Killer furniture isn’t an entirely new idea, we’re had Deathbed: The Bed That Eats, Bed Of The Dead and even The Refrigerator. And now we have Killer Sofa. It’s actually a recliner that’s doing the killing, but I suppose Attack Of The Lethal Lazy Boy would run into trademark issues.
Killer Sofa opens with a Black Magic ritual, human sacrifice and what looks like strawberry jam splattered everywhere. The victim turns out to be the former boyfriend of Francesca (Piimio Mei), a dancer with a habit of attracting weirdos and creepers. She’s upset and her best friend Maxi (Nathalie Morris) tries to console her.
Meanwhile, Rabbi Jack (Jim Baltaxe) is trying to track down a recliner that has been possessed by a Dybbuk. Now because this is a horror-comedy it makes perfect sense that he happens to be Maxi’s grandfather. And that Francesca has just gotten a great deal on a used recliner.
Sadly the fanged furniture on the poster is nowhere to be found in the film. What we get is a brown cloth upholstered chair with two reflective buttons that tend to look like glowing eyes and a seam that resembles a mouth. Creepy, but not nearly as cool looking. Seeing the beast from the artwork for Killer Sofa take a bite out of someone would have been epic. Instead, it attacks people with its footrest.
Now, there is a certain ironic humor in seeing a Jewish demon trying to stuff somebody in an oven, but Killer Sofa never really makes it as a comedy. It has its moments, like a spring tapping on a window like Freddy Kruger’s glove, but writer/director Bernie Rao never gets things much above amusing. He really needed to take this idea and go outrageously over the top with it.
Instead, he delivers a weird mix of Jewish mythology, stalkers, voyeurism, and reincarnation. All kept quite tame as well. There’s the odd flash of gore but Killer Sofa is mostly bloodless.
Most of the male cast lusts for Francesca including the chair, (the original title was My Lover, My Lazy Boy). And there is a scene with her writhing on the chair apparently being seduced by it, but it gets cut short as well. One of the characters even hides cameras in her apartment, but we never get more than some cheesecake style shots of her. A plot this outrageous does not call for subtlety and restraint.
Killer Sofa is watchable and has a few moments that made me chuckle, but it’s mostly a wasted opportunity. High Octane Pictures will release Killer Sofa in October, check for an exact date on the film’s Facebook page.