Vicious

The events take place in a modern, real-world setting over a single night. Technology like phone calls heightens the sense of immediacy and isolation. The clockwork of the box—an hourglass and sacrifice—drives the narrative forward in real time.

The story unfolds primarily inside Polly's house, a modest suburban dwelling she rents from her sister Lainie. As the box's influence spreads, events spill over to Lainie's home and eventually to Tara's residence, turning ordinary rooms into sites of danger. The house contains a closet filled with Polly's deceased father's belongings, a personal space that the box uses to anchor its malevolent power.

🗝️ Possession

A dark, sentient object exerts control over Polly and those around her. The box demands escalating sacrifices, testing the limits of fear, loyalty, and survival. Each received gift—necklace, fingers, hair—binds a person closer to the box's malevolent will. The horror arises from how ordinary desire to live can become complicit in violence.

🕯️ Ritual

Religious imagery and ritual become tools the box uses to legitimize its demands. Polly's resentment toward religion after her father's death clashes with the box's own form of sacrament. The cross necklace is accepted, a rare hook of faith that the box leverages to justify further sacrifices. The ritual logic of the box transforms ordinary acts into deadly rites.

👁️ Obsession

The box's appetite grows as Polly's fear deepens, pulling in family and neighbors into its orbit. The cycle of appearances, reanimations, and attacks creates a claustrophobic world where safety is an illusion. The fear of death becomes an obsession that drives Polly to push boundaries to protect herself and Aly. The horror expands beyond Polly's home as Tara becomes a conduit for the box's reach.