Cobweb

Film: Cobweb

Year: 2023

Director: Samuel Bodin

Writer: Chris Thomas Devlin

Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr and Cleopatra Coleman

Review:

Now this is a movie that I remember hitting theaters earlier this year. I tried to make the showtimes work, but life got in the way. It was from there I heard and saw other podcasters talking about this one. It was on my list of potential 2023 films to see and I did during December when I’m forming my end of year list.

Synopsis: an eight-year-old boy tries to investigate the mysterious knocking sounds that are coming from inside the walls of his house, unveiling a dark secret that his sinister parents have kept hidden from him.

The family from the synopsis is made up of Peter (Woody Norman), who is the son. His parents are Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and Mark (Antony Starr). Halloween is approaching and Peter is asked what he is going to be for the holiday. This was done by his substitute teacher, Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman). Peter asks his parents about going trick or treating, to which he is denied. His father brings up a story in their area about a little girl who went out that night and disappeared. They are protecting their son.

Peter gets scared when he hears knocking behind his wall. He calls out to his parents, who don’t believe him. Or at least, that is what the boy thinks. They calm him by saying he just has an overactive imagination. Whatever is knocking has a voice. Her name is Sarah (Aleksandra Dragova). She wants Peter to let her out. He isn’t sure how to do this. The boy is also bullied at school by his whole class. One boy is the leader in this, Brian (Luke Busey). Peter gets into trouble when he fights back.

Things get odd when his parents punish him by locking Peter in the basement. Miss Devine is worried about Peter. He is out to free Sarah though and how he goes about this takes an even darker turn. Brian also wants his own revenge.

That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is with the feel of this movie. It has a dreamlike vibe. Part of that could be that Peter keeps waking up in the middle of the night. There are also times where we see dreams play out. I’m not always the biggest fan of this as that feels like it is being played for scares. I do know that the character is experiencing it as well as trying to keep the audience engaged. It does feel cheap to me at times. What I’ll credit here though is that it contributes to Peter not sure who he can trust though.

Now that I’ve said that let’s get into the elements of this movie. This story is presented to us through the eyes and experiences of a boy. Peter is naïve in the fact that when the voice is coming through the wall, he is distrustful. The more that he talks to Sarah, the more he wants to help her. I do think there is the element there that his parents are strict with him and aren’t affectionate. This causes him to seek these feelings from Miss Devine, who shows him compassion, and this voice through his wall. The voice also pushes him to fight back against Brian. There is also the element that Peter just wants to be normal. He wants to fit in, but his parents are odd so that contributes to it. I did like these elements. I’d also say that Norman plays his role well, which is good. He feels like this outcast boy.

Where I’ll then go is something that ultimately have an issue with. I like Caplan and Starr. They are odd parents here. How they treat Peter isn’t child abuse. Chaining him up in the basement is where they go too far. Outside of that though, they are neglectful and it isn’t good for his development. Peter wouldn’t be taken from them for that though. We know that they know more than they’re letting on. My issue though is that I don’t understand all how they’re connected to Sarah and the reveal there. It feels like we’re missing an element for everything to fully fall into place. This could be a me problem, but I do know there are people who had issues with the reveal at the climax. I didn’t have there outside of just needing that one connecting thread.

I’m not going to spoil this movie, but I will say that when we see Sarah, it is good. I’ll shift a bit as well to include the effects and cinematography. I think that it does a good job of only letting us get glimpses of her. She is monstrous and I liked that. I’m assuming this was done with CGI. I’ll give credit here though; we don’t linger on seeing too much to critique it. There is blood that we get as well that looked practical which was good. This is framed and shot well, which I’ll give credit for. I just needed a bit of an explanation for this to fully work. I think if we got that, I’m there. I’ll finish out this section by saying that the soundtrack worked for what we got. Sound design did as well with the knocking and whispering through the walls. There’s also this tense aspect where Miss Devine checks on Peter and he calls out to her. I did like that.

All that is left then is the rest of the acting. I’ve already said that I thought Norman was solid as this boy who doesn’t quite fit in. Caplan and Starr were solid as these odd parents. We know there is something off about them. How they treat their son is heartbreaking as a parent. Coleman is good as this teacher who cares too much. She is needed though for someone to be a good influence on Peter. It is wild that Gary Busey has a child as young as Luke, but he is good here as the bully. I also thought that Dragova works as Sarah. The acting here works to build this creepy, dreamlike atmosphere.

In conclusion, I thought that this movie had a solid premise. It is one that we’ve seen before. A child with strict parents and it causes the boy to not fit in. There is a creepy element to befriending and talking to a voice in the wall. Being set close to Halloween is also good. The acting works in bringing these quirky characters to life. I’d even say that it is well-made with the cinematography and framing being good to bring Sarah to life as well as hiding the effects there. The problem is that I think we are missing a connecting element to help explain why things are as they are. I still enjoyed my time, but that missing piece causes this to fall a bit short for me.

My Rating: 6 out of 10