Director: Caye Casas
Screenplay: Caye Casas and Cris Borobia
Starring: Josep Riera, David Pareja and Estefanía de los Santos
Country: Spain
Running Time: 90 min
Year: 2023
There’s nothing more exciting for an independent filmmaker than raving reviews from the festival circuit. When Caye Casas’s The Coffee Table premiered at 2023’s Fantastic Fest, it immediately landed on my radar as a film to check out. People gushing about how depraved, shocking and funny the film was, it sounded right up my alley. Second Sight Films ended up nabbing the UK distribution rights for the film and initially released it as a digital exclusive, but after the success of that release, decided to give it a full jam-packed Blu-ray, full of bonus features and I knew I had to finally check it out to see if the buzz was right.
The Coffee Table follows couple Maria and Jesús, recent parents who are out shopping while a sleazy salesman tries to convince the pair to purchase a coffee table. Touted as unbreakable, classy and one-of-a-kind, Jesús decides to buy it against the wishes of Maria. The next day, Jesús assembles the table while Maria’s out shopping for a family get together before something goes horribly wrong at home. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s something that will either work for you or you’ll find it incredibly tasteless and off-putting.
What follows is one of the most darkly comedic, yet horrific films I’ve watched in quite some time. Imagine Uncut Gems, Shiva Baby, Weekend at Bernie’s, Rope and After Hours rolled into a depraved psychological horror film that revels in making you feel bad for finding the entire experience amusing. Again, when the main premise kicks in, there’s a good chance that you’ll find it incredibly disturbing, but there’s also a chance that you’ll find yourself howling with laughter at how much the film beats the protagonist over the head for the unfortunate situation he’s found himself in.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched a film that has such contempt for its lead protagonist, but is able to make you understand the scenario he’s in, making for a genuinely intense, horrifying and suspenseful viewing. Director Caye Casas introduces himself to the world with a film that lovingly pays tribute to its homages, in a similar way to Francis Galuppi’s The Last Stop at Yuma County, while still carving a unique voice of his own.
Given that the film mostly takes place in an apartment, there’s always the chance that a single location feature will get stale if there’s a lack of suspense or stakes, but The Coffee Table continues to one-up itself with more problems for Jesús to deal with, more characters being introduced that could make everything go wrong and it results in a Jenga-esque disaster that you pray doesn’t come toppling down.
There’s a good chance that The Coffee Table will make you either cover your face in horror or scream with laughter at how messed up the entire ordeal is. I found myself doing both constantly, and from the sounds of most audiences, they seem to be on a similar wavelength. If you’re in the mood for something that’ll stick with you for a while, that will make you feel bad for finding amusement in it, and introduces a promising new filmmaker to the world, check out The Coffee Table.
Film: 
The Coffee Table released on Limited Edition and Standard Edition Blu-ray on April 28th via Second Sight Films. I viewed the Blu-ray for this review and thought it looked pretty great. It’s a film that was shot digitally for a small budget, but the transfer is impressive nonetheless. While it doesn’t have the black levels that you’d expect from a UHD disc, for a film that’s fairly small-scale, it looks perfect for what it’s going for and I found the transfer quite impressive. Audio wise, there’s a Spanish DTS HD-MA 5.1 track which sounds just as solid. Most of the film is dialogue-focused, but the sound design is impressive and I had no issues during my viewing with the track. Optional English subtitles are included. The following extras are included:
Special Features
- New audio commentary by Zoë Rose Smith and Amber T
- What Scares Us the Most: a new interview with Director Caye Casas
- A Sensory Journey: a new interview with Actor David Pareja
- We Are All Nuts: a new interview with Actor Estefanía de los Santos
- Natural Oppression: a new interview with Director of Photography Alberto Morago
- Postpartum: Rebecca Sayce on The Coffee Table
- Caye Casas short films: RIP and Nada S.A
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Luke Headland
- 120-page book with new essays by Anton Bitel, Jennie Kermode, Joe Lipsett, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Josh Slater-Williams and Dolores Quintana plus storyboard comparisons
- 6 collectors’ art cards
The audio commentary by Zoë Rose Smith and Amber T is brand new, and recorded exclusively for this release is a great listen. The pair dive into the messed up feature enthusiastically, while talking about how the tone of the film was challenging, the humour in particular. It’s a delightful listen that’s easily worth your time. It had me laughing along with the pair throughout, while finding more to appreciate about Casas’ direction. A must-listen.
What Scares Us the Most is a brand new interview with director Caye Casas, exclusive to this release, and it runs for 23 minutes. In the interview, Casas asks viewers not to spoil anything about the film when recommending it to others, dives into his prior work before The Coffee Table, how his feature debut didn’t lead to as many opportunities as he was hoping for and how horror is perceived in Spain. Casas touches on how he wanted to create something that would be unforgettable for viewers and also touches on the themes of the film and more in this enjoyable interview.
A Sensory Journey is a brand new interview with actor David Pareja, who plays Jesús in the film. It’s exclusive to this release and runs for 15 minutes. In his interview, he dives into the shocking nature of the film, how the screenplay surprised him given how he isn’t in love with horror, and the challenges he faced while playing his character. Another entertaining interview that’s worth your time.
We Are All Nuts is a new interview with actor Estefanía de los Santos, who plays Maria in the film. It’s exclusive to this release and runs for 12 minutes. In the interview, Santos discusses her drive to be an actress, the shocking screenplay (similar to Pareja) and how appealing the range of emotions her character had throughout the film were to her. She also isn’t huge into horror, like Pareja, but mentions how open she is to working with director Casas again on a horror film in the future. She dives into the director’s dark sense of humour, and how that helped during some of the more harrowing scenes during the film. Check this interview out.
Natural Oppression is a brand new interview with director of photography Alberto Morago, exclusive to this release and runs for 11 minutes. In the interview, DoP Morago dives into his previous working relationship with director Casas, the collaborative experience deciding on how the film would look, not going too far with the inciting incident and more. It’s the most technical interview on the disc and another good watch.
Postpartum is a 19 minute video essay by Rebecca Sayce on The Coffee Table. In the essay, Sayce dives into the themes of postpartum depression that are present throughout the film, from the perspectives of both lead characters. It’s a solid essay that’s worth checking out.
Two short films by director Caye Casas are included. RIP is a humorous short about a wife’s attempts to make her husband’s wake as successful as possible. It’s clear that the themes in this were an influence on The Coffee Table, blending humour and tragedy together. It’s a fun watch that runs for 16 minutes. Nada S.A. also runs for 16 minutes, and follows a man who’s interviewing for a job at a company that specialises in doing nothing. They’re even called Nothing Co. It’s easily my favourite out of the two shorts included, with a great lead performance from Emilio Gavira and it’s easily worth your time.
I wasn’t provided with any of the physical extras, such as the booklet or art cards, so I’m unable to comment on those.
Overall, Second Sight’s release of The Coffee Table is another great outing from them. A solid transfer, a great film, tons of entertaining and insightful bonus features, it’s all here. If the film sounds up your alley and you’re ready to watch something that’ll definitely disturb you, but might make you chuckle too, check this one out. Highly recommended.
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