The Strangers prepped Vicious’ director for a career of creative battles

Back in 2008, writer-director Bryan Bertino made a splash with his debut horror movie, The Strangers, a grim home-invasion thriller loosely inspired by real crimes. The indie film has since become a cult hit, earning a sequel (with Bertino writing and producing) and a reboot/relaunch series Bertino wasn’t involved with. Instead, he continued making his own independent features: 2014’s Mockingbird, 2016’s The Monster, 2020’s The Dark and the Wicked, and the new Vicious, starring Dakota Fanning as Polly, a self-hating young woman whose life is upended when a stranger (Andor’s Kathryn Hunter) gives her a mysterious box that ties them both to a malevolent force.