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‘Resident Evil’ Devs Eager to Return to ‘Revelations’
In the post-Resident Evil 4 world we currently live in, the Revelations series of spin-off titles stands apart for being true to the “soul” of the series. They’re atmospheric and frightening, designed not to appeal to the widest possible market, but rather, to fans of the series who’d like to scratch that Resident Evil itch.
I’d like to see the spin-off series continue, and after watching this video interview with producer Michiteru Okabe and director Yasuhiro Alpo, a third Revelations seems more like it’s more a matter of when, rather than if.
“I’ve worked on both the main series and this spin-off series,” explains Alpo. “I think Revelations has its own unique fun and allows us to try new and experimental gameplay ideas that we couldn’t do in the numbered titles, which is great. I’d love to see both series continue.”
Agreed. Revelations 2 was too niche in its appeal to work as a numbered release — so was Outbreak, Operation Raccoon City, and the Chronicles series of on-rails shooters — but as a self-contained story set in the same universe, it works.
These games give fans much-needed screen time with characters we very rarely see otherwise, like Barry Burton. They also don’t share the same scale as the games in the main series, and that often works to their favor, since horror tends to be more effective when the player feels isolated and ill-equipped for the horrors they know are waiting for them around every corner.
“I would also love to be able to continue Revelations as a spin-off series,” adds Okabe. “I think the best thing about it is being able to bring back less-used characters, and it also lets us explore stories in-between the events of the main games.
In related news, a Resident Evil 7 reveal may be waiting for us at E3 next month. You can learn all about that over here. You can also check out our most anticipated zombies games, if you like. I hear it’s a decent read.
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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