In 2018, Chris Thomas Devlin (2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre) made noise as it topped the BloodList as well as the Black List as one of the “most-liked”, unproduced scripts. Fast forward to now, and that script has become Marianne director Samuel Bodin’s debut feature film, Cobweb. Like Marianne before, Cobweb pulls from a diverse pool of horror subgenres and tropes to create something that feels incredibly familiar, yet somehow fresh. Light on character development and more interested in creating an oppressive feeling, Devlin’s script manages to present a classic haunted house film that progressively leans harder into the world of dark fairytales and fantasy.

It opens with eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman), looking dour and depressed as he attends school where he is constantly bullied by Brian (Lake Busey). At home, things aren’t much better, as his tyrannical father Mark (Antony Starr) and milquetoast mother Carol (Lizzy Caplan) alternately shoot holes in his fantasies and forbid him from joining other children in preparing for Halloween. Fall and the spooky holiday hang over the production, though, and attention is given to a molding pumpkin patch growing in Peter’s backyard that seems somewhat off. The house is filled with shadows and has seemingly secret rooms hidden from sight.

One night, Peter awakens to a tapping on his bedroom wall and it’s here that Bodin brings the same magic he crafted Marianne with to create tension and put the audience in Peter's childish perspective. His parents dismiss his fears as nightmares and tell him how he needs to be more grounded and less fanciful. They have an iron grip on their child, warning him away from trick or treating because of a disappearance years ago just down the block.

Soon he hears voices from behind the wall and his substitute teacher Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman) becomes worried when she discovers Peter’s dark drawings. Mark and Carol dismiss her fears and tighten down the locks on Peter’s life, but when the voice behind the wall inspires Peter to stand up to his bully, horror slowly replaces fairy tales and Peter finds himself fighting for his life.

Cobweb relies on an aesthetic somewhat reminiscent of the dark fantasy Guillermo del Toro wielded in Pan’s Labyrinth, with gorgeous lighting and production design by Alan Gilmore (Crawl) and spooky cinematography by Marianne’s own Philip Lozano. Apparently filmed in Bulgaria in 2020, I’m actually surprised Cobweb got made. Releasing the film in limited theaters the same weekend that Barbenheimer is potentially breaking records is disappointing, but somewhat understandable given the subject matter. It’s easy to see why Cobweb attracted Samuel Bodin because Devlin’s script continues the subgenre fluidity that Marianne dabbled in. It’s easy to see specific references, such as the horror adjacent but equally fantastical When a Monster Calls to The Shining, J-Horror ghost stories, and the tone and look of a Guillermo del Toro film.

Steeped in feelings of the fall and, particularly, Halloween, Cobweb is full of treats and tricks, the likes of which initially seem candy-coated but are ultimately revealed to be poison-filled. The execution works and Cobweb is a film that begs to be seen with a large, appreciative audience. It’s a nasty little film that might hold its more gruesome tricks until the back half, but the horror and violence on display explains why the script languished on the Black List. It’s not afraid to put its young characters in danger and the theme is centered around things like childhood abuse, bullying and worse. It eases you into a coming-of-age story with fantastical elements (like When a Monster Calls) but soon earns its R rating with violence and horror aplenty.

Does the narrative hold up to scrutiny? Well, no. Not if you want a gritty, realistic horror drama about familial oppression. Instead, Cobweb is ephemeral in the way fairy tales typically are. The visual imagery of cobwebs and spiders brought to mind the classic poem “The Spider and the Fly”, and Cobweb creates a mystery puzzle box out of that narrative. At times, each character takes turns being the spider or the fly. Take the parents, for instance, who immediately are a cause for alarm with their seemingly tyrannical grip on Peter’s life.

Helped along by the smart casting of Antony Starr, who plays maniacal incredibly well as Homelander in The Boys, we’re immediately on edge. Peter, meanwhile, feels like a wisp of boy like Cole from The Sixth Sense mixed with any creepy kid from horror movies. That mix of cherubic innocence, themes of abuse and bullying as well as a sinister layer hiding just underneath the skin creates distrust in his character, as well.

Those looking for a film grounded in real world logic will probably be turned off, but for those willing to let the narrative spin you in its deliciously evil web, Cobweb will certainly horrify and delight.