"Lockbox" Brings Horror With Heart to Theaters This Weekend

"Lockbox," from "The Last Exorcism" director Daniel Stamm, hits theaters this weekend. The film follows Winthrop, a traumatized military veteran caught up in what looks like a supernatural haunting, though for most of the movie, audiences aren't sure if that's really what's happening.

Manny the Movie Guy sat down with Stamm and stars Lou Taylor Pucci and Katharine Isabelle to talk about what drew them to the project.

"What drew me to Lockbox is that I didn't know that it was a supernatural entity haunting Winthrop, but that there was like a question mark throughout, what on earth is wrong with Winthrop, right?" Stamm said.

Pucci, who returns to horror after his role in "Evil Dead," plays Winthrop. He said he leaned on research into PTSD to build the character, since Winthrop is a veteran carrying real trauma from his time in the military. Because the character barely speaks, Pucci said the challenge was making Winthrop's damage visible without words.

"He has to say it all with his eyes, and you have to see immediately that there's something off about him," Pucci said. "So that was the challenge for playing this."

Pucci also went to physical extremes for the role, telling Manny he barely ate during filming to appear emaciated on screen. "I was kind of starving, which is a little bit of torture," he said.

Isabelle, known for "Ginger Snaps," plays Miss Vanna, Winthrop's eccentric, nail-tearing neighbor. She said she was drawn to playing someone volatile and complicated. "I love a manic person," Isabelle said. "She's vulnerable, she's funny, she's charming, she's dangerous, she's a little mean, she's kind of rude." Isabelle said she hopes the character resonates with people who've experienced trauma of their own, and that Vanna's look becomes a convention cosplay staple.

Despite the scares, both actors said the film's emotional message is what they hope sticks with audiences. "The story of Pandora's box, the last thing that's in there is hope," Pucci said. "So I guess you just want to keep hope alive."

"Lockbox" opens in theaters this weekend.