Interviews
‘Cobweb’ – Director Samuel Bodin and Star Woody Norman Take You Inside Their Horror Fairy Tale [Interview]
Note: This Cobweb interview was conducted prior to the current SAG-AFTRA strike.
Samuel Bodin, the creator of Netflix horror series “Marianne,” returns to the genre with Lionsgate’s horror movie Cobweb, releasing in theaters on July 21.
Cobweb, written by Chris Thomas Devlin, follows eight-year-old Peter (Woody Norman, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) as mysterious tappings from within his bedroom walls lead him to suspect his parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) are hiding a terrible secret.
Ahead of the film’s release, Bloody Disgusting spoke with both Samuel Bodin and Woody Norman about their gateway horror fairy tale and the scares you’ll find nestled within.
Much like “Marianne,” Bodin injects Cobweb with a fairy tale quality, well-suited for the scary bedtime story-like nightmares its young protagonist endures. While the similarities end there between “Marianne” and Cobweb, it does highlight Bodin’s affinity for building backstories.
The filmmaker explains his approach, “I always try to attack a story as the story demands. But to be honest, I love to build a little universe, so it’s my way to do it. I take the story, and I say, ‘Okay. It’s not grounded in reality; it’s in that little universe. It’s that little house, that little town for Marianne.’ So, to be honest, it’s the same way. How I can create my little Cobweb universe and tell the story inside that, and for ‘Marianne,’ I did the same. Where is that witch? It’s that town, with that all. So, I built the universe around it, but it’s like Springfield for the Simpsons. It’s our place with our story, and I love that feeling, especially for a scary story. It’s my way to open the door. To jump in the story in a way.”
In other words, Bodin found a vastly different type of horror in Cobweb, despite the fairy tale leanings. The filmmaker worked closely with screenwriter Devlin on Cobweb‘s particular style of scares. Bodin explains, “It was different because for ‘Marianne’ and my other projects, usually, I am the writer or the co-writer of it. It was the first time I dove into the script of someone else. You have your overall feeling on how you want to bring people with you and scare people. But here, there was a journey more psychological. So, I really followed Chris [Thomas Devlin]. We were, both of us, swimming in that story. So, it was step-by-step, sequence by sequence, and we know where we want it to be.
“We didn’t want to have a lot of blood in it. We wanted to be only in a fairytale way, like a bad or a weird Halloween joke. So, we don’t need so much blood; it’s more colorful and weird than bloody. It was an experience with the producers, Chris and me. Because ‘Marianne’ is a little bit more bloody and weird. I love the fact that we can say, during the shoot, that it’s a horror movie for kids. I love that contradiction.”
As for Woody Norman, Cobweb marks the actor’s first-ever role in horror, though you can expect to see him again later this summer in The Last Voyage of the Demeter. It’s a hell of an introduction to the genre; Norman leads the film as a tender-hearted boy constantly torn between whether his parents love him or whether they mean him harm.
The young actor explains how he handled the balancing act: “I think the way I did it was I let myself almost find out as Peter was finding out, by stopping myself from thinking about it. So, in the beginning, I made sure I only thought about the parent characters as parent characters. But when I was doing maybe a scene of complete distrust, I wouldn’t think of the parent characters as parents. I’d think of them as villains, just to stop myself from humanizing them in a way and make me more scared of them as well.”
Cobweb isn’t just a gateway horror film for audiences, but its star too. Norman shares how his experience made him more comfortable in horror.
“There’s a bit where I had to get a harness and get thrown across a hallway. That was really fun,” Norman recalls. “I think my main takeaway is that Cobweb was the job that got me okay with screaming on set. Because before, I was really nervous about it. Sam will remember it took a few takes for me to get comfortable doing it. But now, I’m cool with it. I was having a good time with it. Because filming, for me, is what I love doing most. Making people scared is pretty fun as well. So, putting them two together really makes it a good time.”
While Bodin referred to Cobweb as a horror movie for kids, he injects notable references for the horror kid at heart. One horror master, in particular, significantly influenced Bodin for his Halloween-set feature. “John Carpenter, obviously,” he explains. “I am French, so I don’t have the same relationship with Halloween as the US. It was always a dream or a fantasy in my head, ‘Oh, one day maybe I will do a Halloween story,’ and suddenly Cobweb is here. I connect with and reference a lot of John Carpenter’s Halloween. For me, it’s one of the greatest movies of all time. Each time I see a pumpkin, I think about Haddonfield, or that house, and that pumpkin in the opening credits.
“So, Halloween is totally in reference here. I know that Tim Burton was a reference, too, because he helped us in a way to not be in reality. So, Easter eggs, there are a lot of them. You try not to do it because if you listen to yourself, you put only references everywhere. But definitely, if there is only one, it’s Halloween from John Carpenter; it’s obvious, but it’s here.”
Cobweb releases only in theaters on July 21, 2023.
Interviews
The Work ‘Grind’ Is Hell, So Brea Grant & Ed Dougherty Made a Horror Anthology About It [CFF 2026 Interview]
Genre fans rejoice! Chattanooga Film Festival is back for its 13th year in 2026 with a killer lineup and once again offering audiences both in-person and virtual options. After having its World Premiere at SXSW this spring, the horror comedy anthology Grind is playing CFF 2026 opening weekend.
From a screenplay by Brea Grant (Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift) and Ed Dougherty (MLM) and segments directed by Grant, Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Grind features four interwoven stories that parody the gig economy, hustle culture, and the evils of late-stage capitalism.
The anthology follows weary everyday people juggling side hustles just to survive, while going up against greedy oligarchs, and cleverly uses dark humor and bloody practical effects to portray a world much like our current economic nightmare.
Bloody Disgusting had the pleasure of chatting with Brea Grant and Ed Dougherty about the socioeconomic commentary in Grind, casting Barbara Crampton as a villain, and DIY filmmaking.
Bloody Disgusting: Every segment in this anthology feels relatable because people are actually struggling to survive in the gig economy right now. How did the two of you come up with the idea of creating Grind?
Brea Grant: Like you said, we were trying to come up with a cool idea that seemed relevant right now. The thing that everyone we know is talking about is the economy, the lack of work, and the nightmare hellscape that is late-stage capitalism. It felt like the right time to write something that really featured that as the main horror. As the main thing that people were scared of, this world sort of came to us over the course of a couple of years.
Ed Dougherty: We wanted to make a hit film, and we said, “Let’s make a horror anthology, that’s the most marketable thing there is.” [laughs]
BG: [laughs] Definitely not!
BD: I love anthologies!
ED: We do, too. We feel like it’s kind of an undervalued form of horror film, but it’s a hard sell.
BG: People told us not to make it. They said, “Don’t make an anthology. It’s too hard to sell.” But we did it anyway.
BD: I guess I’m just one of those weirdos who likes anthologies and watches them all.
ED: We believe that there are a lot of weirdos like you out there. It seems like every good horror anthology has a long life, but it’s just getting over the initial hump that’s difficult.
BD: Chelsea Stardust directed some of the segments with the two of you and serves as a producer. How did she first get involved with this project?
BG: The project has a long history. We shot the first segment, which is about multi-level marketing, a couple of years ago. We had decided we wanted to make a full anthology, but it took us about a year after shooting that initial segment to shoot the rest of the movie. When we did that, we knew we needed to bring on a producer aside from Ed and me, since we were directing the bulk of the movie, so that was how she came on board. I’ve been friends with her for a long time, and the one thing I know about her as a friend is that she is very organized, so it felt like a good fit. I just called her one day and said, “Would you want to produce these three segments that we have left to shoot of Grind?” and she came on board.
BD: There are some fun cameos in Grind, but we have to talk about Barbara Crampton. She’s so good as a villainess. Why did you want her for this role, and what was it like working with her on this film?
BG: She’s in her villain era, which is so fun. [laughs] Obviously, we’re huge Barbara Crampton fans, and when we were making MLM, it was a smaller part of the movie that we knew we needed to call on people who could do a good job but were also friendly to us [laughs]. I’m friends with Barbara Crampton, and we’ve done three movies together before this. So, it felt like someone within our reach, but could also really draw a horror crowd. She has a huge fanbase, and she’s also super supportive of all the projects that she’s been in, so that was also really exciting. She’s a great actress, and she’s super funny. I think a lot of these horror actresses, especially those who came up in the eighties and nineties, weren’t given an opportunity to be funny. I think she was ready to jump on an opportunity that was different than what she was used to; it’s not running around and screaming. She is a cult leader, and she is quite funny in it. She just takes the comedy so well and seriously, and she does such an amazing job with it. She has a scene across from Rob Huebel, who is obviously a comedy master, and I feel like the two of them together were hilarious. It’s been fun to watch Barbara go from these iconic roles to a different kind of role at this point in her career. We’re super happy to be a part of that.
ED: And she loves the movie and has been so supportive. Every time she posts about it, I’m like, “I can’t believe this. This is amazing.”
BD: This is an accurate parody of the current socioeconomic situation in this country, as well as our obsession with online culture. It repeatedly asks the question, “What are you willing to do to make money,” in a world with wealth inequality and evil oligarchs. It’s fun, and it’s a horror movie, but it’s thought-provoking. What do you hope audiences take away from Grind, besides having a good time?
ED: I read every review and every Letterboxd review; Brea does not. So, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen some reviews that say, “Good movie but doesn’t propose a solution.” I think we do propose a solution, which is that the power of unions and organizing is the only way that we will be able to fight back against oligarchs. I do think that is the message of the film. Organizing is the only way to defeat these villains. I do think we have a lot to say in the film. I’d want someone to say, “Man, I’ve never seen a horror anthology that had a political message before.” [laughs]
BG: I think the other thing is that what is currently happening is that we live in a world in which people kind of feel alone in this. They’re like, “Well, I’m doing bad, “or “I’m having trouble paying my rent.” We wanted to hang a lantern on the fact that this is happening to everyone, that wealth disparity is at an all-time high. We’re pointing out to people that you aren’t in this alone; you’re not the only person doing side hustles. Every filmmaker friend I have is working a side job of some sort at this point, and that is just in Los Angeles. Outside of this city, I think things are more dire. I think it was about infusing some politics into something that could make people realize that they aren’t alone and that there are ways of fighting back and fighting the system that has been set up against them.
ED: I think the tone of the movie, which is darkly comedic, also really matches the tone of life right now. Everything seems almost at a parody level as far as the disconnect between oligarchs and trying to make a living and reality. The absurdist nature of the film kind of captures the real tone of life.
BD: There are some cool creature effects and makeup effects in this movie. Can you talk a little bit about the practical effects and makeup?
ED: I think especially because of the message of the film, which is pushing back against the current hellscape we’re in, we wanted to use as many practical effects as possible. We used matte paintings, miniatures, and practical creature effects. I’m always afraid of the matte painting because we used the old school matte painter, but they do look a little AI. I heard someone make a noise behind me during one of the shots, and I was like, “I hope that noise wasn’t them using AI because that’s a matte painting.” [laughs] There’s also the fact that it’s pretty DIY. It’s a film that we financed ourselves and shot in our houses as much as possible. We wanted the whole thing to feel handmade and very tactile.
BG: We’re old school horror fans, so we love seeing practical effects. The practical stuff is really fun for us. It’s the stuff that we think is actually cool. [laughs] So, practical stuff made the most sense for us. We both grew up in the punk scene in the nineties, and I think it just kind of comes naturally to us to try to do things ourselves. And we both work on projects for big companies, with smaller companies, but always for other people, so trying to do something ourselves to see what that felt like was also part of the experiment of Grind.
ED: This was our chance to do everything we wanted our way.
Grind screens at the Chattanooga Film Festival on June 20.
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