Movie Review: LOCKBOX

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: July 1st, 2026 / 01:53 AM

LOCKBOX movie poster | ©2026 Aura Entertainment

Rating: R
Stars: Carla Gugino, Lou Taylor Pucci, Katherine Isabelle, Jed Rees, Donald Sales, Aeden Edwards, Lee Tichon, Darcey Johnson, Olivia Ducayen, Samantha Ferris, Mercedes de la Zerda
Writer: Justin Yoffe, based on the Knifepoint horror podcast THE LOCK BOX by Soren Narnia
Director: Daniel Stamm
Distributor: Aura Entertainment/MGM+
Release Date: July 3, 2026

LOCKBOX (at one point titled WINTHROP, which it is still listed as on its IMDB page) has been adapted by screenwriter Justin Yoffe and director Daniel Stamm from the Knifepoint horror podcast THE LOCK BOX by Soren Narnia.

This is a curious case of promising buildup and concepts that turn out to be setups to something far more conventional. This is a shame, because there are at least two moments where we’re drawn in by the possibilities, only to draw back when we see where we’re going.

In a flashforward, we a white van is driving through the countryside. A man we don’t get a good look at is in a caged-off section in back, pleading with the driver and front seat passenger to pull over.

In a quasi-isolated house, a little boy (Aeden Edwards) sits in a wheelchair, humming with his eyes closed. When the man in the back of the van protests that he doesn’t want to see the boy and bangs his head on the bars, the boy opens his eyes.

Then Ellen Hershbergen (Carla Gugino) introduces herself in voiceover as we see her mother’s funeral at a cemetery. She says she’s going to tell us what happened in hopes that it will never happen again.

This narration is a multi-level mistake. First of all, we don’t need Ellen’s circumstances explained to us this way, since they are quickly presented in scenes and dialogue. More importantly, this tells us upfront that Ellen survives, which cuts considerably into the third-act suspense.

Ellen has moved from Buffalo southward to the town of Pontiac, New York. She has been a clothing designer and children’s book author. With the proceeds from these endeavors and her inheritance, she’s purchased a yellow ranch-style home in an area where there’s wooded space between properties.

Ellen volunteers at the local Catholic church. The resident priest (Darcey Johnson) is glad of the help. Ellen’s generosity encompasses taking in her cousin Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), who suffers from PTSD after serving in the military (and has some earlier traumas as well).

Winthrop is socially awkward but grateful for a place to stay while he awaits a steel mill job that starts in the spring. Restless, he goes for walks at night.

Not long after Winthrop arrives, neighbor Vahna Minter (Katherine Isabelle) bicycles over to Ellen’s lawn and introduces herself. Where Winthrop is closed-off, Vahna blithely overshares, including stories of horrific childhood abuse.

Vahna is also very pushy and Ellen is very accommodating, to a point that requires some suspension of disbelief. Winthrop is suspicious of Vahna; Vahna warns Ellen to beware of Winthrop, who seems like a man who has done terrible things in his past.

With two peculiar people in close proximity, we wonder which one Ellen should actually fear. There’s an utterance from one character that, for those paying attention, pretty much gives the game away, but our curiosity is still engaged.

Then a few big events occur and eventually, we learn the nature of the “lockbox.” This brings up all sorts of tantalizing questions about ethics, spirituality, mythology and more – only to have this shut down with a short discussion that effectively turns LOCKBOX into a relatively standard entry in a well-populated subgenre.

Director Stamm gives us some good jump scares. Gugino and Isabelle are both always worth watching, and Pucci makes us feel Winthrop’s torment. Edwards is suitably eerie and enigmatic as the boy in the chair.

It’s not fair to criticize a film for not going where you wish it would, but LOCKBOX is definitely one where the journey is better than the destination.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Interesting but very uneven horror

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: LOCKBOX

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status