Audiences can’t unbox their excitement, as Vicious has clawed its way to the top of the streaming charts. The new horror film follows Dakota Fanning as a woman who struggles to survive the night after a mysterious box from an unexpected visitor pulls her into a reality-twisting nightmare.
Shortly after its release, Vicious ranks first on the Top 10 movies on Paramount+ in the world for today, October 16. It finished above Ozzy: No Escape from Now, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, Top Gun: Maverick, Novocaine, Night Hunter, The Untouchables, Jack Reacher, Mean Girls, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
Vicious also ranks second on the Top 10 movies on Paramount+ in the United States for today, behind only The Naked Gun (2025). On that chart, it finished above Step Brothers, Fight or Flight, Men in Black, Ozzy: No Escape from Now, Top Gun: Maverick, Men in Black II, Grown Ups, and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!.
Written and directed by Bryan Bertino, best known for The Strangers (2008), Vicious finds Polly (played by Dakota Fanning) being visited late at night by a stranger who leaves her a mysterious box. She’s given one simple instruction: she must place inside it three items – one she needs, one she hates, and one she loves.
What starts as a curious task soon spirals into a horrifying ordeal. Caught in a distorted reality in which memories twist and truth dissolves, Polly faces a series of impossible decisions. As time runs out, she must confront the darkness lurking not only in the world around her, but deep within herself, before it destroys everything and everyone she holds dear.
Led by the Emmy-nominated Dakota Fanning (Ripley), the cast also includes Kathryn Hunter (Harry Potter), Mary McCormack (The West Wing), Rachel Blanchard (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Devyn Nekoda (Scream VI), Klea Scott, and Emily Mitchell. Vicious premiered at the Fantastic Fest back in September 2025 and was sent straight to streaming on Paramount+ on October 10.
Despite dominating Paramount’s streaming charts, Vicious has a 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, coupled with a 30% audience score. Though there is praise for Dakota Fanning’s performance and some effective horror moments, critics consider it a muddled movie with an underdeveloped plot, inconsistent rules, and a tendency to drag. Audiences largely agree, criticizing its confusing plot and unclear rules, which is leaving many viewers frustrated.
In the lead-up to Halloween, audiences are looking for new horror movies to watch on streaming, and Vicious, for all its faults, fits that bill.
