What’s inside the box? Dakota Fanning faces horror in ‘Vicious’

Dakota Fanning is stepping into the shadows once again, this time in Bryan Bertino’s latest horror film Vicious, coming to Paramount+ and digital on 10 October. The official trailer has now dropped, giving audiences their first look at a sinister new story from the filmmaker behind The Strangers.

In the film, Fanning plays Polly, a woman who receives an unexpected visit in the middle of the night. She is handed a box with a cryptic instruction: to place three things inside it, something she needs, something she hates and something she loves. What begins as a curious ritual spirals into a waking nightmare, where reality warps, memories twist and impossible choices could cost her everything. With time slipping away, Polly is forced to face not only the darkness surrounding her but the shadows buried within herself.

The cast also includes Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott and Emily Mitchell. Produced by Richard Suckle, Melinda Walker, Shae Boucher and Bertino himself, the project comes from Paramount Pictures and Atlas Independent Production.

Online reaction to the trailer has already been intense. Horror fans on Twitter compared the film’s eerie imagery to Bertino’s earlier work, calling him a master at blending psychological dread with visceral scares. Some highlighted the box ritual as one of the creepiest premises in years, while others praised Fanning’s chilling performance glimpsed in just seconds of footage. On Reddit, fans speculated whether the story could echo classics like Hellraiser or lean toward a more psychological exploration of trauma.

Bertino, best known for creating The Strangers and shaping it into a horror franchise, has built a reputation for unsettling audiences with grounded yet haunting scenarios. With Fanning at the centre of this new nightmare, Vicious looks poised to add another memorable entry to his catalogue.