Directed by:
Samuel BodinScreenplay:
Chris Thomas DevlinCinematography:
Philip LozanoComposer:
Sofia HultquistCast:
Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Woody Norman, Anton Kottas, Aleksandra Dragova, Jay Rincon, Luke Busey, Ellen Dubin, Steffanie SampsonVOD (1)
Plots(1)
Eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall — a tapping that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter’s fear intensifies, he believes that his parents could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trust. And for a child, what could be more frightening than that? (Lionsgate US)
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Reviews (8)
I expected much more from Cobweb. The reviews had me excited about a great film, but honestly, I was slightly disappointed. But let’s start from the beginning. In terms of audiovisual quality, the film is top-notch. I can’t fault it in this regard. The cast also shines (Antony Starr is truly incredible... What he can convey through just his facial expressions is remarkable). However, I find the central plot to be a problem; it didn’t captivate me as much. The film builds up beautifully, but the ending felt like it fizzled out. The creators chose to wrap up this mysterious film with a cheap slaughter without any real creativity. It’s a shame because there was definitely potential for something more polished. For me, it’s a 6/10.
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It’s a shame that the evil is so divorced from reality due to its physical abilities and movements, while the film itself otherwise tries to remain firmly rooted in reality. And it’s also a shame about all of the strange and ill-conceived moments in the characters’ behavior and generally how they are set in the course of the scenes. Because otherwise, this “girl under the stairs from Holdenfield” very interestingly plays with genre clichés and is capable of surprising and delighting the viewer with delicious cinematography, editing and soundtrack treats.
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Right behind Evil Dead Rise, the best mainstream horror flick of the year! So far, this year has been weaker with horror films (the second half is more crowded though, so the stats and rankings will hopefully be rehashed), while I was disappointed by this year's dark horses, Boogeyman and Talk to Me both sadly didn't blow me away as I had hoped and wanted, but the excitement came where least expected. Cobweb is a modest but very gratifying horror film that doesn't play with the genre, doesn't have much ambition to bring something fresh, doesn't cross over into art, and doesn't rely on cheap scares either, but it works very well. Its great strengths are the excellent performances of the two parents. Lizzy Caplan is a likeable and skilled actress and Antony Starr is literally the devil again. (just as Ryan Reynolds has been marked by Deadpool, Starr has been marked by Homelander, whom I saw in that demonic mode here, he's a damn fine actor). The first half of the film is admittedly a sort of traditional family kid horror movie, with the boy hearing strange voices from behind walls, being bullied, and his parents acting strange. But it's delivered in such a way that the film manages to hold the viewer's attention. I enjoyed the uncertain and unsettling atmosphere in the air, where you can feel that something evil is about to happen, but you don't really know what or where from. Once the first twist is dealt and the cards are on the table, the film shifts into decent and brutal savagery with attractive kills. The atmosphere is divine, the monster evokes Mama and develops an intriguing plot backdrop, the corpses mount and my enthusiasm only increases. There's guts and decapitation (finally some R-rated mainstream again), though I think the brutality could have been more gory. But as I say, the great craftsmanship, solid actors, decent atmosphere and an action-packed finale make this an engaging horror ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. 85%
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Well, this was a surprise! I went into this expecting to be let down, as I often am with horror movies, but I ended up genuinely enjoying it. Sure, I wouldn’t have minded a bit more gruesome detail. But I get it — the filmmakers were going for atmosphere over gore, and they mostly nailed it. The tension was solid, the young lead was tolerable, and it was great to see Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr again. The main villain definitely had a bit of that Eastern horror vibe, but it worked for me. After a long time, I found myself actually enjoying a horror film, and I had no hesitation in giving it four stars. / Lesson learned: When you need to demolish something, get some strong Black women with fireplace pokers.
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There hasn't been such a rich and dense mix of genres for a long time, and if someone did it even slightly differently, I wouldn't be afraid to give the film a Boo! rating with a shake of my head in disbelief at how someone could think of mixing these genres. But he creative team behind Cobweb is skilled enough to deliver a total mindfuck that in the first half is a depressing story about a weird family and the strange and harsh upbringing of their son, and in the second half it turns into a bloody body-count violent horror thing with perfect fantasy elements. The cinematography is brilliant, with dazzling angles and shots, the work with tension and music do a tremendous job of keeping the viewer in constant suspense and fear, and when the film switches genres halfway through it actually feels pretty natural and pretty damn impressive. Up until the last 10 minutes, I was convinced to give it a full score and attend a re-screening after tonight's home premiere, but the ending feels terribly unsatisfying and pretty much spoils all the build-up before it, and it fizzled out oblivion...
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