Under the Bed is annoyingly slow, boring, childish, and contains a lot of pointless dialogue. On the other hand, the acting is fairly decent and the ending is definitely worth the wait. So should you spend your valuable time watching this one? I think it deserves a shot.
The plot follows a teenager named Neal Hausman (Jonny Weston) who is returning home after spending two years at his aunt's house far away after supposedly setting a fire that killed his mother. Neal knows that's not how it really happened though. He knows that his mother died because she was trying to protect him from a vulgar creature that was trying to abduct him from under his bed. Of course this is a ludicrous story and thus no one believes him. While he was away, Neal's father Terry (Peter Holden) met a new woman: Angela (Musetta Vander). So now, Neal is welcomed home by his father, his new stepmother, and his younger brother Paulie (Gattlin Griffith) who has been having nightly encounters with the monster since Neal has been gone. Neal also has feelings for his neighbor Cara (Kelcie Stranahan), which adds a little bit of a love dynamic to the story, but not much. The father's goal is to now make the family normal once again, but the monster under the bed has different plans. So it's up to Neal and Paulie to team up and figure out a way to defeat the beast.
To be quite honest, most of the movie is pointless in its existence. That's a bit of a stretch, but until the climax, it is boring and actually quite childish. What do I mean? Well, there's really nothing going on. Until the end, all the plot involves is Neal and Paulie talking about the creature (which gets tiresome and tedious after a while), and the father yelling at them repeatedly for acting strange because they are trying to hide from the monster. The father is way too harsh on the boys because he's trying to make the family normal again but he never listens to what either of his children have to say and he never considers their feelings. This makes him a very unlikable character. Peter Holden's acting was pretty decent, but the father's bitterness is just too much and he never shows any caring or compassionate side whatsoever. Angela doesn't really have a point in this film either- she doesn't do anything. To be honest, there really is no character development at all that I think of. The only deep or touching thing about this film is Neal and Paulie's love for one another as brothers. The two teaming together against the creature and going against their parents' demands to do so is actually quite touching. When they get yelled at, they are in it together every time. In addition, I guess Angela's bond towards the boys increases when the monster attacks and she worries for their safety, and also Cara worries about Neal. So to be honest, these occurrences show the love that the stepmother has for children that aren't even hers, and it's touching that Cara cares so much about Neal. However, we barely see these characters throughout most of the movie so there's nothing for their feelings for one another to be based on really. It's just so shallow. I did like Angela a lot more than the father though. Also, some exposition about Neal's past with Cara before he got sent away would have been nice.
Going back to the plot, as I said, nothing really happens until the end of the movie. Most of it isn't even scary. It's actually quite stupid at some points. For example, there is one scene where Paulie runs and jumps on the bed quick to avoid provoking the creature that supposedly lives underneath it and the thing roars- yes, roars. Well good thing we know it's there now so that if it comes out we won't be surprised to see it!! Plus, it's just less scary if the monster is SOOOO unrealistic and phony. The noises it makes are unnecessary in this part of the movie. Also, all of the fog and mist that follows the creature everywhere produces the opposite effect that it intends to. It just makes it more stupid and less scary. Besides that, the additional encounters that the boys have with the monster are uneventful and honestly are not scary- they just look so phony and fake. I was not scared at all. There was one scene where Angela was doing laundry and the monster's hand pops out and shuts the washer. As she approaches it, both the washer and drier start moving maniacally on their own. Gotta admit, this was really the only scene where I felt scared at all until the very end of the movie.
In addition, I thought some of the scary movie music was overdone in places where it simply wasn't necessary. For example, when Neal returns home for the first time, he approaches the house as slowly as humanly possible and walks through it like he's a killer on the prowl. It was so overdone and the music was so loud and it wasn't even building up to anything. I know it's trying to set the tone but still- it was too much.
So what was good about this movie? The ending. When the monster finally reveals himself, the suspense grows. He immediately kills a couple of people that shall remain nameless and the kill scenes are truly grisly and disgusting. It was fun to watch! The special/visual effects were phenomenal here- the monster himself actually looks pretty scary and disgusting and once again, the visual effects seen during the killings will surely satisfy! I really liked the scene where the monster finally shows himself to Angela and the father in front of the boys and the father yells, "RUN!!!!" That is my favorite part of the whole movie. I don't wanna give away much more, but the monster's weakness is pretty unique too. So if anything saved this movie from being a total disappointment and utter waste of time, it was surely the action-packed ending.
The acting was also pretty decent. Although Peter Holden was a bit over the top with scenes in which he was supposed to yell at the kids, he was supposed to fill the role of being a harsh, unlikable father. Doesn't mean his character was great, but he did a good job filling his role. Gattlin Griffith did a fantastic job as Paulie. Paulie was probably the coolest character of them all and the best acted character as well. Musetta Vander's performance was okay- Angela doesn't really do anything as I said so you don't get to see much of Vander's acting skills. Jonny Weston also made Neal's character believable, although as I said, that one scene where he prowls through the house ever so slowly with that loud scary music playing is just completely ridiculous.
So is this film worth it? I personally am happy I watched it because seeing the monster at the end and witnessing the cool scenes were enough to satisfy me. Personally, I think this movie would have been a lot better if there had been more question as to whether or not the monster existed. It is pretty clear from the first encounter that he exists- the mystery as to whether or not it's all in Neal's head would have provided much needed suspense to captivate the audience and keep them invested in this motion picture. Also, the brilliant special effects used at the end of the film should have been displayed more throughout the entire movie!! More gruesome kill scenes in the beginning and middle of the film would have provided some more entertainment.
BaD BiRdS: IT'S BAD- BUT STILL WORTH A WATCH FOR THE ENDING!
~MJ Aufiero
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