Cobweb: Movie Review

Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Woody Norman

Director: Samuel Bodin

Cobweb has promise.

The story of an eight-year-old boy, plagued by tapping on his walls and a nagging suspicion his parents have done something wrong plays directly into many childhood fears of the unknown and supernatural.

But the frustrated ending of the movie squanders the premise badly and leaves those who've invested in its 88 minutes with a distinct feeling of indifference - despite some nice jump scares throughout.

The story's largely given its atmospherics by its OST and its soundscape, both of which do the heavy lifting when the minimal cast and story begin to feel a little threadbare in parts.

There are some terrific moments, though perhaps the ultimate creature reveal feels like it worked better on the storyboard than it did in actuality.

Starr rolls out the same level of deadpan menace as he's displayed in the psychotic Homelander during the Boys, and Caplan's rising hysterics work well to sow seeds of mistrust within Norman's child.

But while Cobweb snares an audience early in its web, its inability to really pull the threads tightly into something that's fully frightening rather than just mildly disturbing proves, unfortunately, to be somewhat fatal in the final wash.

Cobweb closes out the 2023 Terror-Fi Film Festival.