Dakota Fanning Returns to the Horror Genre with the Upcoming Paramount+ Film, Vicious

Dakota Fanning is back in horror mode with Vicious, a new Bryan Bertino film that just dropped its first trailer and finally set its release plan. Bertino, best known for The Strangers, writes and directs, steering a lean, 98-minute nightmare anchored by Fanning as Polly, a woman who receives a mysterious late-night delivery: a box with a single instruction: place three items inside. What begins as a strange errand unspools into a reality-bending ordeal, the trailer teasing flickering lights, creeping dread, and a rules-based curse that’s sure to cause chaos.

Vicious (2025), Photo Credit: Paramount and Paramount+

The cast around Fanning is a sharp mix of character actors and rising talent: Kathryn Hunter (known for her uncanny physicality), Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, and Devyn Nekoda all feature, with Klea Scott and Emily Mitchell also listed. After a few release-calendar feints, Vicious has landed on a hybrid strategy tailored to spooky-season viewing. It premieres tonight at Austin’s genre hub Fantastic Fest (September 19, 2025) before later arriving October 10 on Paramount+ and digital platforms—prime placement for at-home horror marathons.

For Bertino, Vicious looks like a return to the stripped-down menace that made his debut a cult staple with ordinary domestic spaces turned hostile by an inexplicable threat. Fanning, coming off another genre turn in The Watchers, appears dialed into a performance that’s already teasing bigger reactions and more visceral horror than her aforementioned horror flick.

You can check out the official trailer for Vicious, included below.

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