Cobweb (2023)

Director: Samuel Bodin

Starring: Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Woody Norman

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.

At night, eight-year old Peter (Woody Norman) hears strange noises coming from behind his walls. His parents, Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and Mark (Anthony Starr), convince him he is imagining, or dreaming.

The film starts one week before Halloween, and at school the kids are making pumpkin carvings. Peter wins for the best carving, but bully Brian, later destroys Peter’s prized pumpkin. When Peter hears knocking coming from his walls again at night, he knocks back, and then hears a voice of a girl, introducing herself as Sarah. She warns Peter his parents are not what they seem, and urges Peter to stand up for himself – and against Brian.

When Peter pushes Brian down the stairs at school and Brian breaks his leg, Peter is expelled, and his parents lock him in the basement… and this is when the film gets a bit creepy.

‘Cobweb’ is so clichéd in its entirety that it hardly felt original. There’s the clichéd kid’s drawings. There’s the teacher, Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman) who is concerned about Peter, and tries to find out what is going on at his home. There were just so many moments here reminding me of other films.

But, having said that, ‘Cobweb’ is still worth watching. I enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, and the scary sound effects. I enjoyed the mysterious parents, who were obviously harbouring a big secret. The make-up effects were also rather good. Give it a go; you might get caught in its web…

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.