How would you react if your cousin were possessed down to his toes and it was up to you to fix it? This brilliant actress is going to have to answer that question in the trailer for Lockbox.
In 2010, director Daniel Stamm burst onto the mainstream scene with the possession thriller The Last Exorcism, a box‑office hit that grossed $70.2 million on a budget of under $2 million. His two follow‑ups, however, weren’t as well received: 13 Sins went straight to VOD in France in 2014, and The Devil’s Prey was harshly criticized by critics at its 2022 release.
In 2026, the filmmaker is slated to return with Lockbox, a possession thriller (originally announced under the working title Winthrop). He will adapt one of the most well‑known episodes from the famed horror fiction podcast Knifepoint Horror by Soren Narnia. For this new descent into demonic territory, Stamm has tapped a powerhouse actress beloved by horror fans who already shines in the just‑released trailer.
Lockbox: Demonic Delivery
Leading the cast of Lockbox is Carla Gugino, a familiar face in horror who has become the genre’s muse thanks to her prolific collaborations with filmmaker Mike Flanagan. Since Gerald’s Game in 2017, the actress has appeared in nearly all of his series: The Haunting of Hill House and its follow‑up The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. Katharine Isabelle, known to genre fans for Ginger Snaps, 30 Days of Night, and American Mary, is also aboard.
In Stamm’s Lockbox, Gugino will play Ellen, a woman scarred by the death of her mother who is seeking a form of peace. After retreating to the countryside, she invites her cousin Winthrop, played by Lou Taylor Pucci (Evil Dead of 2013), to join her. Not long after, a neighbor informs Ellen that Winthrop is a dangerous man. A sequence of unexplainable phenomena begins to unfold…
The trailer seems to check all the boxes of a classic possession flick, offering rituals, bunches of temper, white eyes, sudden assaults, and eerie outsiders who merrily tear at their nails… a delight for early‑era possession fans, without promising a radical game‑changer for the genre. Lockbox currently has no release date set for France, but it will hit U.S. theaters on July 3.
Meanwhile, Gugino will also star in The Adventures of Cliff Booth, streaming on Netflix on December 23, 2026. The following year, she’ll reunite with Mike Flanagan for his film The Exorcist (title TBD), slated for release in U.S. theaters on March 10, 2027.
