The Coffee Table

This movie is more devastating and shocking than every horror movie i have watched, except for MARTYRS (the original). I don't know if i should recommend it because, make no mistake, as it is unfolding, it's almost unbearable to watch. If you are the type of person that can't stand horrifying movies or else they get nightmares, don't watch it. There are no flesh eating monsters here, there are no masked killers, there is not even violence. Not even depraved/deranged characters. I won't say anything else in order to avoid spoilers.

There is a comedy element indeed here, but it's so dark and bleak that it's gonna make you feel guilty when you feel it. I am not gonna lie, i laughed a few times during the first 30 minutes. However, this is not a dark comedy. This is a psychological drama thriller, anxiety-inducing as a movie can be. As it was getting closer to the end, i literally wished for time to run faster because i couldn't stand it anymore. And i am not that sensitive, i love dark comedy and horror movies, i can watch almost anything.

I gave it a high rating because this is an unforgettable experience. For a guy who has watched thousands of movies, this is a great praise for a movie. This is a well acted and well directed movie that i won't forget soon.

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I didn't know much about the movie, just enough to be curious. The movie gets to the point fast, there's no time wasted and out of nowhere boom the nightmare is on. If you are into tense, atmospheric, anxiety inducing movies, go watch it, you will find yourself in a tour of hell.

I am sure from now on whenever I will hear or see anything related to coffee tables my heart will stop for a second. Also, I have recently become a father which contributed tremendously to how I experienced the movie.

Very unpleasant to watch. Not cause its frightening or shocking or gore/splatter. None of these things. But the accident that happened made the rest of the movie unbearable to watch. Im not sure about the comical parts, doesn't fit well with the rest and it would have worked better without it with more realism and seriousness. But the director probably wanted to light up the movie a little cause the premise is grimm enough. With that saying, for me it felt over the top and silly in some parts, which i didn't like. Compared to hanekes funny games it lacks the suspense and u just want it to be over. So you dont care much what happens after till the reveal happens. I couldn't even focus on their conversations anymore cause i was in such unease the whole time. I can't say if thats good or bad. It really puts you in the situation of the father 1:1, so therefore goal achieved! But its a waste of that very long middle part that you just wanna skip and dont wanna invest watching cause it drags you out that much.

I thought I was going to be watching a horror movie. It was, in a way; it was real life, natural horror. Not the stuff of monsters and the supernatural and nightmares, or things that go bump in the night. I gave it a 6 because I think it deserves a smidge better than a middle of the road rating. Not a lot of character development, but we do get a very tiny bit on 3 of the characters - Jesús, María, and Jesús's brother, Carlos. Maria, at times, could be super annoying; there is really nothing at all likable about her. I did really like her husband, Jesús. The contrast between them is so profound, I don't see how they could be together. I've known couples who are opposites, but this couple wasn't believable for me. And Ruth, the 13 year old neighbor, ugh. She's a character on the periphery and at the end of the movie, I understood why she exists in this film at all. The actress did a good job with her performance, because, like Maria, I pretty much just wanted to reach into the movie and smack her a few times.

This is an emotionally dark, dark film. It was filmed in a dark light as well with very little color, except in one scene where there is a lot of bright color, which was done deliberately, I'm sure. It was all about the characters' emotions for me. It was really hard to watch sometimes. There is some dark comedy in the first Act, but it doesn't last long. I can't say if I'd recommend this film, I'm torn. I don't think it's a waste of an hour and a half, but I do think one has to be prepared going in, knowing this is dark, and emotionally raw, and NOT a Horror film. I don't know how IMDB comes up with in what genre they list films, but The Coffee Table is not a Horror film, or least not what I think the average Horror fan wants when he/she/they go looking for one. It is also listed as Dark Comedy, but there is so little of that, that I don't think it belongs there either. Drama is the only genre that makes sense - Tragedy would work too, if that was a category. Now I'm off to find a real horror flick that I haven't seen.

An older couple who recently had their first child buys a coffee table but not without much argument. The husband pushes through with buying the table he likes, a decision which will change their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined. This film had its moments, disturbing in fact, but the film didn't come through as being well-thought-of. Another big issue was the story being dragged to reach 1 hour and 31 minutes of runtime. It would have been effective as a short.

The positives. The acting was, overall, good. The plot was easy to follow. The filmmakers clearly wanted the viewers to feel uneasy and they were successful in that.

The negatives. Aside from the plot being dragged to a full-length film, there were some questionable behavior here. A character had so much patience in spite of something happening. Another character was unbelievable to be that way and I don't see an objective reason story-wise to have a character like that. I felt like the filmmakers just had a brainstorming session about all the things they find to be disturbing and put it all in a single movie, and I don't think that's the right way to go.

Also, the characters are not likable. The wife, though she makes more sense, wants to have her way all the time. The husband, I'm sorry, was stupid in a lot of things. Another character, I felt was made just for shock value. There's another two characters who were more likable than the leads in my opinion.

Another thing is the genre. Why does it have comedy as one? There's nothing funny in this film. It's not a black comedy either. That's perplexing.

This film could have been a punch if it was a short movie instead and if there were no subplots that didn't add value to the main story. This is not the first film that has "to disturb" as it's first priority, but this one felt like it was made just for that. It was also draggy and I wanted to fast forward to the end. Watch if you want but there are better, more thought-out, disturbing movies than this one.