This summer has been busy, with smash hits like Talk to Me dominating theaters and festivals like Fantasia drawing to a close after a frenzy of films. In the background however, with the help of Lionsgate, director Samuel Bodin with writer Chris Thomas Delvin were quietly weaving an eerie little horror film, anchored by stars Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr, inspired loosely by Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Telltale Heart.” This creepy, crawly little feature tells a story of a tiny family burdened by big secrets and a young boy out to discover truth and bravery. With less marketing coverage than it deserved, but so far receiving a warm welcome from audiences, Cobweb proves to be a twisted tale I couldn’t always predict, with strong performances, an easy runtime with consistent action, and imagery and audio to savor.
We open with a beautiful but melancholy piano score to Peter (Woody Norman), going about his regimented elementary school day. He attends school, doesn’t appear to have many friends, has piano lessons with his rigid mother Carol (Lizzy Caplan), and plays in his room. It’s on this night Peter is awoken by creaking and tapping, seemingly coming from his wall. As the noises escalate, Peter decides to investigate, but when he knocks on the wall, and to his shock gets an identical response, his bravery fades and he fetches his mother from her bed. He escorts her to the wall where she knocks and listens, hearing nothing. She guides Peter back to bed, reassuring him that this an old house that’s bound to make noise, and that Peter has a “great, big, beautiful imagination,” and that he is creating things to fear.
The next day Peter faces bullying on the bus before class, where the children are introduced to their substitute teacher Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman). Peter’s bully is dead set on getting him at recess, so Peter stays in the classroom with Miss Devine, who allows him to stay and decorate, a hint of concern to her small talk as she tries to get to know Peter. The two have a bonding moment where the teacher helps Peter confront a stray spider in the classroom, showing him how to safely release it. It seems Peter has found an ally at school. Back at home, at the dinner table, Peter petitions for a Halloween costume so he can trick or treat, but it seems Carol and Mark (Antony Starr) aren’t comfortable with him going out. Mark tells Peter a story that years ago, before Peter was born, a girl down the street went out on Halloween and disappeared, never to be found again. Supposedly a collective neighborhood trauma, Carol says she would prefer not to remember it, and promises they would never let anything like that happen to Peter.
Bells, chimes and xylophones score the night magically, as that night Peter has a light focused on the wall the noises came from. We see something pushing against the wallpaper, and then, a voice. Seemingly a young girl, she only gets Peter’s name out with a plea not to say anything before Peter’s screams bring Mark running in, exasperated and annoyed at his fear. He says he believes it’s rats. The next morning the two lay down poison and Mark explains why they have to kill the animals, and that men have to make tough decisions to protect their families. The next day in class, though to Miss Devine’s alarm, Peter paints a picture of himself in his room with the words “Help Me” on it.
Miss Devine takes action, bringing the drawing to Peter’s house where she meets Carol at the front door, who is somehow playing receptive mother and defensive matriarch simultaneously. Carol takes the picture and gets even more frigid, giving Miss Devine a story about Peter’s “overactive imagination” before shutting the door on her. She immediately goes to Peter’s room to confront him, frustrated and upset that he seems to believe that he or “she,” as he is referring to the voice or tapping in the wall, is asking for help. They settle on it being just a scary drawing, his mother still unhappy with his behavior. When evening comes again, the tapping resumes, with a young girl’s voice urging Peter not to be scared, to wake up and talk to her. Peter wishes her to go away, but she offers herself as a friend, and Peter tells her not to go instead, and offers to talk with her, as she says it seems they could both use a friend. With bullying only escalating at school, a friend is exactly what Peter feels he’s missing, no matter who or where they are.
Cobweb is good scary fun, guiding you towards horrifying answers by a silk thread, with a story much more in-depth than any summary could give. The ending is full of surprises and great acting with Lizzy Caplan giving a stunning performance as the manipulative and frozen Carol mirrored by cold, hard Antony Starr. Young Woody Norman does an excellent job here as well, painting the picture of innocence and bravery in the face of impossible circumstances. The cinematography is unique and interesting shooting techniques leave the viewer dazed sometimes, as we follow specters down corridors or get rescued from a bad dream.
The score is a childlike, haunting lullaby of classical instruments blended and used perfectly by composer Drum & Lace to illustrate the purity of it all, a young boy trying to make friends with the impossible. Speaking of audio, the sound department lead by sound designer Phil Barrie deserves credit for his contributions to the terrifying cacophony in the walls that could seem to come from nowhere or everywhere at times. If you can predict the twists and turns of this web Bodin’s woven, then good on you, but I highly recommend this story of family secrets held down by a dedicated, evolving cast, some amazing high caliber effects, a score that won’t quit and a story that keeps the action going from beginning to end. The next time you hear a bump in the night, don’t worry: it’s likely just your big, beautiful imagination. But just in case it’s not, and you want to explore the possibilities, take a look at Cobweb, and see if you can untangle its ends before it wraps up.
Cobweb (2023) is available now on VOD.