'Cobweb' movie review: Typically blase horror offering

Still from Cobweb

Film: Cobweb (LionsgatePlay)
Cast: Woody Norman, Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Anton Kottas, Luke Busey, Jay Rincon, Steffanie Sampson
Director: Samuel Bodin
Rating: 2/5
Runtime: 88 min

Samuel Bodin's debut Horror directorial has eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman) plagued by a mysterious, constant tapping from inside his bedroom wall. Soon, those nightly noises start to sound like voices. At first, that voice scares Peter, but as his parents refuse to acknowledge their existence, the voice becomes a source of comfort for the lonely boy.

It's a rather typical horror movie replete with traditional tricks and treats of the genre kind. Supernatural story elements, spiders, the fact that Peter is a victim of bullying, his parents Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and Mark (Antony Starr) don't seem to have a clue, his teacher Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman) worries more about him than his parents and then there's the other worldly creepy voice…

The narrative does feel creepy for a bit but it doesn't last long. Peter is the focus here and he is often pictured alone in his thoughts for most of the runtime. The idea is to get us to believe that his parents are not what they seem…or are they?

Scriptwriter Chris Thomas Devlin fails to make the story worthy and the derivative scares, familiar cliches and horror tropes just don't work their magic. Silly Jump scares abound, subplots don't get fleshed out and there's little mystery to be had in the many twists here. The mood is pensive but shifty and inconsistent too. Philip Lozano's crafty cinematography manages to unsettle you, but overall it fails to reach its full potential despite the darkness it generates. When the horrors emerge in the final reel, it's already too late!