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| Images courtesy Vertigo Entertainment |
Horror lives in the walls in the hybrid fairy tale mystery genre flick, Cobweb, now showing in limited domestic theaters.
Stemming from comparable styles to 2022's Barbarian and 2021's The Black Phone, this latest indie horror film is no darling, but is one of the better lower budgeted genre features of the year. The film is a purified lesson in misdirection and darkness that hinges on the performances of its young star Woody Norman and the always amazing Lizzy Caplan in lead parts. Antony Starr (Homelander on The Boys) also takes up one of the central roles but doesn't really do anything outside of his normal self aware routine. Cleopatra Coleman (Infinity Pool) stars as young Peter's worrisome teacher in a role that doesn't give her much to do other than stand around and look worried.
Cobweb is another horror based in paranoia and fear. While it doesn't stray too far from so many of its influences, it's set apart by its unique visual style, excellent camera work, and gothic set pieces. Director Samuel Bodin graduates from mini-series and short film work to offer up his first full-length foray into the terrifying with a film that is not inventive or slick enough with its final themes or story points. Bodin also shows off his obvious love for movies like The Ring (Ringu) with some direct design and creature nods to the J-Horror classic.
Most everything that happens in the film is expected, including some hampered scripting that devolves into the predictable at the cost of some amazing character work. Caplan soars as a mentally deranged mother that's ruled by her grief. Starr stars as the overtly angry and zealous father figure. Unfortunately, when the movie slides off the rails into a home invasion flick, a film that was relying on tension slips into violence and gore that really wasn't needed. Cobweb is at its best when it's playing with the horrifying and unknown.
Cobweb would be a much better overall movie if the creatives behind the project had spent more time coming up with new ideas to play with. None of the problems really lie with the performances or even the direction over-all. The issues with Bodin's movie are strictly in the fact that it goes fully into safe mode. People are looking for different right now. Cobweb didn't need any sub-plots or expansion outside of its tightly wound story of a family dealing with something strange within the construct of the home.
Going against massive budgeted films like Barbie and Oppenheimer was quite the gamble. If this had been released during the Halloween season it would have had a chance at grabbing some hard earned cash at the box office. After all, the movie spends much of its time discussing the holiday and a lot of its plot takes place in a pumpkin patch. This movie will sit idle during the summer months and will eventually drop on Shudder or another streaming outlet where it will probably do very well.
-CG