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How Does A ‘World War Z’ Video Game Sound? (Hint: It Sounds Great)
If you ever hear someone say the zombie genre is on its way out, you have my permission to punch them right in their stupid face. (Editor’s note: Bloody Disgusting does not condone violence of any kind, always be nice, violence is never the answer.) With two games based on The Walking Dead–that’s assuming you count Telltale’s series as a single game–Resident Evil 6, ZombiU, The Last of Us, Deadlight, Dead Island: Riptide, and no less than a bazillion others, the zombie hordes are more numerous than they’ve ever been. That’s great for people like me, because the more zombie games that are out there, the better our chances become of getting a truly stellar one. Competition is good for the consumer, and right now all I’d like to consume is more braaaaiiinnnnsss. Oh, and head past the jump for some World War Z goodness.
If you haven’t read Max Brooks’ mind-blowingly good novel, I highly suggest you do so. It’s sad, terrifying, occasionally disturbing, and consistently an excellent read. As the book nerds say, it’s a real page turner. Do people still say that? The Kindle and Nook might’ve killed that term off, but “it’s a real finger swiper” or “a real button presser” just doesn’t sound as fierce. Anyway, the film is struggling a little, but that should hopefully come out next summer. Thankfully, that’s not all that’s cooking, because we also now have the possibility of a World War Z video game. This news comes from a trademark filed by Paramount Pictures that covers downloadable electronic game program, electronic game software, and video game cartridges/discs.
I fully support this, but at this point this is in no way a confirmation that a game is in development. It wouldn’t surprise me if one were being developed, considering how successful the book was and how much money has been thrown at the film, but still, take this with a grain of salt. With that said, if this comes to fruition, what studio would you like to see develop a World War Z video game?
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Let’s start with the good news. Lockbox looks far better than its misleading marketing materials suggest, a supernatural horror movie so darkly lit and color graded that you’ll have to squint your way through jump scares. It’s also anchored by reliable genre performers. That’s also about where the good news ends with this rote adaptation of Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop.”
The empathetic Carla Gugino gives her all as Ellen, a saint of a woman with boundless patience who takes on life’s hard luck with a kind smile. After giving up her career as a fashion designer to become caretaker for a dying mother, she’s then forced to reinvent herself once more when her caretaker role ends. That catches us up to the events of Lockbox, where Ellen is asked to take in a cousin she hasn’t seen in quite some time who’s dealing with severe PTSD.
Just as Ellen finally establishes a real connection with Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), it’s interrupted by the arrival of peculiar neighbor Vahna (Katharine Isabelle), who spells clear trouble. When Vahna shows up dead, it sets in motion a supernatural battle of possession.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
Director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism, Prey for the Devil) and screenwriter Justin Yoffe approach Lockbox in the broadest of brushstrokes, dooming it from the start with clunky storytelling and woefully underdeveloped themes of heady topics like PTSD. Winthrop is a character that comes loaded with emotional baggage and trauma that’s piled on throughout his tragic life, but much like its title, his interiority and history are treated like a tightly guarded secret meant to prolong the supernatural mystery.
The problem here, though, is that Lockbox is too sparse to sustain mystery at all, and it instead robs Winthrop of characterization. It winds up trapping the talented Pucci without anywhere to go, toggling between wounded animal and mentally disoriented.
From there, Lockbox bounds through plot developments without any sense of stakes or purpose, peppered by a smattering of haphazard paint-by-numbers jump scares. The only unwavering constant is Ellen’s resolute faith, and Stamm seems to leave it entirely to Gugino to guide confused audiences through this inconsequential story right up until its supernatural climax.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
To give more credit, Lockbox at least injects an unconventional exorcism here; just don’t expect much in the way of explanation. When the film finally reveals the meaning behind its title, it dangles a fascinating carrot it has zero interest in delivering. More than a severe lack of fleshing out its characters beyond plot drivers or devices, this faith-based flick also seems terrified to offer any worldbuilding whatsoever.
Yoffe’s script stretches the short story beyond its means instead of fleshing it out, and Stamm fills out the gaps with cheap CGI scares and overwrought performances; Isabelle’s Vahna is beyond cartoonish in her villainy. It’s also pretty nonsensical, treating only Ellen’s faith with the utmost sincerity and largely squandering its typically reliable talent. So much so that the final imagery, pure sunkissed saccharine sentimentality, leaves you with the feeling that this horror movie might be better suited as an entry in Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Lockbox releases in select theaters on July 3, 2026.
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