Review: Vicious (Fantastic Fest 2025)

15 November, 2025 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 4 categories

Title: Vicious
MPA Rating: R
Director: Bryan Bertino
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

What It Is: Polly (Fanning) is a young woman going through some things. One night, a strange old woman knocks on her door. The woman is tattered and looks absolutely beaten down. She has something for Polly: a box. This box is a rather needy entity — one that will ask things of Polly that she may not be willing to give. It demands objects personal and highly private, and what it wants will reshape Polly’s entire life. A journey she isn’t prepared for is about to begin.

What We Think: This is, and was, certainly the worst movie I saw at Fantastic Fest in 2025. A messy, disjointed film that never gains any momentum. Dakota Fanning is miscast and doesn’t have the material to make this work. It’s not that she’s a bad actress far from it. The problem is the words coming out of her mouth. They’re absolute nonsense.

The plot of this film is so dumb it hurts. The writing is some of the absolute worst I’ve encountered. I sat in the theater in awe that something like this could even be programmed at Fantastic Fest, which normally has a reputation for being… well… fantastic. This is a film void of much positivity to find.

Our Grade: F, An abject failure of a film. This failure isn’t on Dakota Fanning, she’s just along for the ride. Sadly, that ride is shitty, and no one should want to be on it. I think you’ll find it an absolute bore. That might be the film’s biggest sin: it never hooks you with its concept, one that’s been done before and far better. I don’t know what was going on in the narrative, and I’m completely lost by Bryan Bertino’s direction.