Deathbed

The film opens with a black & white scene set in the 1920's or 30's where a couple are indulging in some kinky bondage. Then we cut to the present day where a young couple move into an LA apartment & inherit the bed from the first scene, which turns out to be haunted and turns their lives upside down. The DVD cover has Stuart Gordon Presents on it but it's a million miles from Re-Animator, From Beyond, etc & I expect his association with DeathBed was only slight. For A Full Moon Pictures/Film2000 release the acting is quite reasonable. The plot revolves mainly around the couple & their bed, it really does drag but perhaps with a bigger budget & in more capable hands it could have been expanded. There is a fair amount of soft sex, a couple of jump scares & a very brutal,gory climax but DeathBed could easily send you to sleep Zzzzzz

I usually go into the video stores and can pick up a crap horror movie easily. I picked up Death Bed because of Stuart Gordon and Danny Draven. Let me tell you, this is a fine horror film, shot on quality video, it is classic in my book. Draven really sets up some tension and mood. Check it out! **** out of *****

What we have here is an original twist on the classic "haunted item" story. Tanya Dempsey and Brave Matthews are a young couple who move to an old apartment in Hollywood. Soon, they'll discover (although we the audience knew it since the first scene) that there is an old 30s bed where a horrible murder happened. Strange things will occur as they start using the bed.

I found the idea of a haunted bed very original, even when this kind of story have been told since the beginning of civilization. The story was well developed and the effect the bed has over the couple was very interesting. Nightmares, hallucinations and poltergeists disturb the mind of Tanya Dempsey's character and she gives a very good performance. She will have a bright future if she keeps up the good work.

Sadly, the rest of the cast is not that convincing. Joe Estevez makes an appearance as the owner of the building but his performance is forgettable. Brave Matthews just was not up to the role. Dempsey owns the screen and carries the film even with its problems. She makes the film enjoyable although she can't save it completely.

The film gets boring at times, mostly due to the poor development of characters although that makes it clear that the writer intended the bed to be the main character.

It's very good to note that there are no over-the-top effects or gore and that the scares are very subtle, something very different from typical Full Moon B-movies.

Something bad about the film were the flashback sequences, which were poorly done. The problem here is that the DV camera shooting is very bad for the B&W shots, in contrast to the rest of the movie, where the lighting works in awesome ways, the flashbacks are noticeable for its poor lighting. I think that it is a major, but understandable. flaw.

The cast & crew of this film have a bright future to come, even though this film may not be the Classic horror that Stuart Gordon (who produced it) usually creates, it is a promise of the talent that we'll see in the future.

Very Good 6/10

Odd but wonderfully original movie. Genuinely frightening, creepy and ridiculous in equal measures. The setting of a high rise red brick apartment is a perfect backdrop for the haunting action. The thought of a secret sealed room in a place like this is good enough but when the lead naive couple start cleaning up the old bed they find in this room the scene is set for some classic chills. The cast is fantastic. Tanya Dempsey really gets to chew some scenery after being undervalued in other Full Moon films. Joe Estevez proves why brother Martin Sheen is so much bigger in Hollywood - his rolling eyes during the making the bed scene are really hilarious. Charles Band co-produced with Stuart Gordon and this really is an exceptional Full Moon/Darkwave release. Danny Draven also directed Hell Asylum with Dempsey.

Karen and her boyfriend Jerry move into their new Los Angeles apartment.They discover an old brass bed that Karen takes a liking to,unfortunately it has a really sinister history involving kinky sex murders."Deathbed" tries to be a creepy supernatural tale,but fails miserably.The action is slow,the acting is nothing special and there is no suspense whatsoever.Even the sex scenes are lame.The climax is pretty gory and violent,so fans of splatter should be pleased.However the first hour of "Deathbed" is deadly dull and offers some tired horror movie conventions and cheap scares.Definitely one to avoid.My rating: 4 out of 10 and that's being generous.Watch "Re-Animator" or "Castle Freak" instead.