The Big Picture
- Lizzy Caplan excels in horror roles, showcased by her performance in Cobweb as a creepy and manipulative mother.
- Caplan's ability to portray chilling, exquisite, sinister, and heartbreaking characters makes her a natural fit for horror scripts.
- Caplan has a long history of delivering in her roles, like in Fatal Attraction and Castle Rock .
Lizzy Caplan is an actress who can be thrown into any genre, as she will always find her footing, and the ability to flourish in that role. She is incredibly versatile, transitioning from comedy roles in Mean Girls and Party Down to drama TV shows like Fleishman Is in Trouble and Master of Sex, both of which earned her Emmy nominations. Whatever the genre or medium, you can always be assured that Caplan will turn in an enthralling performance. One genre we don't see her in too often is horror. While the found footage monster movie, Cloverfield, was one of her first Hollywood mainstream films, Caplan is not an actor whom you would consider synonymous with spooky tales. However, Caplan's role as Carol in last year's Cobweb might carve out a path to more horror in her future.
Cobweb
10
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.
Before 'Cobweb', What Did We See Lizzy Caplan In?
Mean Girls was a jumping-off point for Caplan, propelling her into many more roles that would lead her to become a television titan Before playing Janis in Mean Girls, she had a few brief stints in shows like Smallville, Orange County, and Freaks and Geeks. It was after that she became an icon in film and television. Two of her most well-known roles are Virginia in Master of Sex and Libby in Fleishman Is In Trouble. When she plays Virginia in Master Oo Sex, she is a calculated researcher who deals with what it feels like being a pioneer in the taboo field of sex as well as a woman in a typically male-dominated field. In Fleishman Is In Trouble, her role of Libby sees her as a 40-year-old woman going through a midlife crisis. Caplan conveys big, messy feelings of missing your youth so well that it's easy to empathize with her character.
Related'Cobweb' Sets Digital Release Date for Spooky Lizzy Caplan-Led Horror Movie
'Cobweb' also stars Antony Starr and Woody Norman, and will soon scare its way into your living room.What makes Caplan such a talented actor is her ability to step into roles made legendary by other actors. Last year, she starred as Alex Forrest in the TV show Fatal Attraction, a remake of the movie from 1987 starring Glenn Close. A few years before, Caplan played Annie Wilkes in Season 2 of Castle Rock. Annie Wilkes is an iconic horror figure due to Kathy Bate's Oscar-winning performance in the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's Misery. Caplan adds another layer of depth to the character by giving us a glimpse of a younger version of Annie while still honoring Bate's outstanding performance. Caplan spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her role as Annie and mentioned that her favorite part of the character is that she is "disarmingly sweet," which is scarier than if she were a straight-up monster. And that is not a far cry from the motherly beast she plays in Cobweb.
How Does Caplan Deliver The Scary Mother Trope?
Cobweb is about Peter (Woody Norman), who hears knocking between the walls of his home. Desperate to figure out what’s hanging out in the walls, he asks his parents, Carol (Caplan) and Mark (Antony Starr), questions and tries to uncover the truth. They insist that it is just his imagination and that he couldn't possibly hear anything, but he doesn't believe them after a few incidents and strange occurrences. He may not want to know the truth, though, as his creepy parents work hard to keep him from learning what is causing the knocking.
Cobweb is dark, bleak, and dreary. Everything about the atmosphere of the film feels creepy and unsettling, which is only heightened by Caplan's eerie performance. She has a way of executing the perfect hollow-eyed grin that sends shivers down your spine, like the scene where she makes cupcakes for Peter's birthday. There she stands, doe-eyed and rigid, holding a tray illuminated by candle flame and showcasing cupcakes with smiley faces on them. Her overbearing, motherly tendencies feel very Carrie-esque because she is constantly hovering over Peter and keeps him locked up in the house to keep him safe, or so she says.
Everything about Carol's presence feels anxiety-inducing and strange like she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown at any moment. The scene where she is carving and stabbing pumpkins in the kitchen gives a glimpse of the rage she's hiding behind her perfectly poised smile. No matter how calm and collected she aims to be, Carol's stress is at a tipping point and is revealed in small moments where her composure fades and her stress takes over. Also, that scene where she's standing in Peter's doorway with glowing eyes and her hands outstretched? Terrifying!
Lizzy Caplan Shifts Seamlessly Between Perfect and Unhinged
CloseCaplan can play the nervous and meek mother while batting underhanded manipulation and it makes for a gripping watch. She is able to consistently conceal her lies and deceit under the guise of an active imagination behind her sweet-as-honey voice and unnerving smile. When Peter's teacher, Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman), visits their house to ensure Peter is okay, Carol starts out calm and collected but becomes increasingly agitated. She explains that Peter's in-class drawings asking for help resulted from his active imagination, which is something that she continues to tell Peter as well.
She manipulates her own son into thinking he's crazy about hearing things in the wall, but when the camera pans to her face during those moments, you can sense the brief wave of nervousness in her eyes. When she is again questioned by Miss Devine about Peter's well-being, she jumps to defensive mode at the drop of a hat and uses her manipulation tactics to convince Miss Devine they are the ideal parents. Carol is a well-put-together mother who wants to have the appearance that she is perfect and so is her family. However, no matter how well-pressed her blouse is or how perfectly laid her hair is, Caplan performs Carol's lines in a shaky, jittery manner to show just how on edge this woman is. In an interview with MovieFone, Caplan reveals that she and Antony Starr would compete for who could provide a weirder and more unhinged character, and Caplan won that battle, hands down. If Cobweb has taught us anything, it's that Caplan is a natural when it comes to horror stories.
Cobweb is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51ksLCu1p6ZZqSZr8e6ecKap6WZnmQ%3D