride with chaotic camera movement, jump scares and danger that escalates with every scene. All within the confines of an SUV.

When Yarovesky was given the script for “Locked,” which opened in theaters on March 21, he was immediately attracted to the story and how the stakes for the characters continually elevate. On top of that, the tight quarters in which the action takes place was a creative — and technical — challenge he couldn’t resist. “I really hadn’t made a movie like this before,” Yarovesky says. “It felt like a space that could really use something that felt organic and just really tense.”

“Really tense” puts it mildly. The minute Skarsgård’s Eddie shuts the vehicle’s door and then can’t open it, his world starts to spin… and the audience immediately feels trapped along with him. As the film progresses and the soundproof, indestructible walls of the vehicle close in tighter, the look and feel of the film intensifies and continues to build as Hopkins’ William becomes increasingly psychotic, using the programmed vehicle to, basically, torture its captive. With only two main characters — one of whom is mostly heard and not seen — and one very small setting in which to tell the story, Yarovesky’s task was not an easy one.

As William begins to communicate with Billy through the vehicle’s computer system and his insanity becomes abundantly clear, a power struggle plays…