Paramount Pictures has announced the release of the highly anticipated film Vicious, a harrowing horror thriller from writer and director Bryan Bertino, known for The Strangers.
The film stars Dakota Fanning (Polly) alongside a stellar ensemble cast that includes Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, and Emily Mitchell.
Vicious thrusts viewers into the terror of Polly’s (Dakota Fanning) disintegrating reality. Her life is violently upended when a mysterious visitor arrives late one night. She delivers a simple yet terrifying gift: a cryptic box. However, the gift comes with a chilling, three-part mandate. Polly must place inside it something she needs, something she hates, and something she loves.
What begins as a strange, ritualistic curiosity quickly unravels into an inescapable waking nightmare. Polly finds herself immediately trapped in a terrifying, twisting world. The very fabric of reality bends, and her most trusted memories become agents of betrayal.
Polly is forced to make a series of impossible, devastating choices. She must confront the encroaching darkness—not just the evil that the box has unleashed around her, but the unsettling truths dwelling within her own psyche—before it consumes every part of her life and every person she has ever known.
Fanning began her acting career as a child in films like War of the Worlds and Man on Fire. She has more recently earned her place in the spotlight with roles in films such as The Watchers and series like “The Alienist.”
Vicious was written by Melinda Whitaker and Shane Boucher. It will be available exclusively on Paramount+ on October 10, 2025.
