THE COFFEE TABLE
**
Directed by Caye Casas.
Starring David Pareja, Estefania de los Santos, Josep Maria Riera.
Horror, Spain, 90 minutes, Certificate 18.
Released in the UK on Standard and Limited Edition Blu-ray on 28th April by Second Sight Films
Quietly notorious upon its release in 2022, THE COFFEE TABLE, aka LA MESITA DEL COMEDOR, finally gains a physical release in the UK thanks to Second Sight Films. Gaining an immediate reputation as one of the darkest horror films in some time, director Caye Casas’ nightmarish, ultra-dark relationship drama/blacker than black comedy has somehow managed to keep its secret as to what exactly makes the film so horrifying and a difficult watch three years after its original release. With this substantial special edition perhaps now is the time for a bigger audience to see what exactly has been upsetting people so much in this film about the biggest mistake ever made in cinema history when it comes to purchasing furniture.
After a brief yet intense scene where we witness Maria give birth to her son, we fast forward a few months later where she is in complete disagreement with her husband Jesus over his insistence in purchasing a large coffee table. Consisting of two large gold statuettes supporting a large and heavy sheet of glass, Maria is opposed to its purchase, while Jesus seems uncharacteristically insistent in bringing it home. It soon becomes apparent that this is Jesus’ attempt at gathering back a semblance of control in his life after the arrival of his newborn son. Despite the friction it causes at home, that soon pales into insignificance when a shocking event occurs that will destroy the lives of everyone in disturbing ways.
Despite the disturbing nature of its central incident, there is very little else here to get wound up about. There is a sense of what is going to happen but it's the how of it that keeps the viewer in a sense of dread filled suspense. Once this happens however, the film trudges its way to its dark conclusion through a series of scenes that soon test the viewers patience. There is a certain 80’s comedy that to mention by name would give the whole game away here but essentially this is the most serious version of that daft premise imaginable. No doubt there are those who will find it offensive or understandably too disturbing but I myself found the film's progression of events patience testing and incredulous. Maybe as a short it could have had a greater impact but at ninety minutes the film soon folds itself into a flat tale with zero style.
No doubt the film has its fans, so this stacked edition will go down as a treat for them with the abundance of special features on offer. Separate interviews with Casas and his leading actors can be found along with one from Director of Photography Alberto Morago, an audio commentary with Zoe Rose Smith and Amber T and a pair of short films (RIP and Nada S.A.) that provide further proof of Casas mining of a certain kind of existential dread that chips away at the heart of the Spanish male. As nicely presented as it is in this edition, it is hard to imagine that even the film's biggest supporters will find much here to rewatch regularly with its subject matter presented in such a one note fashion.
Iain MacLeod