Lockbox

Whenever I turn on the TV or watch a movie, I sometimes think of the opening lines from Hi-Five’s Unconditional Love: “I will climb the highest peak, swim the deepest sea, I would cross the desert land, I would do anything.” You might be wondering what that has to do with Daniel Stamm’s new film, Lockbox. Well, as I was watching it, those lyrics kept popping into my head because I found myself wondering just how much I’d sit through to watch the always-great Carla Gugino. It turns out crossing this particular desert wasn’t quite worth the journey.

Coming off the loss of her mother, Ellen (Carla Gugino) leaves New York behind and moves to a quiet town in Michigan, hoping to start a new chapter in her life. As a writer, she has the freedom to work from anywhere, and at first, the slower pace seems to suit her.

Things begin to change when a family member asks her to take in her cousin Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), a former soldier struggling with PTSD. Ellen welcomes him into her home, but it doesn’t take long before she notices his increasingly strange behavior. Those concerns only grow once her neighbor, Vahna (Katharine Isabelle), starts coming around.

Then the situation takes a much darker turn. Vahna is found dead, and Winthrop quickly becomes the prime suspect. Ellen refuses to believe he’s capable of murder and begins searching for another explanation. The deeper she digs, the more she uncovers something far more sinister, and with a little help, she may be able to prove her cousin’s innocence before it’s too late.

Written by Justin Yoffe and based on an episode of Soren Narnia’s Knifepoint Horror podcast, Lockbox wants to be a supernatural thriller more than a character drama. Unfortunately, while it spends plenty of time setting up spooky events, it rarely delivers the scares needed to make them effective.

The second half does improve, but the film leaves behind several storylines that never receive satisfying payoffs. Winthrop’s murder charge, for example, feels like it simply fades into the background. The mythology surrounding the demon is equally underdeveloped. The audience is expected to accept what’s happening without ever really understanding the rules, making many of the supernatural moments feel more confusing than frightening.

It’s especially disappointing because the central “lockbox” concept is genuinely intriguing. The idea of someone using their own mind and body to imprison a demon has real potential. Had the film spent more time building that mythology instead of rushing through it, it could have been something special.

Instead, Lockbox feels like a good idea that never quite finishes baking. Even Carla Gugino can’t completely rescue it. Much of the film plays things surprisingly safe, missing opportunities to lean into the psychological horror that naturally comes with themes of guilt, trauma, and abuse. Instead, Stamm relies too heavily on CGI to deliver the scares, and those moments rarely land.

As always, Gugino gives the material more credibility than it probably deserves. She’s compelling in virtually everything she does, and Lou Taylor Pucci also turns in a solid performance as Winthrop. Together, they help elevate a movie that often struggles to live up to its premise.

I’m always up for a good exorcism movie, and Daniel Stamm clearly is too—this marks his third. Unfortunately, Lockbox never reaches the heights of his best work. It has an intriguing premise and two committed performances, but in the end, it leaves far too much locked away.

Brian Taylor

Member of the North Texas Film Critics Association, and lover of all things Cinema