Jesús (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefanía de los Santos) are first-time parents, which is putting a strain on their already fractious relationship. Determined to work through their tough spot, for the sake of their child if nothing else, the couple buys a coffee table that proves divisive. Jesús is adamant that he wants the gaudily designed piece of furniture, while Maria is dead set against it. Maria relents and Jesús gets his way but an incident involving the new table changes their lives forever.
‘The Coffee Table’ is an incredibly dark and disturbing film. It’s not a conventional horror in the sense that there is nothing supernatural and there’s no crazed murderer slaughtering people. Instead, the majority of the action takes place in the home of Jesús and Maria, and their new child. Without giving too much away, the incident that takes place in the home once they purchase the coffee table is deeply shocking. What makes it worse is that only Jesús knows about.
When Maria returns home after shopping for a dinner party that evening, Jesús is acting strange but she has no idea why. The viewer, of course, is fully aware of what’s happened and the scene in question is actually pretty shocking. Despite what’s happened, Jesús is keen to go ahead with the dinner party but as the night goes on, his guilt gets the better of him and a spiral begins.
‘The Coffee Table’ really does hang on its shocking scene in the film’s first 30 minutes and from that point on, you’re basically watching a man’s anxiety threaten to push him over the edge. It seems odd for Jesús to attempt to carry on like nothing’s happened and it’ll depend how much you believe that part of the story, as to how invested you become in the second half of the film.
For his part David Pareja gives a compelling performance. As a man dealing with unbelievable guilt and grief, he’s actually pretty stressful to watch. You wait patiently for his secret to be revealed to Maria and their guests, and director Caya Casas ensures that’s as excruciating as possible. When the inevitable is revealed, I’ll be surprised if you’re not gasping and simultaneously rushing to turn your TV off.
‘The Coffee Table’ is quite unlike anything I’ve seen before. The slow-building dread is nerve-shattering and Casas really instils a deep fear in the audience. Perhaps my one criticism is that besides the incident, not much else actually happens for the majority of the film. The story could have done with being a little bit pacier in the second half but the climax does mostly make up for it. ‘The Coffee Table’ isn’t what you’ll expect but be warned it might stay with you after you’ve seen it.
Cast: David Pareja, Estefanía de los Santos, Josep Maria Riera, Claudia Riera Director: Caye Casas Writer: Cristina Borobia, Caye Casas Certificate: Unrated Duration: 91 mins Released by: Cinephobia Releasing (US) Release date: 14th May 2024 (US)
