Locked In is billed as a psychological thriller, and the trailer looked decent, so I was optimistic about watching the Famke Janssen flick on Netflix.
Directed by Nour Wazzi and also starring Finn Cole, Rose Williams and Anna Friel, Locked In promised a lot but did it deliver?
Before we get to my thoughts on the movie, let's take a quick look at what it is all about.
What Is Locked In About?
On a dark, wet and windy night, Katherine is hit by a car on a country road. Now hospital-bound, she is suffering from locked in syndrome.
As she begins to heal, her nurse, Mackenzie (Anna Friel), can communicate with her through an alphabet board and blinking. And that's when Katherine says the word ‘murder'.
The scene is set. Somebody tried to murder her. Or did they? Because also in the mix is her adopted daughter, Lina (Rose Williams), raised alongside Katherine's wealthy stepson, Jamie (Finn Cole). All grown up, Lina and Jamie are now married.
But it's not the fairytale Lina was hoping for as Jamie, who is permanently ill and addicted to painkillers, keeps her in an almost prison-like life. Her only friend is the village doctor, Lawrence (Alex Hassell).
With quite complicated dynamics between all four of them, life is far from pleasant. Katherine is desperate to stay in the mansion, Lina is desperate to leave. Jamie hates his step-mother and the doctor is playing them all.
So what really happened on that fateful night when Katherine was nearly killed? Watch Locked In to find out.
Locked In Official Trailer
Is Locked In Worth Watching?
Hopes were high for a decent twisty thriller, and despite the very small cast of only five characters, there was a lot to work with.
Sadly, not much of that potential materialised on the screen as the story got more and more absurd. So much so that it's hard to know where to begin with the issues in this movie.
Despite Katherine's loathing for Lina and Jamie, and theirs for her, she still lives in the house, making them miserable. Jamie is clearly an addict and instead of actually getting him help, they only depend on the local village doctor to keep his pill supply coming.
Lina, clearly suffering from some sort of Stockholm syndrome, is basically his maid and isn't allowed to leave the property (because he's protecting her from the evil in the world).
And so they all live in misery, with respite only coming in the form of swimming in the lake or having an affair with the doctor.
Even the hospital scenes are hilarious, as it looks like Makensie is literally the ONLY person who works there. Silence and empty corridors supposed to evoke suspense are, instead, eye-roll-inducingly bad.
Throw in far too many flashbacks, a storm that seems to be raging for weeks on end, and a ridiculous ending, and Locked In is nothing more than a sad waste of time.
It was 96 minutes of my life that I won't get back, so I hope I can spare you the same fate.
Netflix Locked In Movie Cast
Famke Janssen as Katherine
Rose Williams as Lina
– Georgia Thorne as young Lina
Alex Hassell as Doctor Lawrence
Finn Cole as Jamie
– Toby Ryan as young Jamie
Anna Friel as nurse Mackenzie
