Review: 'Cobweb' a unique, scary flick

Four out of Five Stars

By Abbigail Cowels
Staff Writer

“Cobweb” may be the least talked about horror film of 2023. Released back in July, it went almost unnoticed because it was released the same weekend as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,”

If you enjoy mystery and horror, “Cobweb” is one you will want to catch this spooky season. It can be found on Prime Video or Apple TV, among other streaming services.

Directed by Samuel Bodin (“Marianne,” 2019 to present) and featuring top producers Roy Lee (“The Ring,” 2002), Evan Goldberg (“TMNT: Mutant Mayhem,” 2023) and Seth Rogen (“Superbad,” 2007), “Cobweb” takes a unique angle and embodies horror from a child’s perspective.

The main protagonist Peter, played by Woody Norman, gives us a character who rings with our inner child. Fearful of bullies and the mysterious knocking in his bedroom walls, his isolation draws him closer into the dark, where he makes a friend.

His parents Carol (Lizzie Caplan, “Mean Girls,” 2004) and Mark (Anthony Starr, “The Boys,” 2019 to 2022) are classic examples of what emotional abuse looks like. In contrast to our own feelings of wanting to comfort Peter, his parents are cold, distant and hiding a secret.

There is one noticeable loose end within the plot, but the actors give such a great performance, I find it forgivable. This movie plays at the horror within a tense family dynamic, making viewers more scared of Peter’s parents than what is hiding in the walls.

The horror isn’t force fed, it gently plays on the horror of the uncanny valley, dark bedroom corners and shadows lurking behind doors.