Capsule reviews for July 21

Cobweb

A creepy concept fails to yield many genuine frights in this horror exercise that explores familiar themes of childhood innocence and paranoia. Peter (Woody Norman) is a nerdy moppet who is bullied at school and lonely at home, where he starts hearing knocks and voices from his bedroom wall. When his teacher (Cleopatra Coleman) becomes suspicious that something is wrong with Peter’s home life, she realizes that his mother (Lizzy Caplan) might be concealing a dark family secret. An expressive performance by Norman (C’mon C’mon) provides an emotional anchor, but the twists become progressively more arbitrary as the suspense dwindles leading to an obvious reveal. (Rated R, 88 minutes).

Fear the Night

The resilient heroines add some toughness to an otherwise familiar scenario in this tightly wound home-invasion thriller from director Neil LaBute (House of Darkness). It’s set almost entirely at a remote farmhouse where Iraq war veteran Tes (Maggie Q), burdened by trauma and lingering PTSD, attends a bachelorette party for her younger sister. But when armed men attack with sinister motives, Tes must rely on her combination of brains and brawn to devise and execute a survival plan. Although it’s peppered with sharp dialogue and hints at complex characters, LaBute’s screenplay struggles to subvert genre expectations as it funnels toward a predictable final-act showdown. (Not rated, 91 minutes).

Stephen Curry: Underrated

Aspiring young hoopsters will appreciate the combination of insight and inspiration in this documentary about the record-breaking NBA sharpshooter, but it scores for those in the stands, too. The film traces the career of the baby-faced Golden State Warriors guard from his earliest days, when he was repeatedly perceived as not big enough or strong enough, then secured a scholarship to tiny Davidson College, where he proved everyone wrong. However, director Peter Nicks (Homeroom) digs beneath the highlights with a compelling exploration of perseverance and work ethic that transcends the typical fawning athlete profile. The film finds emotional depth in Curry’s well-documented journey to greatness. (Rated PG-13, 110 minutes).