MOVIE REVIEW & INTERVIEW / Locked (a film by David Yarovesky)

From producer Sam Raimi, this horror-thriller follows a petty thief (Bill Skarsgård) who breaks into the wrong car and becomes prey to its vengeful owner (Anthony Hopkins). Eddie faces a deadly game of survival, where escape is an illusion, and justice shifts into high gear.

Jenny sits down with the director of Locked, David Yarovesky to chat about horror icons, closed spaces and embracing the inspiring challenges of independent movies. Join the conversation in the comments and on social media.

For audio, please check out the Atomic Geekdom Podcast to listen in.

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By Jenny Robinson

We are in a splendid time for indie movies right now. When movies like Anora can take home the Oscar, and historic art house theaters are becoming the hot spot for entertainment.

Locked (released in theaters March 21st, 2025 ) hasn’t seen a lot of hype on socials despite having two of the most acclaimed horror actors today. So far it has been a quiet backseat thriller, hidden behind the hype of the larger budget Steven Soderbergh Black Bag and the family friendly live-action, Snow White. Regardless of the constantly unpredictable market, this movie has the potential to out shine them all.

The direction style of Yarovesky works seamlessly with this story. Many times, as a theatergoer, I felt as if I was apart of this horror, a spectator on the outside, looking in. This feeling is driven home by how each camera and angle is applied. It holds our hand in how we view both inside and outside of the Dolus (the weaponized luxury SUV), by adding a layer of claustrophobic anxiety.

Bill Skarsgård’s portrayal of the central character Eddie, allows the audience to both feel annoyed with and identify you’re also on his side . Even his pink hoodie has costume design importance. A hoodie is synonymous in security cam footages to burglars and thieves. Having his shirt be pink to soften away from the black, makes him feel more amateur, a screw up. Every scene is master class in acting for a character full of stubbornness, determination, and atonement.

The movie brings you in full force, once William’s (Sir Anthony Hopkins) voice is audible in the car. Flashbacks of Hopkin’s calm, soothing and unsettling voice from his vast portfolio of films, took this role up an impressive notch. The way he can deliver lines that make you feel both empathy for the antagonist and fear is an example of his excellence.

The scenes when both of them are together, are exemplary, with the plot blurred between necessity, remorse, justice, revenge, all told through a clever lens torture. Where the rich can eat the poor, but the less advantage has street smarts the privileged could never understand.

This movie was one hell of a ride. Open the door, and see it on a big screen.

MOVIE REVIEW/ AfrAID

By Anthony Caruso

Wow! Blumhouse has had quite the streak this year! Three films released in 2024 - Night Swim, Imaginary, and now AfrAId - and all three have been complete duds. It's a shame considering the fact that Blumhouse used to be a huge powerhouse in the horror space. Now, however, when their company logo pops up, I always end up giving an involuntary shudder and expecting the worst. 

The basic premise of AfrAId is promising enough: a family is chosen to test a new smart home AI called AIA, which ends up become self-aware and dangerously begins to interfere with and manipulate their lives. While it's definitely not an “original” idea, it's normally a solid enough idea that it usually spawns entertaining films. Not AfrAId, however. Despite the kernels of an interesting story about the dangers of artificial intelligence that are buried within Chris Weitz's muddled screenplay, and despite some interesting setup, AfrAId never takes off or lives up to the promise of its premise's potential. Especially not when it comes to its story, its characters, or its direction. Indeed, Chris Weitz - who also directed this film - ends up delivering to audiences what amounts to a Lifetime Original Movie. He tries to nicely gift wrap the dangers of AI in a story about a struggling, if loving, family. Not only does it look cheap, as though it has the budget of a made-for-TV movie, but it's also just boring on top of being bad. There never appear to be any real stakes, nor do you care enough about the film's characters to actually give a damn about what happens to them!

The cast of this movie is trying their best, and is actually quite charming, but they're never quite able to elevate the material they're given. They are unable to deliver memorable enough performances where I could say that the acting was good at the very least. That's a shame, because avid filmgoers will know that this cast is comprised of very good actors! John Chu has really come into his own over the past few years, demonstrating that he's more than just a go-to for stoner comedies but is somebody that’s actually capable of delivering true dramatics. Katherine Waterston is underrated and undervalued in a lot of ways, mainly due to the material she's been given in recent years like the bland Harry Potter spinoff films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Unfortunately, the two, who play husband and wife here, have next to zero chemistry, and their characters seem intent on making the dumbest decisions possible at every turn. Meanwhile, after a star-making leading man performance in Late Night With the Devil, it was absolutely jarring to see David Datsmalchian in such a one-note supporting role as one of the supposed creators of the villainous AI. Speaking of AIA, though, the strongest performer in this film is actually Havana Rose Liu who not only voices her to perfection, but plays Melody - the flirty and mysterious "advance employee" at the tech company that invented her.

Between the cast, which seems to be simultaneously bored with the material while trying their best, and Weitz's uninspired direction and a story, AfrAId is a movie that is made of a bunch of disparate, jarring components that never coalesces into a coherent or satisfying whole. It's also a movie that, at an extremely short eighty-four minutes including credits, feels far longer than it actually is. And while the ending is interesting, and will leave you with a squeamish feeling in the pit of your stomach due to its real world implications, it's not earned at any point over the course of the entire film leading up to it.

In a lot of ways, this was Blumhouse trying to remake their very successful film, "M3GAN", while discarding everything that made that movie work - including its iconic AI doll - and doubling down and expanding upon its flaws. And though "AfrAId" isn't the worst film of the year - it's no "Borderlands", "The Crow", "Madame Web", or even "Night Swim" - it comes pretty damn close to being it. There's nothing salvageable about this movie, and it's not even interesting or fun enough in a "so bad it's good" type of way; it's just bad and boring, which is an even worse sin. Even for fellow A-List members, I wouldn't recommend rushing to see this one, nor would I recommend watching this one when it hits streaming. It's just not worth your time, and is merely another swing and a miss for a once great horror production company.

MOVIE REVIEW / Kali Karate: The 2nd Beginning

By Anita Wills

From The Blair Witch Project to Best in Show, independent filmmakers have excelled in the genre of Mockumentary film for quite some time. Sean Russel Herman’s experimental mockumentary film Kali Karate: The 2nd Beginning is complete chaos, in a good way. In his feature debut, Herman tells the story of Sensai Houston, a very bizarre martial arts enthusiast who manages to ruin the lives of everyone around him while on his journey to get his ex wife back. 

Not only did Herman write, direct, produce and edit the film, he also took on the lead role as Sensai Houston, a character he created himself that came from his own personal passion for martial arts and comedy. Fans of the Eric Andre Show will appreciate the film’s determination to make the audience uncomfortable and as well as question their own moral compass for laughing. 

Kali Karate is overflowing with different editing and cinematography styles, as well as a comic book transition drawn just for the film. On top of that, there is impressive stunt work and an original “rap” score. That being said, there is little room for the comedy to breathe. Many jokes fell flat due to the fact that there was not enough time to process them before the next one. Several small characters were introduced, but never reached any character development that helped move the story along. 

What really carried the film was the comedic chemistry between Sensai Houston and his roommate Shu played by comedic genius Shu Lan Tuan, as well as the gorgeous but sparse HBO Boxing’s 24/7 inspired shots which was interesting to see in a mockumentary film. 

The artsy dark comedy leaves you wondering, is Kali Karate a love letter to filmmaking, an overflowing introduction of Herman’s talents, or a farewell eulogy to the comedic avant garde?   

Kali Karate: The 2nd Beginning is available on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, and Google Play Movies.