Horror is a genre that constantly tries to upend audience expectations. In this last year alone, horror features like “Barbarian” and “M3GAN” have tried to tell new, unique tales that have franchise potential, so it’s not hard to find a movie that just wants to tell a story in a creative way.
Such is the case with “Cobweb,” a wholly original story written by Chris Thomas Devlin (who wrote the 2022 reboot of “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) that appears to draw heavy inspiration from short-form horror content like “Tales From the Crypt” and features like “The People Under the Stairs.” And if you enjoy those inspirations, “Cobweb” sets itself up to be a success, especially with its leads being Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr, two performers who know how to creep people out.
The setup is fascinating almost immediately. Young Peter (Woody Norman) lives in an old house with his parents, Carol and Mark (Caplan and Starr, respectively). But when Peter hears strange tapping behind his bedroom wall at night, he can’t convince his parents to take it seriously. As things come to a head, and Peter starts to get in trouble at school, the boy begins to worry that his parents might be hiding a dark secret.
Director Samuel Bodin and screenwriter Devlin certainly craft an intriguing tale, aided by whimsical, Tim Burton-esque production design courtesy of Alan Gilmore. It’s as if the audience is plopped right into a fairy tale by the Grimm brothers, introducing Peter as a lonely little boy who lives in a house that’s seen better days and has a pumpkin patch for no discernible reason in the backyard. His parents are clearly off-kilter, with Caplan’s Carol always plastering a wide grin on her face while Starr’s Mark tries to make jokes that just don’t hit.
There’s something just a wee bit off with everything, and that’s to the movie’s benefit. That and the fact that, clocking at barely 90-minutes it can’t afford to waste any time. The problem becomes where to go with all that built-up foreboding. Peter is clearly scared of something and the movie is ambiguous as to whether there’s something genuinely living in the walls and, later, talking to him. Or maybe it’s some awareness that his parents aren’t being honest with him and, let’s be real, it’s highly evident that they are.
Because the script eschews any backstory it’s unclear whether this is all a recent development or not. Carol and Mark chalk up the knocking to it being an old house, though it’s never mentioned whether they’re new to the house or not. And, later, when Mark tells a story about a neighborhood girl who was abducted one Halloween, it’s jarring that the family would know this considering how isolated they are.
But what keeps “Cobweb” moving is the duo that is Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr and, if anything, it’s frustrating that the movie doesn’t utilize them more. The pair seem so at odds it’s hard to believe they aren’t two actors just put together to play a fake family and that, oddly enough, works in the movie’s favor. We, like Peter, believe there’s something wrong with them. The question is what. Caplan plays Carol as a woman who lives in fear yet can easily manipulate Peter into believing everything is the result of his “big beautiful imagination.” Starr, no doubt aided by his background on “The Boys,” casts a more intimidating presence that bears fruit when Peter has to be punished.
Woody Norman, who delighted audiences in “C’Mon C’Mon” is solid as Peter but the film doesn’t give him any significant depth short of being a scared little boy. He tries to investigate what’s going on but is hampered by the film’s limited use of locations — there’s only his house and the school — though a frightened phone call to his kindhearted teacher, played by Cleopatra Coleman, is particularly intense as him and Caplan square off.
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The fact that the movie doesn’t even make 90-minutes lets you know things lose steam fairly quickly and the lack of characterization or backstory — and hampered by a production that took place during COVID — leads the audience to set the bar high on where this story could go. Again, when your inspirations are easily discernible the audiences’ mind will fill in the gaps.
“Cobweb,” ultimately would have worked better as a short or even an installment in an anthology series. At a certain point Starr and Caplan take a backseat, leaving the last half hour of the movie to feel interminably long as Norman carries the rest of the film that isn’t helped by an ending wrap-up that isn’t that interesting. With such solid setup it was already hard to believe this movie would stick the landing and, sadly, that holds true.
“Cobweb” works best when it lets Starr and Caplan act like they’re starring in a Henry Selick feature (seriously, Caplan’s auditioning for the Other Mother in a live-action remake of “Coraline”). The movie has a fun setup and intriguing concept but the ending is just hackneyed. It’s disappointing in this world of franchise starters but it’s certainly a worthy try.
“Cobweb” hits theaters July 21.
