Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet streamed Vicious via Paramount+ subscription , so be warned, and don’t answer the door!

I’m always impressed when a horror film’s sound can provoke visceral audience reactions as successfully (or more so) than the visuals, and The Strangers helmer Bryan Bertino’s 2025 movie release , Vicious , is indeed one of those movies. Currently streaming after originally being set for theaters , Vicious puts Dakota Fanning ’s Polly in the middle of a single-location nightmare, and one of Bertino’s smartest moves here (beyond the A+ casting) was limiting the music to match the narrative, so that Fanning and the sound design take center stage.

Which means, of course, that any time someone’s flesh is being sliced or blood is squelching,

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