Cobweb
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySamuel Bodin
Written byChris Thomas Devlin
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPhilip Lozano
Edited by
Music byDrum & Lace
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate Films
Release date
  • July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
Running time
88 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$8.1 million[3]

Cobweb is a 2023 American horror film directed by Samuel Bodin in his directorial debut. Its screenplay, written by Chris Thomas Devlin, was included in the 2018 the Black List, and follows a young boy, raised by overprotective parents, who suddenly hears noises coming from behind his bedroom wall.[4][5][6] The film stars Lizzy Caplan, Woody Norman, Cleopatra Coleman, and Antony Starr.[7]

Cobweb had a limited theatrical release in the United States by Lionsgate Films on July 21, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics.

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 Miss 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 by 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". Miss 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.

Miss Devine checks up on Peter but is intimidated and chased away by Mark, who has a gash on his arm. Later, after Peter is let out of the basement, the voice explains that she is Peter's older sister Sarah, 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 and the girl who went missing years ago had been a trick-or-treater they murdered after she attempted to answer Sarah’s call 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 with a kitchen knife 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. Sarah finally crawls out, revealing herself to be a grotesque, disfigured being. After capturing her brother, Sarah 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. She reveals that she has been manipulating Peter into taking revenge on their parents for locking her away and she was the one who really murdered the girl on Halloween.

Ever since he was born, Sarah has resented Peter for being able to live the normal life she had been denied, and wants him dead. Before she can kill him, however, Brian and his cousins show up, planning to take revenge on Peter. But after invading the house, they are all killed by Sarah. Miss Devine arrives and attempts to help Peter escape, but Sarah attacks her and recaptures Peter. As Sarah prepares to finish the duo, Peter manages to subdue Sarah by grabbing her long hair, and they once again imprison the girl in her pit. 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 Cobweb for Lionsgate Films,[11] and that Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Roy Lee, and Jon Berg would produce it.[12]

In September 2020, it was announced that Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, and Woody Norman would star in the film,[13][14][15][16] with principal photography set to commence in Bulgaria.[17][18][19] Filming occurred in Nu Boyana Film Studios in November 2020.[20]

Release

Cobweb had a limited theatrical release by Lionsgate in the United States on July 21, 2023.[21][22]

The film was released on digital formats on August 11. It was later released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 12.[23]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 59% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "This itsy bitsy horror film creeps and crawls."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[25]

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."[26] 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."[27] 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."[28]

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."[29] 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."[30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Reel 360 (August 10, 2023). "VFX Legion elevates Cobweb with 225+ FX". Reel 360 News. Retrieved November 27, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Cobweb (15)". BBFC. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cobweb". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  4. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (September 15, 2020). "'The Boys' Antony Starr to Lead Lionsgate Thriller 'Cobweb' with Lizzy Caplan". Collider. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  5. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 26, 2020). "'Marianne' Filmmaker to Direct Lionsgate Horror Thriller 'Cobweb' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Samuel Bodin to direct horror thriller Cobweb for Lionsgate". Outlook. May 28, 2020. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  7. ↑ Dick, Jeremy (September 17, 2020). "The Boys Favorite Antony Starr Gets Caught in Lionsgate's Cobweb with Lizzy Caplan". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  8. ↑ Hamman, Cody (September 16, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan to Star in Marianne Creator's Cobweb, Produced by Seth Rogen". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  9. 1 2 N'Duka, Amanda (September 15, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan, 'The Boys' Antony Starr To Star In 'Cobweb' Thriller For Lionsgate". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  10. ↑ Juvet, Aedan (September 15, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan Joins Samuel Bodin's New Film Cobweb". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  11. ↑ Miska, Brad (May 26, 2020). ""Marianne" Creator Directing 'Cobweb' for Lionsgate!". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  12. ↑ Hamman, Cody (June 1, 2020). "MARIANNE CREATOR SAMUEL BODIN TO DIRECT COBWEB, PRODUCED BY SETH ROGEN". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (September 15, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman Join 'Cobweb' Thriller for Lionsgate". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  14. ↑ Bui, Hoai-Tran (September 16, 2020). "'Cobweb': Lizzy Caplan is a Mother Hiding a Dark Possible Secret in Horror Thriller". Slash Film. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  15. ↑ Hermanns, Grant (September 15, 2020). "Lionsgate's Cobweb Nabs Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr & Cleopatra Coleman". Comingsoon.net. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Anthony Starr, Lizzy Caplan to play lead roles in Cobweb". Outlook. September 16, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  17. ↑ Squires, John (September 15, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr Will Lead the Cast of "Marianne" Creator's Horror Movie 'Cobweb'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  18. ↑ Sprague, Mike (September 16, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan & Antony Starr Join MARIANNE Director's New Nightmare COBWEB". Dread Central. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  19. ↑ Pollard, Andrew (September 16, 2020). "Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr Join COBWEB". Starburst. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  20. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (November 11, 2020). "AFM: How Indie Film Productions Have Kept Going Despite Pandemic". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  21. ↑ Villei, Matt (April 3, 2023). "First 'Cobweb' Image Reveals Antony Starr and Lizzy Caplan's Upcoming Thriller [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ "'Cobweb' – Horror Movie from "Marianne" Creator Releasing in Theaters This Summer". April 3, 2023. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  23. ↑ Squires, John (August 8, 2023). "Halloween Horror Movie Cobweb Will Be Available to Watch at Home Beginning This Friday". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Cobweb". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Cobweb". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  26. ↑ Complex, Valerie (July 19, 2023). "'Cobweb' Review: Good Performances, Haunting Atmospheric Tone And A Conclusion That Unravels It All". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  27. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (July 19, 2023). "'Cobweb' Review: Things Go Bump in the Night in a Creepy Domestic Horror". Variety. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  28. ↑ Strauss, Bob (July 19, 2023). "Review: 'Cobweb' sees a scary old house through a child's eyes. It's beautiful and horrific". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  29. ↑ Rooney, David (July 19, 2023). "'Cobweb' Review: Lizzy Caplan in a Haunted House Thriller That Starts Strong but Falls Apart". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  30. ↑ Castillo, Monica. "Cobweb movie review & film summary (2023)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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