The Boys Star's Overlooked 2023 Horror Movie Surges On Netflix Streaming Charts

Netflix's Top 10 TV show and movie categories — found inside the app, where they update daily — are often as much about content discovery as they are any kind of official scoreboard of what's most popular on the streaming giant at any given moment.

Case in point: "Cobweb," the 2023 horror film starring "The Boys'" Antony Starr as well as Lizzy Caplan, and directed by Samuel Bodin. Most Netflix subscribers probably weren't aware that this film, about a bullied young boy, even existed, given that it got a limited release in the U.S. (the lukewarm reviews from critics, as exemplified by the movie's 59% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score, didn't exactly help). But now, here we are two years later with "Cobweb" suddenly surging onto Netflix's U.S. Top 10 — and that kind of second life that the streaming giant so often gives to forgotten or overlooked titles being what makes the chart so... interesting. Let's put it that way.

Horror has always had a particularly devoted following, but in recent years, it's really felt like the genre has enjoyed a resurgence — helped along by buzzy theatrical releases and the ease of streaming discovery. Its enduring popularity, I suppose, is a result of different things for different people, but most people would probably agree the genre taps into universal fears and can take audiences on a thrill ride while they enjoy the movie in a safe communal space. When seeing a horror movie on the big screen, that is. As of this writing, meanwhile, "Cobweb" is currently just a few spots behind Netflix movie hits like "The Wrong Paris" and "KPop Demon Hunters" on the Top 10 list (it's currently at #8).

What it's about: Again, since this movie is almost certainly a fresh discovery for most viewers, here's what to know plot-wise. From the IMDb official logline: "An eight-year-old boy tries to investigate the mysterious knocking sounds that are coming from inside the walls of his house, unveiling a dark secret that his sinister parents have kept hidden from him."

A 2/5-star review from The Guardian pans the film as being comprised of "secondhand, guessable terror" largely built from recycled horror ideas. That's as good a reminder as any of what's also interesting about Netflix's Top 10 lists; it's not just overlooked titles but also outright flops that can try again for another bite at the streaming apple. And while we're on the subject of horror, by the way, here's a roundup of solid horror genre content that's available to binge on Netflix right now after you watch "Cobweb."