A psychopathic vigilante bent on meting out extreme punishment to people who deserve it is nothing new. But a rare few do it as magnetically as Anthony Hopkins, who has once again donned the garb of a posh, erudite psychopath using his dulcet tones to drive his prey crazy.

Hopkins’s prey, in David Yarovesky’s Locked — a remake of Argentinian film 4x4 — is Eddie Barrish (played by Bill Skarsgard), a good-for-nothing petty thief who is desperate to prove to his wife that he can be a good father to their daughter. When Eddie goes looking for stuff he can peddle to get the money he needs to pay off a debt, he gets locked into the car he was trying to steal from and is introduced to a claustrophobic version of hell.

As William, Hopkins puts Eddie through hell for thieving and, therefore, breaking a “social contract” which, according to William, is punishable in kind. Hence the physical and psychological torture, which is meant to make Eddie understand the consequences of his actions. He doesn’t choose Eddie per say; Eddie happens to fall into William’s trap — an automatic car that is locked, sound-proofed, bullet-proofed (as we learn the hard way when Eddie accidentally shoots himself in his leg), jammer-installed, taser-mounted and remotely-controlled.

It is no hardship to listen to Hopkins speak — which he does a lot — and mostly over a phone installed in the car from hell. But his rants about the rich having to tolerate the poor when the poor are basically social scum who refuse to work (since America gives equal opportunities to all) becomes a bit tedious after a while. The reason for his psychopathic behaviour is the death of his daughter at the hands of thieves who wanted 1600 dollars, and it is unlikely that Eddie is his first victim.

Skarsgard, for once the victim of evil instead of being evil himself, does a great job of making the audience feel Eddie’s desperation as he is starved, parched, tasered and put through extreme cold and extreme heat, almost to the brink of death. Skarsgard makes you feel like the walls of the car are closing in, especially when he is made to endure repetitive melodies at an excruciating volume. But the close confines of the car, where most of the film takes place, stops having an impact after a while even with its lean 90-minute runtime.

Locked is a decent psychological horror film, with some solid acting, but is undone by its often predictable twists and turns.