"A bed that doesn't let you sleep."

Karen and Jerry move into a loft. In the attic, they find an antique bed which they bring down. Each night during which they sleep in the bed, fragments of its past is revealed to Karen. When she is inspired by these disclosures for a graphic art project, fragments of its history are reenacted.

This could all only be hallucinations caused by Karen’s traumatic past. However, things get worse. Reality progressively merges with allegory. Her visions of a women, attached to this piece of furniture, being tortured and murdered start leaving physical marks.

It isn’t uncommon to be surprised, while exposed to a scenario in which the focus is put onto a subject (here an object) that has never, or at least rarely, been exploited. Current day horror movies would benefit from this act as everything seems to have been exploited. For this reason, I sat down to watch Death Bed with an open mind.

Sadly, a good idea isn’t sufficient to create a good film. Without an interesting pivot, lacking intrigue and overflowing with clichés, a production obviously becomes a deception. Fumbling through its plot, this independent film eventually drowns in monotonousness.

Tanya Dempsey, Full Moon’s protégée, is once again attributed a lame role in Death Bed. Regardless, when compared to similar releases, her interpretation is remarkable. On another note, the number of characters and locations is very limited.

The violence, plot turns and suspense are moderate or simply absent. The sinister conclusion, one of the only singular aspects of the film, could have taken advantage of a better unfolding.