Horror Movie Review: Cobweb (2023)

Hey folks, how do you guarantee your movie is going to be seen by virtually no-one? Set it at Halloween, release it in July, and do next to no promotion. Smart stuff, and it’s the fate that befell Cobweb. A horror thriller directed by Samuel Bodin in his directorial debut and a screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin.

On first glance, Cobweb looks like nothing more than your standard ‘kid haunting/ghostly-goings-on’ horror and nobody wants another one of those. However, what it actually turns out to be is a smart, dark, twisted, and frightening mesh of different genre ideas. Held together by a tense story that keeps you guessing right up to the last minute, and a very strong cast.

Woody Norman plays Peter, an eight-year-old shy boy who is bullied at school and comes home to overbearing parents. His mother, Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and father, Mark (Antony Starr) are strict and admonish the boy regularly, struggling to deal with his issues and the difficulties of parenting in general. Whereas Mark seems to be emotionally detached, Carol is overly emotional and borderline hysterical at times.

It’s enough to drive a person crazy, which Peter might be, when he starts to hear tapping inside of his bedroom wall. Of course, his parents don’t believe him, putting it down to his overactive imagination. Yet, Peter isn’t imagining it, and when a voice of a young girl starts to speak to him, he sees it as an opportunity to have a friend.

Who is the girl in the wall? She claims to be his sister and that she has been locked away by their parents because they don’t want her anymore. She also claims that Peter’s parents are evil and will killer her, then lock Peter in the walls too.

Is she telling the truth or is something more sinister going on here?

Cobweb does a fantastic job of subverting expectations and hinting at numerous potential revelations. Drip-feeding clues with its slow-burn story, before ramping up the carnage for a frenzied finale. It is a compelling watch that draws you into the darkness, feeling both trepidation and excitement for what awaits. It’s not about twists, but rather reveals, and that makes for a much more satisfying watch.

As good as the story is though, if it didn’t have the characters and actors to make it work, it wouldn’t, and Cobweb has both. We spend the most time with Peter, and he is a genial soul that is very likable. By the end, it’s hard to not feel protective of him and a ton of credit must be given to Woody Norman who plays him so well.

Likewise, Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr are excellent as his parents. The former portrays a character with manic vulnerability that is heartfelt and horrific, whereas the latter portrays a character that is sinister and commanding. They are so watchable and have great chemistry with Woody Norman.

Their characters help make Cleopatra Coleman’s Miss Devine (Peter’s substitute teacher) a ray of sunshine in a very dark movie. Someone who simply wants to help a child that she is worried about.

Is Cobweb scary though? Not outright, but it does have a couple of excellent scare sequences and is dripping with atmosphere and tension. A lot of that comes from how the movie is shot and how it utilises light and darkness. You may not always feel frightened by what you’re seeing, but you’ll constantly feel on edge as though something could come from the dark at any moment.

Is it perfect though? Of course not. Some may bemoan the tone shift near the end as the film gets quite gory and others may bemoan the lack of explanation surrounding the wall tapper. However, finding a horror movie that holds the attention in the way that Cobweb does, is rare and that makes it worth screaming about.

It’s a great film.