By BRANDON GIL
The witching season is nearly upon us, and COBWEB, the new film from French filmmaker Samuel Bodin (creator of the Netflix series, Marianne) and Lionsgate brings horror fans a terrifying early taste of Halloween mayhem. An atmospheric autumn tale of dark secrets and the supernatural, COBWEB stars Woody Norman as a young boy who stumbles upon things better left alone when hey begins hearing mysterious rapping in the walls of his room. Most disturbingly he discovers that even his own parents (played by Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) are not what they seem.
Ahead of COBWEB’s Blu-ray release, RUE MORGUE recently had the opportunity to chat with Bodin about his first American and English-language project, delving into the fear and the paranoia that results when you realize the biggest threats can come from within your own home. Bodon also opens up about his love film, the horror genre and the experience of working with Caplan, Starr and Norman.
I was a big fan of Marianne on Netflix. I’m happy to see you returning to horror on the big screen with COBWEB. Like Marianne, COBWEB incorporates family horror to tell the audience that perhaps the scariest thing imaginable is what exists inside the confines of our own homes. Is this an aspect of horror that you’re drawn to? What in general attracts you to the horror genre?
What I love about the overall genre is that you can talk about very serious subjects and, as the audience, you go into it and suddenly, you’re like a kid again, and your ears are open to everything. Another thing I really love about horror is that it’s such a cinematic genre. I care about that so much. Those two things are great, but after that, you have to find the things you fear the most. And what’s more scary than the people around you suddenly becoming a threat, such as was the case in Marianne and COBWEB?
What are some of your favorite horror films and, were you inspired by any of those when making COBWEB?
I love all types of scary movies. I love cinema in general. You can pass me a musical, and I’ll fall in love with it, and I can watch a scary movie right after that. When a movie is good, I’m a kid, and I’m fully absorbed. I like the different feelings that horror invokes. You can watch a horror movie and not shiver at all but [you] may keep something in your head for weeks, or you can watch a big movie where you’re screaming all the way, but after the movie is done, you’re okay. I’m a big fan of Sam Raimi and EVIL DEAD 2 with its physical and cinematic expressions.
COBWEB is stacked with incredible actors like Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr, who we generally don’t think of as horror actors. After seeing COBWEB, I hope they both do more horror because they are phenomenal at playing characters that we both fear and have sympathy for. What was it like working with Lizzy and Antony on COBWEB?
I was so eager to work with both of them. It was my first American project, and it was my first project in English. I wanted to tell a story and show a universe that was not grounded. We worked that in a cinematic way. We worked that into the music and in the lighting, as well, but we had to find a way to make their performances a little real. And you know, it’s never easy. Antony and Lizzy had their own way to do it. Antony is like an arrow and just goes right in. WIth Lizzy, we worked a lot on the details. She’s so precise. In each scene, we’d say, “Normally, we’d play something grounded like that, so what’s the other way to be real, but not too real?” It was a complicated path, but it was a joy to work with both of them.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also give kudos to your star, Woody Norman, who plays the young protagonist, Peter. Can you share more about your experience working with Woody?
He was 9 years old at the time of shooting. He worked with a director who is French and who speaks bad English. It was during COVID, so we were masked. Woody had to play one of the most difficult things to play – fear – which can be a difficult place to go, but he was so in the present. He could feel things without a problem. I worked with him the same way I do with an adult actor. My job is to create a safe place to work, especially in horror. It can be difficult to be afraid on set, like when you see a technician make a door open by itself using string. So sometimes, I’d put music on at the beginning of the day to set the mood. I wanted this movie to be told through his eyes, so the camera would be at the same level as his eyes. Woody was my anchor for this film.
COBWEB is currently available on VOD and digital, with a Blu-ray and DVD release coming September 12 from Lionsgate.
