How Long Is “Death Bed: The Bed That Eats”?

Decades worth of innocent travelers fall prey to a demonic and hungry piece of furniture in this long-lost cult film, which was completed in 1977, but not released until a quarter-century later. In a tiny stone castle in the woods, the ghost of a flouncy artist (Dave Marsh/voice of Patrick Spence-Thomas) remains trapped inside the walls and witnesses the strange goings-on that give the film its title. It seems that the magnificent canopy bed that dominates the decor is actually the resting place of a demon who built it to seduce a lovely maiden back in 1897. Their unnatural congress having killed the poor girl, her monstrous Casanova became one with his creation and proceeded to snack on anybody who chanced across his rustic retreat. As the ghost watches, horrified, additional victims fall prey to the pernicious pallet. But the reign of terror may finally be over when the bed receives a visit from a pair of young siblings (Rosa Luxemburg and William Russ). The lone film by writer/director George Barry, Death Bed did not find distribution until 25 years after its 1977 completion -- and then only thanks to an Internet review of a bootleg copy. Death Bed: The Bed That Eats received its U.S. premiere at the San Francisco International Horror Festival February 15, 2003. A mural of the titular abomination by noted occultist Austin Osman Spare figures prominently in the film's plot.