My first movie at Fantasia this year
was Black Fawn's newest – and fifth (I believe) title of their
eight-picture deal with Breakthrough Entertainment – Bed of the Dead.
While watching the first act, I was
sure that Bed of the Dead was going to be standard and
procedural fare. It reminded me of a lesser version of The Raft,
Stephen King's segment from Creepshow 2, but with a supernatural
antagonist that uses your sins against you. However, about halfway
through the movie, a new element was introduced that made things a
little more interesting.
The added device, which I won't spoil
here, took the movie into more uncharted territory and I appreciated
that. I mean, logically it doesn't make a lick of sense, but as lead
actress Alysa King said in the Q&A, “if you're going to accept
a bed that kills people, you might as well as accept the rest.”
Gwenlyn Cumyn & Alysa King get red in Bed of the Dead |
And speaking of the lead actress, King
was the standout here. Much like her strong performance in Berkshire County, she kept her wits about her, got covered in blood and looked
good doing it. I feel she is one of the brightest talents in the
Canadian genre landscape right now.
Bed of The Dead is also another great
showcase of F/X house The Butcher Shop's skills. There was
some great gore and it felt like real thought went into the
death pieces.
Of course, the 1977 cult flick Death Bed came up during the Q&A. They were aware of it, and have even
since been in contact with director George Berry to set up a
screening.
Cast & crew of Bed of the Dead. |
Bed of the Dead is pretty much what you
would expect, but it does have its moments. Black Fawn are banging
out these scripts pretty quickly, so it's more about how well they
can dress them up. In this case, the combination of a fine lead, blood & guts and the easy-sell premise made this fairly watchable.
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