Inside Dakota Fanning’s Fearless Comeback: How Vicious Redefines Her Career
In a candid October 3, 2025 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dakota Fanning looked back at her incredible 25-year career — a journey that has seen her go from child star to one of Hollywood’s most respected talents. At 31, Fanning is starting out in a new field in Vicious, a psychological thriller that has its worldwide premiere at the Sydney Film Festival and will be available on Paramount+ from October 8, 2025, opening a daring new door in her already illustrious career.
The Best Career Projects of Her Life
Fanning cited a number of “Mount Rushmore” childhood projects of hers:
from some of this year’s Best Dressed lists have been cranking out tears with this thing. Uptown Girls (2003) turned out to be a really good experience “It’s been having a moment for the last year”, as people keep discovering or remembering just how much a meaningful it was to them as young girls. With Brittany Murphy, the movie has achieved cult status and is now hailed as a classic of the noughties.
There are so many, but you could say I Am Sam (2001) has a permanent spot in my heart, I actually think this film is ‘always very special’ because it was my first.” At just seven years old, she starred alongside Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer, making her the youngest SAG Award nominee ever for this breakthrough role. Man on Fire (2004) again in an interesting way when she again teamed up with Denzel Washington for “The Equalizer 3,” to consider that earlier partnership.
ER was cited as her first television show and “one of my favorite shows ever,” which she is “rewatched a million times”.
Diving into Horror with ”Vicious”
For Fanning, the new project is a drastic change in genre. She said that she had “never really made a horror film”, although she had previously been in films with “psychological thriller vibes”, and noted that she “just never felt [she] had done something that was really [in] full horror genre”. That made her really keen to go in a different direction when the time came.
Dakota Fanning Collaboration with Director Bryan Bertino
This project brought Fanning together once more with critically hailed horror director Bryan Bertino (The Strangers, The Dark and the Wicked). Fanning said that she was a fan of Bertino, and that “he’s obviously very well known in this space and very prolific in it”. So I felt like I was being led by somebody that I really trusted, which was super important.”
Bertino lauded Fanning’s dedication to the challenging part, saying “she carries the film in a way that most actors don’t have to” because she is isolated for most of the narrative. He noted her professionalism, and has told stories about she was “a great person on set and was like a grown-up” even though she was a child actor.
Read More :- Leonardo’s One Battle After Another Receive Global Hit Mirroring Current Politics
“Vicious” Plot and Themes
The story is about Polly (Fanning), who is given a box by a late-night caller with basic but threatening directions: put three things in it — something you need, something you hate and something you love. What starts as a bizarre ceremony, soon becomes a traumatic journey where reality warps and recollection deceives.
When asked what she would put in each category, Fanning laughed that she found the question difficult to answer and humorously said she would put “dill” (the herb) for something she hates, her phone for something she needs, and it was too tough to pick just one thing for something she loves.
Bertino called the production “really perspective-driven,” saying that viewers experience the horror with Polly over the course of one terrifying night. He also spoke to the psychological element, sharing that “those three questions ask a lot of you” and that at its heart the story is about “Polly having to look deep in herself to even consider what those questions mean”.
Read More:- How Bill Hader’s Narrative Insight Forged the Success of Zach Cregger’s Weapons
Release and Reception of Vicious
“Vicious” will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 19, 2025 and will then be available exclusively on Paramount+ and digital platforms on October 10, 2025. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release in August 2025; it was then moved up to February 2025 and finally there’s no mention of theatrical release.
The horror thriller boasts an ensemble cast of Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, and Emily Mitchell. The title is hosted by Paramount+ as part of its “Peak Screaming Collection” for Halloween, which houses over 450 horror titles.
Conclusion
Fanning has been praised early on for her dedicated performance that is essentially a one-woman show; with critics commending her work holding the psychological horror up despite some mixed opinions on the overall execution of the film. The film marks Fanning’s most significant step into pure horror since Hide and Seek (2005), returning to the genre that first made her a serious young actress.
About the Author
