The general premise of the erotic thriller is predicated on combining two obvious elements: sexually-charged images with the use of storyline elements to make one feel uneasy during the downtime or even during the sexual shenanigans. Countless genre titles have employed a facet of this throughout their runtime, and with few exceptions rarely turns up in the LGBTQ+ realm. Israeli director Nitzan Gilady, adopting an experience from a real hate crime committed in Tel Aviv several years ago, offers his take on the subject matter while offering a topical touch to his latest feature, “In Bed.”
“In Bed” is available in VOD and Digital, courtesy of Film Movement
After attending a Pride Parade gathering, Guy (Israel Ogalbo) and his friend Joy (Moran Rosenblatt) are horrified when a gunman opens fire at the event sending everyone into a scurrying panic to get away. Seeking shelter in Guy's apartment, they find Dan (Dean Miroshnikov), another partier from the parade, in the area, suffering from the shock of the situation, and decide to hang out together. Realizing that the shooter is still on the loose and not wanting to leave, the group descends into a drug and sex-fueled night of debauchery, but as the night continues and their mental states get warped, they begin to realize how dangerous the situation has become.
Overall, “In Bed” was a fun if somewhat underwhelming feature. The main problem here is a generally repetitive and bland storyline from writer/director Gilady that leaves this one immensely familiar rather quickly. Despite a strong start, it soon becomes apparent that the first half of “Bed” will rely solely on Guy and Dan sitting in the apartment getting high, screwing, or arguing with each other in between everything else going on. Even when Joy's there with them, the whole idea of exploring these two factors leads to a dull time, since none of this remains interesting the longer it's presented. When the only thing that changes becomes the participants performing it all, the result is general boredom in light of no real deviation in the storyline.
This type of setup would've worked wonders as a short film or anthology segment where the point would've been made without it resorting to the same tactics. While the general guise may be a commentary on the nature of such materials when engaging in hook-up culture and lessening a person's inhibitions so that such events can happen without a person's consent, it's not intriguing enough to sustain a film watching Guy and Dan continually do the same thing to run up the length of this one.
Still, the fact that the central setup in “Bed” manages to work well carries it along nicely. The main premise of bringing everyone together with the shootout taking place at the pride parade offers a fantastic premise for unleashing the kind of tension and paranoia this excels at. Even though this is entirely overdone with the repetitive nature of everything, realizing how Guy goes through the same situation with different partners before settling for Dan allows his paranoia to unravel in entertaining ways. This is where everything works the best as the interactions are somewhat thrilling and continually spiral out of control due to the chaos of the situation and the pervasive drug use sweeping throughout here.
Realizing that his weakened mental state is to blame for the way everything is spiraling during the night, once Guy carries out the night of partying and drug use that signals what he's done, offers up the kind of poignant commentary on such materials loosening a person's decision-making to the point where they no longer know who they're hooking up with. With the series of revelations that come about in the final half, that causes a lot of unease and general thrills to come about which makes everything come together quite nicely.
Featuring plenty to like about it even with some issues, “In Bed” is a great thriller scenario that's somewhat undone by a repetitive nature which is unfortunately detrimental overall. Viewers with an appreciation for its positive aspects or are curious about the cultural issues will have a lot to like here.
