😱 What if the constant KNOCKING inside your bedroom walls wasn’t just imagination… but a buried family secret so TWISTED and spider-crawly that your “perfect” parents are hiding a monster ready to burst out this Halloween? 🕷️🪦🎃

This underrated 2023 creepy gem is the ultimate autumn nightmare that’s FINALLY blowing up on Netflix—eerie tapping sounds that’ll haunt your sleep, pumpkin-filled vibes perfect for spooky season, and a third-act reveal so SHOCKING it’ll make you scream “HOW DID THEY HIDE THAT?!” 🔥🤯

Forgotten at theaters but destined to be your new Halloween staple… with overprotective creeps, bullying nightmares, and revenge that’ll leave you checking walls forever! People are calling it “Coraline meets Barbarian on steroids”—and that ending twist? PURE CHAOS.

Think your family dinners are awkward? Stream this hidden horror TONIGHT before the tapping starts… if you can handle the crawl! 😈

👉 Unravel the web + watch instantly:

In a year dominated by blockbuster horrors like Evil Dead Rise and Five Nights at Freddy’s, one overlooked gem slipped through the cracks: Samuel Bodin’s directorial debut Cobweb, a creepy R-rated chiller that’s finally finding its audience on Netflix in November 2025 and earning calls as the perfect Halloween staple it always should have been. Released theatrically in July 2023 against the unstoppable Barbenheimer phenomenon, this Lionsgate production—backed by producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg—grossed a meager $10 million worldwide despite rave word-of-mouth and a distinctly autumnal, pumpkin-spiced vibe that screamed October release.

At just 88 minutes, Cobweb packs a punch with its simple yet sinister setup: eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman), a shy and bullied kid in a sleepy suburban town, starts hearing persistent tapping from inside his bedroom walls. His overprotective parents, Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and Mark (Antony Starr), dismiss it as imagination, grounding him harsher and forbidding trick-or-treating due to a “missing girl” from years ago. Peter’s substitute teacher Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman) grows concerned, but as the knocks evolve into whispers, Peter uncovers a family secret that’s far darker than any ghost story.

Bodin, known for Netflix’s Marianne, crafts an atmosphere thick with fall dread: orange leaves crunching underfoot, jack-o’-lanterns glowing on porches, and a constant chill that makes every shadow suspect. The film’s Halloween setting isn’t gimmicky—it’s integral, turning trick-or-treat nights into tense set pieces and pumpkins into ominous props. Philip Lozano’s cinematography drenches scenes in moody amber hues, while the sound design—those relentless knocks—builds paranoia without cheap jumps.

Performances elevate the material. Young Norman delivers a heartbreakingly vulnerable turn as Peter, wide-eyed and isolated in a home that feels like a trap. But Caplan and Starr steal the show as the parents: Caplan’s saccharine smiles hide venom, while Starr—best known as Homelander in The Boys—channels quiet menace with a creepy grin that lingers. Their dynamic shifts from oddly controlling to outright unhinged, making everyday interactions feel like psychological warfare.

The script by Chris Thomas Devlin (2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre) plays coy for the first half, layering misdirection: Is it supernatural? A haunting? Parental abuse? The walls motif draws from classics like The People Under the Stairs, but Cobweb twists it into something uniquely familial. Spider imagery abounds—webs in corners, crawling shadows—hinting at the monster within. When the truth emerges (no spoilers, but think buried siblings and revenge), the film explodes into gore: practical effects deliver squirms with impalements and crawls that echo The Exorcist‘s spider-walk.

Critics were mixed upon release. Rotten Tomatoes holds at 59%, with detractors calling it derivative or vague in resolution—Roger Ebert’s site gave it one star, slamming “monotonous stretches.” Others praised the buildup: Deadline noted “strong performances and haunting tone,” Empire lauded the “inviting atmosphere” and splatter finale. Audiences leaned positive, pushing rewatch value through streaming. On Netflix since September 2025 (and still topping charts in November), it’s surged thanks to Halloween timing—viral TikToks dissect the twist, Reddit threads hail it as “Coraline for adults” or “Barbarian-lite.”

Box office flop stemmed from poor marketing and timing: Lionsgate dumped it mid-summer with minimal promo, despite Rogen’s comedy pedigree adding dark humor (deadpan reactions to horror). Digital release in August built buzz, but Netflix has resurrected it as a cozy staple—tame enough for genre newbies (less gore than Terrifier), creepy enough for vets.

Thematically, Cobweb probes parental facades and childhood trauma: what if the monsters aren’t under the bed, but the ones tucking you in? It indicts overprotectiveness as prison, with the “missing girl” tying into real fears. The abrupt ending divides—some love the ambiguity, others want more—but it lingers like a bad dream.

In 2025’s horror landscape, Cobweb stands out for restraint: no found-footage gimmicks, no franchise bait. Bodin’s vision—gothic fairy tale gone wrong—deserves annual October rotation alongside Trick ‘r Treat. As CBR notes, it’s ideal for carving pumpkins or sipping cider: moody, twisty, and quintessentially Halloween.

Underrated no more. Stream Cobweb on Netflix. Just listen for the tapping.