Many movies try to find horror in everyday stuff. The Coffee Table (original title: La Mesita del Comedor) makes it look easy. Or maybe it’s the others that needlessly complicate matters.
The problem with most evil cars, dolls, laundry presses, smiles, etc. is that they’re, well, evil. They have been bestowed with supernatural agency, so it’s not the ordinary object that’s the source of terror but the extraordinary circumstances behind it. So much for everyday stuff.
In contrast, there is less to the titular piece of furniture than meets the eye. It’s not only not spiritually enhanced, but it’s also aesthetically tacky and structurally unsound. The salesman’s claim that the table will bring “happiness” is, to put it mildly, false advertising, but you could only figuratively call it a curse in disguise.
The screenplay is a masterpiece of dramatic irony. The process of purchasing the table is the cause of much humor, especially the back and forth between its new owners, a married couple of brand-new parents, Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos).
However, by the time María is cackling uncontrollably over the shards of the table’s allegedly unbreakable glass, she’s (for the time being) blissfully unaware that the macabre joke is on her — but then it’s no longer a joke, and we can’t bring ourselves to laugh with, let alone at María.
The fact that the filmmakers get us to pity this nagging bitch even as she mercilessly mocks Jesús is nothing short of genius. And then, to boot, they actually take the trouble to flesh out her character. As the story unfolds, María’s vulnerability and humanity shine through, making us question our initial judgment and rendering her a more complex and relatable individual, and that pity grows into full-fledged empathy.
There are further ostensibly light-hearted moments after tragedy strikes. Like when the salesman personally delivers a missing screw and all of a sudden starts hitting on Jesús.
I don’t think that would be funny under normal circumstances, but I don’t think it’s meant to be funny here either. If anything, it’s the polar opposite of comic relief. It effectively adds to the already nigh unbearable suspense, making for a truly gripping experience.
And now the damn veggies. The Coffee Table is an intense, sinewy effort, but director Caye Casas gives the screw one too many turns, resulting in a plot that’s wound up too damn tight. It’s all build-up with no let-up.
A horror film should take your breath away, but it should also allow you a little room to breathe, lest it become suffocating rather than thrilling. Casas and co-writer Cristina Borobia worked up a tremendous head of steam, but they neglected to install a safety valve.
The problem with unremitting pressure is that it’s counterproductive. At some point, you have to find a way to release all the pent-up tension, and this script lacks a proper denouement. The premise is diabolically twisted, but without follow-through, that can only carry you so far.
In this case, the payoff lies not in the revelation (we already know what happened), but in María’s reaction to it — and the reaction, though it might realistically make sense, is kind of a cop-out.
By way of comparison, consider the example that The Exorcist sets regarding the importance of a strong conclusion in storytelling, without which even the most well-crafted plot can fall flat. Think about how frustrating it would be if it ended with Father Karras defenestrating himself. What makes The Exorcist worth all the traumatizing shit it puts us through is the hopeful, optimistic coda (the sequel screwed that up, but that’s neither here nor there).
The Coffee Table could have had that cathartic resolution. All it took was one more scene — hell, a single shot would have done the trick. Casas even planted the seeds for it, but for some reason he did not reap them.
This spare Spanish psychological horror flick could have been great, but it’s nonetheless pretty damn good on its own, as well as easily better than the majority of its American counterparts (Hollywood blockbusters and shoestring indies alike, and anything in between).