***Cobweb*** is all about childhood scares; silhouettes, shadows in the night, creaking sounds, basements, monsters, spiders... The perspective is from a child's so it goes with the kind of story it is I guess; simple and straightforward. It's a very slow start with not much setup that many will find boring but the momentum and mystery keeps building and buildup until the end.

Very atmospheric, it's screaming autumn and Halloween with not much light and sun. Visually interesting with the camera angles, the zoom-ins and the house looks great. Love what they did with the shadows throughout. Antony Starr and Lizzy Caplan were pretty good. Wasn't too sure about the kid at times though. The kills were brutal but I wanted to see them happening on-screen, point the camera at them please.

Filled with horror tropes unfortunately but be ready for a few twists. The twists are completely unpredictable at first but I saw all of them coming a few minutes ahead (everything just lines up too nicely sometimes). The antagonist was scary, weird, love the look and so much action in the third act with them. A few decent scares. Third act was wild and satisfying! A weird time to end the movie at.

Nothing like a Halloween movie in the middle of summer!

So this was an absolute blast! Although it is clear to me that the film for the layover will be an even bigger hit, but why not write it here now. I have a weakness for these stories, where it is not clear what exactly it is about for a very long time, but at the same time it is very exciting and scary the whole time. Because when a weird little boy who is also being bullied at school starts hearing a voice in the wall of his room...is it his imagination, a way of projection, giving him advice on how to do things or is there something really in the wall? After all, just the look of the house where little Peter's family lives... I probably wouldn't fall asleep there at night even as an adult. And then things start to happen that are absolutely psycho, revealing what's really going on in the house. And it was like it really was. So that everything ends in a brutal conclusion that is very disgusting, until the very conclusion that is pleasantly terrifying. Greatly played. The whole family was believable throughout and as things unfolded. In addition, Spider's Web is excellently filmed. Both in moments of childhood fear and in the terror of revealing everything. In addition, there is no cheap jumpscary here, when it explicitly encourages it. The music works perfectly to build up the fear. And on the second viewing, I'm really looking forward to savoring the great moments, plus the movie contains a lot of great camera work. A seriously hilarious movie where I was on edge every minute of the footage

Cobweb taps into well worn horror concepts and delivers something a little different but hardly surprising.

We all know from the get go, what Cobweb represents in broad terms. A tale of a child, locked away by its parents, because its different and more than a little, sinister.

Stepping beyond the predictable, is a few tweaks that set this horror film apart. Mostly, in a good way. Cleverly re-working aspects of a classic premise, pays dividends in terms of scares and a surprising reveal.

What doesn't work so well, is the family dynamic. We all knows its dysfunctional. The fact its so coldly, over stated, feels oppressive. Injecting a little more genuine warmth, into the family dynamic, would have heightened the impact, of the horror, that inevitably unfolds.

Acting is decent, especially given the young age of some cast members.

Only thing I'm not so sure about is why the voice over for the sister character, ends up sounding like Marge Simpsons, spinster sisters?

In summary, enough that's new, grafted on a well established horror premise, to make this film a success. Somewhat let down, by heavy handling, surrounding the family dynamic.