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“Wayward Pines” Has Big Ideas On An Intimate Level
In the first season of “Wayward Pines,” from M. Night Shyamalan, the series was shrouded in mystery that ultimately wrapped up by the finale. It was meant to be a one-shot series that left the viewer feeling fulfilled. Yet, the show was so popular that there were immediate reports of a second season, which were quickly shot down.
It came as a shock when Shyamalan and his team reunited for a second season, which is slated to debut on FOX Wednesday, May 25, 2016 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).
My first reaction was to question the validity behind a continuation of the story, but upon further thought I’m actually intrigued. While the first season was all about the mystery of Wayward Pines, the filmmakers can now tell a story from a different perspective, which is outlined in the above behind-the-scenes video that promises to deliver big ideas on an intimate level. They also tease that we’re going to learn a lot more about the Abbies, which are still a major threat to humanity.
The psychological thriller is based on the rich world created by author Blake Crouch in his international best-selling series of books, so it’ll be interesting to see how faithful the new season is to the novels.
Starring Jason Patric (Rush, Narc), two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America), and Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Hope Davis (“American Crime,” “The Newsroom”), the 10-episode second season will pick up after the shocking events of Season One, with the residents of Wayward Pines battling against the iron-fisted rule of the First Generation. Dr. Theo Yedlin (Patric) – a new resident of Wayward Pines – awakens from suspended animation and finds himself in the middle of this rebellion, as he tries to understand what Wayward Pines really is and help preserve the endangered human race.
Also joining the second season are cast members Tom Stevens (“Cedar Cove”), returning from Season One as Jason Higgins, a member of the First Generation and Pilcher’s young acolyte; Nimrat Kaur (“Homeland”) as Rebecca, who has her own secrets she keeps from Theo, her husband; Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Xander, a resident working to undermine Wayward Pines from within; and Kacey Rohl (“Hannibal”) as Kerry, one of Jason’s lieutenants in the civil war going on in Wayward Pines.
Additionally, several Season One cast members will appear in Season Two, including Carla Gugino (Kate Hewson), Toby Jones (DR. Jenkins/David Pilcher), Melissa Leo (Nurse Pam), Tim Griffin (Adam Hassler), Shannyn Sossamon (Thersa Burke), and Charlie Tahan (Ben Burke).
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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