Patton Oswalt on Death Bed

A few years back, before I moved to LA, I was here visiting a friend. We decided we needed a movie night and went to the nearby video store to find a couple of flicks. As we strolled aisles that still offered up VHS selections, we discovered a variety of treasures that at the time were still hard to find on DVD. I don't remember everything we pulled out but it included the likes of Delamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man). Who wouldn't be excited by the idea of seeings zombies and a naked Rupert Everitt all in the same movie?

At one point during the browsing, my friend let out a cry and snatched a battered case off of the shelf. "I cannot believe they actually have this." It was a movie she had heard of but never had the occasion to see. It was in fact a movie that had never even officially been released until the early 2000's. Not that easiest movie to find and certainly not the type your Blockbusters or your Hollywood Videos normally carry.

What was this hard to find gem? Death Bed: The Bed That Eats.

Go ahead, read that title again. I'm not kidding.

Shot in 1977, finally released on dvd in 2003, Death Bed is one of those weird little movies that becomes a genuine cult phenomenon based solely on it's oddness. It isn't good. It was never marketed or sold as a Cult Film. It was made, pirated copies came into existence, people saw it, and people talked about it. A cycle began. At some point the director became aware that people were talking about his movie on the internet and he decided to go ahead and release the DVD.

That evening in the video store we passed on Death Bed but we did eventually watch it, albeit years later. I came across the DVD in Amoeba and bought it for my friend as a birthday present. Eventually we got together for a Death Bed and Thai food hang out evening.

The movie is spectacularly bad, but mostly it's exactly what you would expect it to be. I won't go so far as to recommend it or not. I leave that choice entirely up to you.

What I will do is share with you this bit from Patton Oswalt's album Werewolves and Lollipops. Oswalt as always is hilarious (you do know Patton Oswalt, right? Please discover him if you haven't all ready!) and I got an extra laugh or two out of it since I have seen the glory that is Death Bed. And since I'm trying to do that writing thing and I see a lot of the absurdity that goes on in the movie industry.

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats. Why can't I come up with a title that good?

* I suppose I should also warn you that Oswalt curses and says possibly NSFW things. Just in case.