Under the Bed ~ DVD

UNDER THE BED, the new horror/thriller from the producers of V/H/S and director Steven C. Miller (The Aggression Scale, the upcoming Silent Night). Starring Jonny Weston, the young star of Chasing Mavericks, and Gattlin Griffith (Green Lantern, Changeling), the film tells the story of two brothers who team up to battle the monster living under their bed. Every child knows about the monster under the bed—Neal Hausman’s mistake was trying to fight it. Neal (Jonny Weston, “Chasing Mavericks”) has returned from a two-year exile following his tragic attempt to defeat the monster, only to find his father ticking ever closer to a breakdown, a new stepmother who fears him, and his little brother Paul (Gattlin Griffith, “Changeling”), terrorized by the same monster. While Neal and Paul work together to try and fight the nocturnal menace, their parents are taking desperate measures to get the family back to normal. With no support from their parents, the brothers have nothing to rely on but each other, and courage beyond belief. Review "In the tradition of many 80s kids-in-peril flicks, director Miller splits the world of children and adults in two, pitting the two generations at loggerheads as the audience attempts to work out whether what the youngsters are experiencing is indeed real or just childish fantasy. As Neal and Paulie, actors Weston and Griffith are excellent, demonstrating a palpable chemistry and genuine brotherly love that is effortlessly convincing and sympathetic. Almost just as good are the rest of the cast – Holden does as admirable a job as he can with sparse material, mostly involving shouting at his sons; meanwhile Vander, as stand-in mother Angela, delivers an authentically concerned turn as a woman just trying to do what’s best for her new wards. Frequent monster attacks throughout Under the Bed are staged with a spooky, throwback vibe. Plenty of obtuse angles, blue lighting and even a “monster pretending to be dad” sequence are straight from the classic The Gate, and the sense of childish monster-battling mythology is alive and well (sleeping on the cabinets will keep you safe, but you’ll have to spend as little time on the floor as possible to get there). …It’s a hell of a bold move, and one that threatened to rocket Under the Bed straight into position as one of the best monster movies of the year… until Miller decides to pull an ending so ridiculous, inexplicable and trite that it’s likely to cause fevered cursing at the screen. With some more care at the script stage, this could have been an instant classic. As it stands, though, Under the Bed is just too loosely put together to be truly great; and the tonal (and content) shift will likely leave many scratching their heads – but monster movie aficionados, especially those who grew up with the kind of fare which Miller’s film idolises, will eat it up." Dread Central