Bill Skarsgard & Anthony Hopkins in Car-Set Thriller

Prospective car thieves, take note. If you’ve broken into a luxury SUV only to find that you’re trapped inside by its vengeful owner, don’t answer the car phone when it rings. On the other hand, if you don’t, you’ll be deprived of the pleasure of hearing the dulcet tones of Anthony Hopkins in his most purring psychopathic mode.

Eddie Barrish, the financially desperate, hapless criminal in this high-concept thriller, is played by Bill Skarsgard, who for once is on the receiving end of evil. Serves him right for everything he did as Pennywise and Count Orlok.

Locked is an American remake of 4×4, a 2019 Argentinian thriller that garnered praise on the festival circuit. It revolves around the kind of idea hatched by a clever screenwriter during a late-night drinking session. The main character, who we know is a decent sort of criminal because of how much he cares for his young daughter (Ashley Cartwright), gets the tables turned on him when he picks the wrong vehicle to rob. It’s apparently been rigged into an impenetrable torture device on wheels. (It’s obviously not a Tesla, since all the high-tech controls work perfectly.)

And by impenetrable, I mean from the inside, as Eddie discovers that the doors and windows are locked, the vehicle is soundproof, and the windows are tinted so no one can see him screaming for help — even the young woman who concernedly peers in, only to apply her lipstick. The SUV is also bulletproof, as Eddie painfully discovers when he tries shooting his way out and the bullet ricochets and hits him in the leg.

When the phone rings and the words “Answer Me” appear on the console, an understandably rattled Eddie refuses to answer. But the caller is persistent, so Eddie finally picks up.

“Jolly good, welcome aboard,” the man on the other end of the line says in a silky accent. He introduces himself as William, says he’s from South Wales, and explains that he’s fed up after having had his vehicle broken into six times with no arrests. He proceeds to torture the trapped Eddie with electric shocks delivered from the car seats, uncontrollable heat and air conditioning, and, worst of all, deafening polka music…with yodeling, no less.

Naturally, the conversation (and good god, there’s a lot of it) turns philosophical. “Have you read Crime and Punishment?” Eddie asks his tormentor, likening himself to the main character of Dostoevsky’s classic. When Eddie behaves, William rewards him with treats of food released from the glove box. And when he doesn’t, well, William takes control of the car and puts him through a wild ride indeed. Most annoyingly, he keeps calling Eddie “old sport” as if he’s read The Great Gatsby too many times.

It all plays as artificially as it sounds, but as tautly directed by David Yarovesky (Brightburn), Locked manages to maintain its silly but arresting premise throughout its fortunately brief running time. It helps, of course, that the main characters are played by Skarsgard, who delivers an intensely committed performance as the criminal being tortured both physically and psychologically, and Hopkins, whose unique talent for highly articulate, beautiful-sounding villains has served him well throughout his lengthy career. We do eventually get to see William as well as hear him, but it’s a good bet that the veteran actor relished the opportunity to literally phone in most of his performance.