Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Samuel Bodin
Starring: Woody Norman, Lizzy Caplan, Antony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman
Like
Don't Breathe
and
Barbarian, Cobweb is another genre thriller set in the abandoned
ruins of a once thriving American suburbia. All of these movies are
filmed on sets in Eastern Europe, allowing for a Gothic refashioning of
the US suburbs. They take place in houses that once stood proud, but
like the Bates' house since the highway was constructed, now stand
crooked and misshapen like tombstones in a Universal horror cemetery.
You can't help but wonder if the Slavic production crews are enjoying
replicating a nightmarish vision of America in the same way Hollywood
did for Eastern European villages back in the heyday of Gothic
horror.
The house at the centre of Cobweb is so over the top in
its creepiness that it immediately establishes an ethereal tone to the
movie. Though it's populated by a family, it has the eerily vacated look
of the Myers' house, and out back it boasts a pumpkin patch to rival the
one from that classic Peanuts Halloween special. The kitchen looks
suspiciously similar to that of the aforementioned Bates' house, as seen
in Psycho II.
It's no wonder young Peter (Woody Norman) has trouble sleeping.
Not only does he live in the set of a horror movie, but his parents are
straight out of a Roald Dahl story. His father, Mark (Antony Starr), presents an almost parodic façade of a suburban Dad, always carrying
a hammer, yet he seems uncomfortable in his skin, as though he's been
body snatched. Mom Carol (Lizzy Caplan) is a bug-eyed bundle of
nerves with a wardrobe borrowed from Mrs Danvers. As if that wasn't
enough, there's a spooky female voice emanating from within the
walls.
Life outside 1313 Mockingbird Lane isn't much better for poor Peter. At
school he's bullied, and in a direct reference to John Carpenter's
Halloween, has his pumpkin smashed by one loathsome little oik. When he draws a
picture that seems to serve as a plea for help, Peter's substitute
teacher, Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman), decides to make
a…divine intervention, leading to more trouble for Peter.
Aside from its setting, Cobweb also resembles Barbarian in beginning as a grounded
thriller and gradually morphing into a monster movie. The opening acts
nod to the likes of
Psycho
and Bad Ronald, but by the climax we're in the territory of Sam Raimi. First time
director Samuel Bodin does a fine balancing act of ensuring this
development never jars. This is largely achieved by planting us in a
setting that never feels entirely recognisable enough to be taken at
face value. We're in the world of the Brothers Grimm or Roald Dahl here,
with Peter's parents the classic sinister adults of so many stories
designed to channel a child's greatest fear, that of being left alone in
a world where no adults can be trusted. Peter's relationship with the
kindly Miss Devine echoes something Tobe Hooper tapped into with his
Invaders from Mars remake, with that film's young hero
aided by a similarly angelic school nurse.
If the climax descends into J-horror clichés with its lank-haired ghoul
scuttling about on all fours, Bodin's skill at assembling an adrenalised
home invasion set-piece allows us to overlook Cobweb's derivativeness. There's something very French about how Bodin's
action filmmaking combines high octane thrills with a studied and
controlled approach, and the final massacre plays a lot like the opening
scene of Luc Besson's
Leon. An unconvincing coda suggests a sequel, but while I'm not sure
there's anywhere left to take this particular property, I'm certainly
looking forward to more from Monsieur Bodin.
Cobweb is on Netflix UK/ROI now.