Paramount’s supernatural thriller starring Dakota Fanning debuts with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score

Paramount’s new supernatural thriller starring Dakota Fanning is receiving vicious treatment from critics just before its streaming release.

Rotten Tomatoes tagged Fanning’s Vicious with a green touch, giving it a score of 41% as of this posting, with 17 reviews compiled so far. There is still a chance that its score will improve as more reviews are added to the tally. Directed by Bryan Bertino (The strangers), Viciousarrives on Paramount+ on October 10.

The film was originally scheduled to hit theaters in August. before being moved until February 28. This plan changed when it was decided to premiere the film at Fantastic Fest.

Paramount ultimately decided that Vicious would not make a theatrical release and opted to debut it in streaming and digital formats. The moviethe official synopsis reads:

When Polly (Dakota Fanning) receives a mysterious box from an unexpected late-night visitor, it comes with a simple instruction: place three things inside: something you need, something you hate, and something you love. What begins as a strange ritual quickly turns into a waking nightmare. Trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays, Polly must face a series of impossible choices. As time passes, she is forced to confront the darkness not only around her, but within her, before it consumes everything and everyone she has known.

While an RT score of 41% indicates generally negative reviews, a handful of reviewers actually found good things to say about the product. Vicious. “There’s no doubt it’s scary“, Bloody disgusting declares in its positive assessment.

Dread Central » praises the film’s director, saying: “While not as sharp as some of his previous works, “Vicious” packs classic Bertino punch.” calling Fanning’s performance “amazing.”

But Vicious receives more bad reviews than good ones. Critics cite the film’s ending as a major problem, criticize it for squandering a promising premise by losing sight of the rules it established from the start. Some reviews criticize the film for its lack of suspense, while others call it shallow and thematically vague.

Fanning’s performance receives praise in almost every review, but those same critics don’t have much positive to say about her. Vicious beyond their praise of its star, with writer-director Bertino taking a lot of heat for a script that fails to resolve the story in a satisfying, or even coherent, way.

But there is actually a positive takeaway Vicious obtain an RT score of 41%. The change in release dates followed by the eventual decision to let it stream has cast a pall over the film, but a so-so RT rating indicates that it may not be a total disaster after all, and could actually be a solid movie to watch at home.

The supernatural thriller offering, at the very least, includes a superlative performance from Fanning, who is on a two-horror movie hot streak after starring in last year’s film. The observers. The star is joined in the Vicious performed by Kathryn Hunter (Andor), Mary McCormack (The west wing), and Rachel Blanchard (The summer I became pretty).