The Coffee Table is in a word…..grim. Even revealing the central concept can take a little of the sting off the gut-punch of the inciting incident so if you prefer to be blindsided by a film that starts with an extremely upsetting concept and spends the rest of the runtime ratcheting up the tension and turning the emotional screws then you might want to go into this one totally unaware. Otherwise read on because I won’t be going into any further spoiler territory than that and there’s a lot to say about this strange, bold piece of cinema.

The film opens with recent parents Jesus (David Pareja) and Maria (Estefanía de los Santos) purchasing a garish coffee table from an unscrupulous salesman (Eduardo Antuña) who guarantees it will bring them happiness. The couple’s already troubled relationship is further strained by Jesus’ absolute insistence on purchasing it which Maria begrudgingly acquiesces to. After setting up the new table at home Jesus is left alone with the baby while Maria goes to the store and their lives are forever changed when an off-screen accident involving the new table ends up…..decapitating the infant child. The rest of the runtime is devoted Jesus’ emotional hell as he tries to conceal the fact from Maria for as long as he can that the worst possible thing has happened while she was gone.

Perhaps the most jarring thing about this film (newborn beheadings aside) is the fact that it feels a bit confused tonally. The quirky opening credit sequence and even throwing the titular line at the end seem to frame this as though it were a fun, gruesome horror film and not the devastating domestic tragedy that it actually is. Strangest of all, the IMDB entry as well as the screener I received pitch this as a “horror/dark comedy” but some inconsequential moments of levity aside, this is a punishingly bleak, tense film that is about as much of a comedy as Come and See. The film has garnered a fair amount of buzz already for being a highly disturbing and upsetting watch and even describes itself as “cruel” on the poster which is fitting as director/co-writer Caye Casas seems to delight in twisting the emotional knife at every opportunity.

Those looking for a film to shock and disturb them in the way that they are accustomed to from Extreme Cinema may be disappointed. While there is some violence in the movie, what makes it a difficult watch isn’t the blood but the fact that it’s just relentlessly sad. Much like the scene of horrific domestic violence in I Stand Alone, this film forces the audience to sit and stew in the aftermath of tragedy, feeling the pressing weight of empathetic grief. This weight is further compounded as scene after scene reinforces how essential and meaningful this baby was to the couple, especially Maria, who continues on blissfully unaware that the unthinkable has already occurred as Jesus slowly unravels, knowing the charade can’t last forever.

None of this is to say that this is a bad or unsuccessful film. On the contrary, it is incredibly well made and superbly acted. The film succeeds at being genuinely tense and disturbing and is an interesting and unnervingly realistic character study on how people react when the most unimaginable horror becomes your inescapable reality. Less a horror film than a really upsetting drama about a horrible situation, The Coffee Table is nonetheless a bold and interesting film that I commend for its audacity, originality, and willingness to engage in an antagonistic, if not outright combative, relationship with the viewer. A worthwhile experience for those bold enough but new parents looking for a fun escape from their exhausting reality might want to give this one a pass.

Availability: Upcoming Release

For some reason this film is listed as being from 2022 in some places but it just started limited theatrical release on 04/19/24 and is coming to VOD and DVD on 05/14/24.