ChanFamous
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
AnhartLinkin
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
bowmanblue
Two brothers, the older of which has returned home after setting his house on fire and inadvertently killing his mother, must do battle against a man in a rubber suit who lives under their bed. Okay, so it's actually a monster, but, when you see it, you'll probably think, 'Oh, there's a man in a rubber monster suit.' Yes, that's the tone of the film.Naturally, the boys' parents think they're crazy and their dad is a complete idiot at all times (whether they're talking about monsters or asking for a drink of milk, he seems to find it in himself to start shouting and threatening to lock everyone in their rooms forever... or something like that – in short, he's a douche). Then you have your clichéd bullies who think he's crazy and they live next door (do you get the impression this film is lining up plenty of characters who are going to fall foul from the thing under the bed?). But it's not all bad news for the older brother... no sooner has he returned to his home town then he's met the one hot girl who finds surly, reclusive arsonists who ride BMXs really attractive. So there you have your 'love interest.' Yawn.The film starts off slow. I'm guessing this is to 'build tension.' But it just involves things moving in the house. Personally, I've never found a washing machine's door shutting by itself that horrific.Yeah, there's a climax and some funky coloured lights here and there. They even throw in a chainsaw by this time to try and spice things up, but, by now, do you care? I didn't. It's not terrible, just nothing remotely new enough to warrant me paying it any real attention.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/
siderite
Under the Bed is not your average horror movie. Instead it has the feel of good old films like Fright Night or Lost Boys. The story is that of two young brothers battling a demon that lives under their bed. They have a choleric and frustrated father who is always angry and doesn't believe them and then there is his wife, who is replacing the boys' mother, dead in suspicious circumstances.I liked in this movie that they didn't go into the usual recipe of people who don't really believe something is going on, but something is always behind them or in a mirror. Well, there is some of that, but not excessively so. The brothers both know the demon is real and they have to battle on two fronts: the demon at night and their asshole father during the day. All in all a very beautiful premise and well played by all actors.What I didn't like was the end. Suddenly, after years of subtle activity, the monster emerges and starts killing everything that moves. They don't really explain the demon world that the brothers explore for a brief moment, nor the monster's fascination with the older brother. However, even if I didn't enjoy the end as much as the rest of the movie, it doesn't mean it is a bad ending and overall I liked the movie and its feel very much.Bottom line: it felt like an old school horror movie, that contains good acting as well as a captivating story. They didn't even use CGI, as the monster was a guy in a suit and all the other effects were done with smoke, lightning and rubber props. I thought it was a small distance away from a cult classic and only the rather abrupt and kind of pointless ending spoiled it. I do hope they make a sequel, preferably with the demon returning and saying "Boyyy!" :)
ASouthernHorrorFan
"Under The Bed" is Steven C. Miller's continued vision of of modern horror that is heavily influenced by classic cult genres. Not technically a throwback film, "Under The Bed" does seem to bring back a lot of the nostalgia and romanticizing that 80's young adult, creature-feature films utilized to hold an audience to the film. The story focuses on two brothers dealing with that ultimate childhood evil- the thing under the bed! Starring Jonny Weston, Gattlin Griffith, Peter Holden, Musetta Vander and one hell of a creature from the other-world, "Under The Bed" is a bit more grown up than those 80's teen PG horror films that played it a bit safer or comical. This film is a somber, macabre tale that stays well in the shadows of the mythic fear allowing for a darker film. The story plays on basic fears of growing up with uncertainty, tragedy and change that drive childhood imaginations and insecurities. The film ads the element of a supernatural evil that plagues the brothers thoughts, stalks them, and lives –according to the adults in the kids lives-totally within their own imagination. This theme flows in an almost mournful melancholic way throw the first half of the film, pushing forward mostly on the melodrama and strained emotional dynamics between the characters. Almost as if trying to play with the notion that maybe it is in the kids imagination and the true monster lies closer in more realistic fashion. The film plays out in a mostly surrealistic style which does seem to carry on a bit too long. I was begging for some real horror or action and instead received standard trickery and fake- out scares for no reason. Then the second half of this film kicks in and oh boy does it kick in hard. "Under The Bed, mid-way through- gives us the goodies with actual scares coming from the monster and an intensity to the drama the brings you out of the daze of anticipation, right in to the chills of these boys nightmare. The acting is well enough with just enough dialog and emotion coming from the characters to make them relatable but not too much so that you tire of them. As far as the "teen" actors in the film-like most movies with kids- I never really connect or connected to them other than fearing for them in the film. I haven't connected with kids in movies for a long time. Everything about them seems a mystery to me-I am just too old to relate. However these kids in this film were super actors and the story or screen never seemed to over power their abilities as actors. This film for me personally, is one of the better creature features to come out recently and the film's aesthetic quality is top notch. It maintains a eerie – not quite right – air about it through the entire film. The special effects and the monster itself were pretty awesome, and the whole little mythic element to its existence was memorable. Much like the world of Wes Craven's "They". I would have loved to hear more about that otherworld and the creature under the bed. But hey – live is abound with mystery and not all things reward with explanation. Anyway back to "Under The Bed". This film is a refreshing new modernized spin on an old childhood fear and worth watching at least once, for me personally a few more times. The gore and graphic violence, though pretty much nil until the last act, was gory and I loved it. Steven C. Miller is a true talent, offering an almost romantic love of surreal horror that ends in an epic high intensity bloodshed. That quality to today's horror is greatly lacking-I think. Very few directors express the more Gothic love affair with horror that played through 80's horror. I really enjoyed this film.
wormtheace
You can tell from the title alone that "Under the Bed" is attempting to pay homage to the host of other child-horror movies that proceeded it in the eighties. You can see there is real love for films like "Gremlins" "Monster Squad" and even "Poltegeist." The story starts out well enough with a teenage boy returning home years after a tragic event took his mother's life. His younger brother is happy to see him back, but old wounds from the past resurface and both boys are put in a position where they must choose to finally confront the monster that has been plaguing their family for years. The major problem with "Under the Bed" is that it really has no idea what kind of movie it wants to be. Moments in the movie have an innocence long lost throughout the years of horror, but at other times it attempts to be too grown up for its own good by using profanity and generous amounts of fake blood. If this was the movies only sin, we could probably give it a pass, but it is not. The script is shaky to say the least, while many parts throughout simply do not make sense. It also does not help that the shoestring budget is very evident up until the last 20 minutes of the movie. I certainly respect the guts of all involved in trying to accomplish this feat on what little they had to work with, but there are much more suitable, and frankly better child horror movies to sit down and watch for ninety minutes.
