Locked In – Netflix Review (2/5)

LOCKED IN on Netflix is a new thriller mystery with a small cast. The story is intriguing, but the pace is too slow. The title has quite a dual meaning, as you’ll see. Watch it for Anna Friel and Famke Janssen. Read our full Locked In movie review here!

LOCKED IN is a new Netflix thriller with a surprisingly strong cast – especially in what are essentially supporting roles. The actual plot is explained in so many different ways across the World Wide Web, but few of them are accurate. I won’t be doing spoilers in this review, but I will try to set the record straight.

Despite Anna Friel and Famke Janssen not having enough screen time, I still think you should watch it for them. It’s quite a scoop to get these two actors and I’m sorry the overall movie isn’t as good as they are.

Continue reading our Locked In movie review below. Find it on Netflix from November 1, 2023.

A thriller with mystery and horror

While I’ve seen Locked In described as both a “romantic thriller” (which it really isn’t) and Famke Janssen’s character as being in a coma (which she is not), there isn’t as much accurately said of this new Netflix thriller.

The title refers to both an actual state of being, where the body is paralyzed but the mind is still active. The patient is essentially locked inside their own mind. This is what Katherine (Famke Janssen) is actually experiencing; locked-in syndrome.

In Locked In, the story is told via flashbacks as a nurse (Anna Friel) tries to find out what resulted in her patient being in the hospital. The movie begins with a present-day moment, where Katherine is able to spell out the word “murder” by blinking.

Then we go back and get the full story. And it is definitely one that gets increasingly sinister!

The cast of the Netflix thriller Locked In

For me, Famke Janssen (The Vault, Primal, X-Men) is the best thing about this movie alongside Anna Friel (Marcella, Books of Blood), but neither of them is utilized well enough. Especially Anna Friel.

Famke Janssen plays Katherine, a former actor, who now lives in the English countryside and is miserable. Anna Friel is Nicky Mackenzie, Katherine’s nurse. As Katherine is in a state of being “locked in”, Nicky is her nurse and fights for her to come back to the world.

The actual star of this Netflix thriller mystery is Rose Williams. She was brilliant in The Power on Shudder. In this new movie, she plays Lina. She’s the adoptive daughter of Katherine (Famke Janssen), and the two are equally miserable.

As Katherine’s stepson, Jamie, who inherited the manor after his father, we have Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders, Slaughterhouse Rulez). Jamie is constantly sick, so even as a young boy, he was often bedridden. Alex Hassell (Violent Night, Everything Now) plays Dr. Robert Lawrence, Jamie’s doctor.

Honestly, the two men are the most boring as they are portrayed as rather one-dimensional characters most of the time.

Watch Locked In on Netflix now!

The new Netflix movie is directed by Nour Wazzi, and it is much more of a murder plot story than anything else. The screenplay comes from Rowan Joffe (28 Weeks Later). Admittedly, I did find the whole back-and-forth a bit confusing at times. Not that we don’t know when there’s a flashback, but more the fact that there is a lot of back and forth.

Including Nurse Nicky (Anna Friel) being a part of the story earlier on as well. Something Lina (Rose Williams) seems to have forgotten, which is very strange to me. Whether it’s the story or the editing that could’ve been better is difficult to say. The story is definitely intriguing, but it does get too slow and feels much longer than it is.

The runtime is just 1 hour and 36 minutes, so that’s hardly much. Also, there’s an affair that I never really feel is very organic. Instead, it feels forced and distracting. Still, the core mystery of Locked In is ultimately around who the real victim of the whole ordeal is. Whether this question is ever really answered is up in the air for me.

Locked In is on Netflix from November 1, 2023.

Details

Director: Nour Wazzi
Writer: Rowan Joffe
Stars: Famke Janssen, Anna Friel, Rose Williams, Alex Hassell, Finn Cole