Horror has long explored the monsters lurking in the shadows, but Lockbox is far more interested in the fears that live inside us. Beginning as a quiet meditation on grief before gradually unfolding into something far more unsettling, the film follows Ellen (Carla Gugino) as she retreats to a rural town after the death of her mother, only to find herself protecting her traumatised cousin from forces she can neither explain nor fully understand. Directed by The Last Exorcism‘s Daniel Stamm and inspired by Soren Narnia’s cult Knifepoint Horror podcast, the supernatural thriller asks whether faith, empathy and compassion can endure when certainty disappears.
Speaking with our Peter Gray while visiting Melbourne, Gugino reflected on what drew her to Ellen’s quiet resilience, why she hopes audiences avoid the trailer and experience the film’s mysteries firsthand, how decades in the industry have reshaped her understanding of strength, and why the most courageous heroes are often those who choose kindness in the face of the unknown.
I’m going to quickly say, as a proud gay kid who grew up watching Troop Beverly Hills, it’s a bit of thrill to be speaking to Chica Barnfell!
(Laughs) Thank you! I love Chica Barnfell. It’s funny, Troop Beverly Hills really does have a following that continues on, and I’ve obviously been doing this for a long time that I get recognised, but I still get recognised for Troop Beverly Hills, which I consider to be a compliment since I was 16 when I did it. So if I look like the same person I was then? I’ll take it (laughs).
Well, onto Lockbox, I went into this knowing absolutely nothing, which is how I try to watch most movies. I don’t want to be swayed by any opinions. I kept thinking about how grief can make us question our own instincts, and Ellen spends much of the film wondering whether she can trust what she’s seeing, what she’s feeling, and the people around her. Have there been characters like Ellen that have actually changed the way you think about trusting your own intuition?
First of all, please encourage people not to see the trailer for this. Of course they have to make trailers, and in trailers they’re going to show everything, (but) I’m the same as you with any movie that I’m going to see. I never see the trailer for the same reasons. You get to have the experience of, and particularly with this movie, not only because the genre’s fun to not know where it’s going, but also because this movie…what really allured me was when I read the script for the first time, I also thought, “What is this movie?” It’s such a quiet start, and (Ellen’s) such a seemingly ordinary woman who is dealing with the big small things of life, right? The things that we all eventually have to deal with. The death of our parents, the end of a career, the start of a new life…but you don’t really know what that is yet.
There are only a few moments in our lives where I think we really start over entirely, and those points are filled with, as you said, they usually come with grief and fear, and some sense of wonder and excitement about what might be coming. So I do think that she certainly never trusts Vanna (Katherine Isabelle’s character) entirely, but I think with Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), it’s that interesting thing, as you said, that comes with grief, but also comes from her wanting to right a wrong of her past. She did have an opportunity when she was young and didn’t really understand what was going on anyway. She really hoped her parents would take him in when he lost his parents, and they didn’t. She went off to college, and he ended up living with a lot of trauma. I think she’s always felt that she could have helped him.
I think there’s a wanting for her to rewrite history, but she also doesn’t want to see clearly what’s going on, initially. What’s interesting is that because she’s a person of faith – and I don’t mean religion – but it’s hard to have faith in the world right now. Faith is like a magic trick to really have it. She really has it. And ultimately we’re going to find out, without giving anything away, that it’s innately faith that allows her to have that strength.
I don’t often have the opportunity to see movies that have that person at their center, so that was really interesting. I haven’t often played that quiet character (either). I think oftentimes we get taken in by flashy characters, or more dazzling things to play, so I was really intrigued at (Ellen) never trying to prove herself to anyone. She says yes when most people will say no. All of those qualities I found really interesting.
Mentioning her strength, I feel like it doesn’t come from certainty. It comes from continuing to care despite uncertainty. That’s quite different from the sort of heroes we often celebrate. Has your definition of strength evolved over the course of your career? And did playing Ellen reinforce or challenge that in any way?
Such interesting questions you’re asking. I’m so appreciative. I think quiet strength is probably the real strength, right? The rest of it is probably bravado. Just living life in general has fed me…I think when I was an ingenue, funnily enough, Troop Beverly Hills was the only time I ever lied about my age. Now is when I probably should be (laughs), but you can’t anymore.
I did read this story…
Yeah, I was 16, and I said I was 14. And then I found out from the director he wouldn’t have cast me if he had known I was really 16. I was like, “That’s not fair. I played it perfect. You never would have known…” If you can play something, you should let us play it. But what I will say is that even as an ingenue, I just never felt like that on the inside. As I have lived a full life and have had the years since then, I think what life gives you is either harden you or you become more empathetic. Obviously my choice is to become more empathetic and see the world through different people’s eyes.
I think earlier in my career, I don’t know that I would have chosen a character that was this quiet. I would have thought, “Is there enough here?” And in fact, I thought, “Hmm, actually, yeah. I think this is a woman who will live in a state of uncertainty. Who will continue to live asking questions and have convenient answers.” I think every character teaches you something. And certainly being able to play Ellen reminded me of that quiet fortitude.
I also think that she’s willing to believe that there’s something bigger affecting this person. She’s willing to actually go, “Are there other forces that we don’t have control over that are acting here?” Ellen isn’t afraid to look at anything. What initially seems like blinders are actually not. I think it’s interesting when we come to the rules that we have for life and they don’t work anymore. That’s true horror, when we don’t have the tools to figure out what to do. That’s where faith comes in.
Well, it’s a testament to the film and to your performance that you want to know what happens after the credits roll. I could honestly keep talking to you, but I know that I have to let yo go, but thank you so much for taking the time out. Enjoy Melbourne! I hope it’s great weather for you.
It has been, yeah. We’ve been getting some sunny days, so it’s all good. And Peter, so wonderful to meet you.
Lockbox is screening in theatres in the United States from July 3rd, 2026. An Australian release is yet to be announced.
