Cobweb

Cobweb is certainly a flawed film, but has enough going for it to keep me heavily invested and having a good time watching.

The camera work is sleek, the house is horrifying, the performances are good enough, and being honest: in a theater this was actually quite spooky with some well crafted scares. The third act is very odd, structurally. It even turns into a slasher movie for a minute there. But I actually enjoyed the bonkers nature of it, though I understand it won't work for everyone.

As I mentioned, there are flaws. The relationship between Peter and his parents could have used some setup (has their relationship always been this weird?), and a few aspects of the ending had me very perplexed and don't seem to hold up if you think deeply about them. The last 60 seconds felt like it could have been stretched a little more for better closure, but I guess they wanted to keep it more open-ended?

I highly recommend Cobweb for more forgiving horror fans- which sounds like a knock on it, but it's really not. Certainly prefer this flawed but imaginative work compared to studio involved schlock.

If there's something Samuel Bodin knows how to do, it's create tension and suspense, waiting for the right moment to terrify us. After "Marianne," he does it again in "Cobweb," which uses a very well-crafted script throughout two acts to build-up a story that may seem similar to many others but has its originality later revealed. There are chilling moments, and it takes unexpected paths, always supported by excellent performances and a highly imaginative camera work.

It's a shame that some small details don't live up to the rest of the work - yes, the typical "why did you go there and didn't call the police" kind of thing - including a hurried conclusion that should have provided more answers and a more convincing resolution.

This movie actually delivered as a horror movie by actually starting off with a creepiness to it and kept that feeling through most of the movie. As with most horror movies, there are moments of "that was kind of lame" but it held my attention and I did enjoy the story line and the characters.

I was originally going to rate this movie an 8 but the ending left me staring at the screen thinking " was that really the end." You know how you feel the movie getting close to the end and are anticipating what will happen? This movie had me right there the whole time but the ending was bad. So bad where I sat there kind of annoyed haha. So I dropped my rating to a 6.

Imagine being Eight years old, and hearing voices in your bedroom, that's the scenario for poor Peter, who can't even rely on his parents.

Once again, I was hooked by a trailer, but unlike the last few horrors I've seen, which have all been disappointing, Cobweb was actually a pretty good movie.

Let's be honest, it's far from perfect, but then again, what is, at times it was a little too dark, and I wish they hadn't shown the figure, I would have preferred the ambiguity. I didn't care for some of The CGI, had they toned her down a bit, I think it would have worked better.

The ending felt a bit rushed, I wonder if they'd cut a number of scenes out, that said it was nice to watch a movie that didn't run for three hours.

The plus points, quite a few of them, first of all, pound for pound, this had more jump scares than I've seen for quite a while, and when they came, they were really good, the moment with the mother coming down the corridor was excellent, plenty of tension and unease.

I thought the acting was terrific, Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr and young Woody Norman were all on point.

Better than expected, I enjoyed it.

7/10.

"Cobweb" is a slow-burning thriller that builds tension from ordinary events to eerie happenings, culminating in a series of abnormal occurrences. The director skillfully develops the characters' backstories, and the leading actors deliver convincing performances, particularly in their portrayal of semi-psychopathic characters. The story is engaging and keeps the audience captivated without resorting to cheap tricks.

However, the film's ending falls short of expectations. In an attempt to create a frightening atmosphere, the final scene is shot in near darkness, making it difficult to discern what is happening on screen. Rather than being scary, this lack of visibility is frustrating and detracts from the overall impact of the film, which is a shame because otherwise this could have been an outstanding film.

Overall, "Cobweb" earns an exact score of 58 / 100 from me. Fans of the genre may find it worth watching, but others may want to give it a miss.