In this exclusive interview, director DAVID YAROVESKY discusses how he “locks” us into his latest exciting thriller, LOCKED.
SYNOPSIS: From producer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell) comes a relentless horror-thriller where luxury becomes deadly. When Eddie (Bill Skarsgård) breaks into a luxury SUV, he steps into a deadly trap set by William (Anthony Hopkins), a self-proclaimed vigilante delivering his own brand of twisted justice. With no means of escape, Eddie must fight to survive in a ride where escape is an illusion, survival is a nightmare, and justice shifts into high gear.
Directed by DAVID YAROVESKY with script by Michael Arlen Ross, LOCKED stars Bill Skarsgard and Sir Anthony Hopkins.
LOCKED presented a unique set of challenges in bringing it to life on the screen, much similar to what Steven Knight went through with his film Locke starring Tom Hardy; to wit, having 90% of the film contained within the confines of a car. In this exclusive conversation, David highlights Michael Dallatorre’s unique cinematography and resulting psychological terror and, comparing it to Knight’s “Locke”, notes the challenges of shooting in a vehicle with tinted windows. Using custom-built anamorphic lenses and a specially designed SUV that boasts real leather and copper wire stitching (that comes into play when tasers are used inside the SUV), David has a beautiful canvas on which to paint and play. In what has to be described as “Hannibal Lecter 2.0”, Anthony Hopkins is beyond delicious with an almost demonic telephonic torment of Eddie who is imprisoned in William’s vehicle. The cat-and-mouse game between William and Eddie is a taunting and teasing delight. The editing team, led by Andrew Buckland and Peter Gvozdas, creates tension and maintains pace. Tim Williams’ score, primarily percussion, echoed the urban setting, enhancing the film’s atmosphere. A driving mantra with the production of LOCKED emphasized the importance of authenticity and character-driven storytelling.
One of the biggest elements of the character-driven storytelling comes with the performances of Anthony Hopkins and Bill Skarsgard. According to David, Anthony Hopkins brought several key elements to the role of William thanks to his deep enjoyment of exploring dark characters, which allowed Hopkins and Yarovesky to push the character into more intense and darker places, thus adding layers of complexity and psychological tension to the overall film. Thanks to Hopkins’ vocal range and ability to manipulate cadence and rhythm, we are treated to a malevolent glee and menacing presence that not only made William a terrifying antagonist, but one that harkened to a similar psychological terror experienced when listening to Hopkins’s dialogue delivery as Hannibal Lector in “SIlence of the Lambs”. On the flip side, as Eddie, Bill Skarsgard delivers a nuanced performance that makes the character captivating despite being an anti-hero or low-level criminal.
Committed to capturing authentic human experiences, even the uncomfortable ones, David explains his approach. “For the urine-drinking scene, I wanted to create a genuinely visceral reaction from Bill’s character. So I had him open a bottle filled with Swedish Fish, which has an incredibly pungent smell. When he opened the bottle on set, the entire car interior was filled with such a vile odor that Bill’s reaction became completely genuine and believable. This approach reflects my fascination with exploring the parts of human experience that people typically don’t discuss – the raw, unfiltered moments that feel real and uncomfortable. By using practical techniques like this, I aimed to break through typical movie artifice and create a more authentic, visceral viewing experience.”
Part and parcel to authentic human experiences is the atmosphere and setting of the film. Emphasizing the importance of real rain in creating an authentic atmosphere for LOCKED, shooting in Vancouver during rainy conditions was brutal for the crew, but the real rain created an unparalleled visual effect. The way real raindrops bead on windows and interact with the pavement provides a level of authenticity that cannot be replicated by rain birds or special effects. The gloomy, grimy West Coast city look with real rain helped establish the film’s mood, creating a “Seven”-like atmosphere. While some additional rain effects were added in post-production, the majority of the rain scenes were shot practically, contributing to the film’s realistic and immersive visual style.
Bearing in mind the desire for authenticity with the human experience, LOCKED presented several key challenges, among them (1) The confined SUV interior restricted traditional cinematography techniques which forced David and cinmatographer Michael Dallatorre to break the typical “contained thriller” trope of simplistic visuals; (2) Standard anamorphic lenses couldn’t focus on objects closer than six feet. To solve this, they worked with Dan Sasaki at Panavision to custom-build lenses that could focus extremely close to the glass, which meant creating the widest anamorphic lens possible along with a unique anamorphic probe lens; (3) The tinted, thick armored windows on the SUV prevented typical lighting techniques like capturing city lights reflecting on faces; and (4) working within real technological and physical constraints to make everything as realistic as possible. The solution was to create a highly customized visual approach, using the special lenses, careful lighting, and creative camera positioning to make the confined space feel dynamic and cinematic, “breaking the trope” of static, uninteresting contained thriller cinematography.
An interesting challenge with LOCKED was treating the dialogue-driven scenes as an action set piece, making conversations feel as intense as physical action. Working closely with editors Andrew Buckland and Peter Gvozdas, they maintained the film’s tension, focusing on character development while keeping the audience engaged. With LOCKED, the editing was inherently challenging because objectivity diminishes with each viewing. His goal was to make every conversation feel like a high-stakes moment, similar to an approach he first explored in “Nightbooks”. The team aimed to create a rhythm that would keep viewers on the edge of their seats, even during quieter moments inside the SUV. The editing process involved carefully balancing Eddie’s vulnerable moments – like curling up in a fetal position – with the high-energy sequences when William calls and tensions escalate. Treating dialogue as an action sequence was crucial to maintaining the film’s visceral and suspenseful tone.
Going hand-in-hand with the visceral and suspenseful tone is Tim Williams’s score. Seeking a unique, percussion-driven soundscape that captured the urban, primal feel of the film, after a moment of inspiration walking through Brooklyn and hearing a street drummer, David told Tim Williams to create a score using almost exclusively percussion instruments. About 95% of the score is pure percussion, with Tim finding creative ways to make sounds using percussive techniques, like hitting a cello as a percussive instrument. The goal was to echo the tribal, urban sound David heard that day in Brooklyn, creating a score that felt like the heartbeat of the film’s environment.
And more!
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by debbie elias, exclusive interview 03/14/2025
LOCKED is in theatres now.
