Vicious

Polly is alone at home, preparing for a crucial job interview, when an elderly woman appears at her door late at night, seemingly confused and looking for someone else. Displaying kindness, Polly invites the stranger inside, only to receive a mysterious wooden box and hourglass with bizarre instructions: place three items inside (something needed, something hated, something loved) or face death before the sand runs out. What begins as a peculiar encounter spirals into a nightmarish ordeal as Polly finds herself trapped in a distorted reality where familiar surroundings become threatening and her grasp on what's real begins to slip. With time literally running out, she must navigate impossible scenarios while confronting manifestations of her deepest fears. Fanning anchors the film with raw physical commitment, though the material gives her little to work with beyond escalating panic. The supporting cast, including Kathryn Hunter as the ominous visitor, appears in fragmented moments as Polly's ordeal unfolds in disorienting loops. Themes of trauma, choice, and psychological imprisonment hover around the edges, never quite crystallizing into coherent statement.