Cobweb (2023 American film)

Cobweb (2023 American film)
Cobweb is a 2023 American horror thriller film directed by Samuel Bodin in his directorial debut. Its screenplay, written by Chris Thomas Devlin, was included in the 2018 The Black List. The film stars Lizzy Caplan, Woody Norman, Cleopatra Coleman, and Antony Starr.
Cobweb had a limited theatrical release in the United States by Lionsgate on July 21, 2023.
Plot
Peter is a shy, bullied eight-year-old boy living with his overbearing yet emotionally distant parents, Carol and Mark. He earns sympathy from his substitute teacher Ms. Devine. Peter wishes to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night, but his parents forbid him due to the disappearance of a young girl several years ago.
Later that night, Peter is woken to the sound of tapping from the inside of a wall in his bedroom. His parents deny these occurrences, insisting that he is imagining them. Over the next few days, Peter talks with a voice coming from the wall. She claims that she was trapped in the walls by Peter's parents and calls them "evil". Ms. Devine becomes concerned after seeing a picture Peter drew of himself scared in bed with the words "Help me", and Carol admonishes Peter for bringing his delusions to his teacher. At school, Brian, a bully, destroys Peter's prize pumpkin. Spurred by the voice's advice, Peter pushes Brian down the stairs, breaking his leg. After learning he has been expelled, Peter's parents lock him in the basement, where he discovers a pit covered with a grate.
Ms. Devine checks up on Peter, but is chased away and intimidated by Mark, who has a gash on his arm. Peter is let out of the basement. The voice claims that she is Peter's older sister, whom their parents locked away after deciding they did not want her anymore. Carol and Mark had chosen Halloween as the day to imprison her; the girl who went missing years ago had been a trick-or-treater they murdered after Peter's sister attempted to ask her for help.
She convinces Peter that their parents are planning to kill her and will imprison him in the walls next. His only chance to avoid sharing her fate is to kill them, which he does by slipping rat poison into their dinner and cutting the phone line so they can’t call an ambulance. Both parents try to stop him, but are unsuccessful, with Mark succumbing to the poison and Carol accidentally stabbing herself after Peter kicks her down the stairs. Right before Carol dies, she warns her son "don't let her out".
Peter unlocks a hidden door behind the grandfather clock in their parents’ bedroom. The girl crawls out and reveals that she has been manipulating Peter into taking revenge on their parents for locking her away. She resents him for being able to live a normal life. Brian and his cousins show up, planning revenge, but they are all killed by her. Ms. Devine attempts to help him escape but she is attacked by the girl.
She explains that she was born severely deformed, causing her to look like a monster. Terrified by her appearance, their parents locked her away and she was forced to live a wretched, feral existence in the dark. Meanwhile, Peter got to experience a much better life where he was loved and cared for. Ms. Devine saves Peter and the two imprison the girl in the basement pit again. She warns that she will eventually escape, and will always haunt him.
Cast
Production
In May 2020, it was reported that Samuel Bodin would direct the film for Lionsgate, and that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Roy Lee, and Jon Berg would produce it.
In September 2020, it was announced that Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, and Woody Norman would star in the film, with principal photography set to commence in Bulgaria. Filming occurred in Nu Boyana Film Studios in November 2020.
Release
Cobweb had a limited theatrical release by Lionsgate in the United States on July 21, 2023.
The film was released on digital formats on August 11. It was later released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 12.
Reception
Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood wrote, "the movie's strengths lie in the established atmosphere of intrigue and suspense. However, it can't sustain that as it grapples with missed opportunities and a lackluster conclusion that fails to bring closure to its narrative." Variety's Dennis Harvey criticized the script and characters, but added, "Still, director Samuel Bodin's first theatrical feature is atmospheric, and departs from stock slasher conventions just enough to make for an entertaining if unexceptional scarefest." Bob Strauss of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film 3/4 stars, writing, "Although derivative, Chris Thomas Devlin's script has enough sick, witty ideas to make the fearsome goings-on seem fresh and immediate."
The Hollywood Reporter'''s David Rooney wrote, "The influence of Linda Blair's famous spider walk from The Exorcist can be seen in some of the movement, and the title is a tip-off to the creepy-crawly creatures the house's clandestine resident has been studying to hone its lethality. But is it human or supernatural, mortal or monster? Cobweb keeps the answers to those questions too vague to be satisfying." Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1/4 stars, writing, "While the strange and unusual world of Samuel Bodin's Cobweb'' has ample enough unsettling energy thanks to Philip Lozano's ominous cinematography, it fails to reach its scary ambitions."
References
External links
2023 films
2023 drama films
2023 horror films
2020s drama films
2020s supernatural horror films
2020s supernatural thriller films
American drama films
American supernatural horror films
American supernatural thriller films
Films produced by Evan Goldberg
Films produced by Roy Lee
Films produced by Seth Rogen
Films shot at Nu Boyana Film Studios
Films about child abuse
Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Films about dysfunctional families
Films with screenplays by Chris Thomas Devlin
Lionsgate films
Patricide in fiction
Point Grey Pictures films
Vertigo Entertainment films