Monster in the Closet

I recently watched the Troma Films classic Monster in the Closet (1986) on Tubi. The story follows a killer on the loose who seems to be abducting people-and even dogs-from their closets. A reporter, a professor, and a science student team up to uncover who (or what) is behind these bizarre killings. Could it be a misunderstood closet monster?

Directed by Bob Dahlin in his only directorial project, the film stars Denise DuBarry (Do It or Die), Claude Akins (Battle for Planet of the Apes), Henry Gibson (The Blues Brothers), Donald Moffat (The Thing), Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious), and Fergie (Black Eyed Peas).

Monster in the Closet is another Troma Films horror comedy that manages to execute its horror elements fairly well. The opening narration is hilarious, and the setup is engaging. The monster's costume design is tremendous-I only wish it had been better utilized to create a truly formidable villain. There's the anticipated horror nudity, including a fun shower scene, and it was entertaining to see a young Paul Walker and Fergie in action.

In conclusion, while Monster in the Closet isn't a great film overall, it has enough horror elements to keep genre enthusiasts interested. I'd score it a 5/10 and recommend it only if you have the right expectations.

I think anyone who calls themselves a purveyor of b-cinema has seen their fair share of Troma films. If you haven't seen a Lloyd Kaufman produced film, or at least seen his face show up in a ton of bad movies that his company has bought then it's time to turn your bad movie watching up a notch. Monster in The Closet comes from a time where the company was busy making their own b-flicks instead of buying them, and like most of the movies Troma made, they can be pretty hit or miss. Although, mostly entertaining.

Monster in the Closet is no exception, taking the cliches of 50's monster movies and pooping a few jokes their way. An intrepid Clark Kent style reporter, a love interest, her son, and older scientist try to stop the onslaught of a monster who travels through closets to kill Americans. It's goofy and fun, but also not amazing. The monster suit is the best part of the film, and seeing it wander about like a mini rancor with xenomorph inner face punchy thingy is a lot of fun. Poking fun at the military from the old monster flicks also worked really well for me, as they were always so dumb and ineffective against giant lobsters, and praying mantises...Manti? Where the movie doesn't work is the long shots of wandering about, the constant bombardment of noise mixed with the damn tune they keep hitting on the xylophone, and some really annoying characters. I know this as all in the spirit of those older films, but they were b-movies for a reason. These things ware not good in those movies, nor are the good in this one.

Monster in the Closet is still fun, and there is a lot of good to be seen with the monster itself, and the jokes that land. Also, Paul Walker and Fergie are kids in this movie, so there is that if you need casting trivia. Although not my favorite, I would still recommend this film. its silly enough to have fun with...Also, 1986 PG-rated movies had some nudity...

I agree with most of the posts that this was a pretty good 'bad' movie (as cheap as it was I thought the monster was creepy looking!) But didn't anyone notice that the movie is one big gay joke?

The whole 'in the closet' thing

The way the monster reacts to the hunky guy (there's no reason to imply that the monster was female)

It's final march to, where else, San Francisco!

I don't think it affected the film at all. But it's really weird that a goofy, low-budget, comedy-horror movie would try to have some kind of 'message' like this. And I'm not even sure whether its pro or con!

My review was written in May 1986 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

"Monster in the Closet" is a pleasant, occasionally funny combination of homage and spoof directed at the science fiction monster films popular in the 1950s. It will be appreciated by fans of old B-pictures but is out of step with the tastes of contemporary audiences.

Writer-director Bob Dahlin carefully apes the rigid format of the traditional monster opus (with corny dialog intact): an unknown creatures is killing Californians living in the small town of Chestnut Hills in their closets an San Francisco obituary writer Richard Clark (Donald Grant) is sent by his editor to cover the story. He soon teams up with science prof Diane Bennett (Denise DuBarry) and her brilliant child nicknamed Professor (Paul Walker) to follow the clues.

Monster eventually shows up, looking like a brown-skinned, huge-mouthed imitation of Carlo Rambaldi's oft-copied "Alien" creation, and the military, led by no-nonsense Gen. Turnbulll (Donald Moffat) steps in to handle the situation. It turns out the monster is impervious to conventional weaponry, leaving the star trio to invent methods of destroying it. In several funny twists, the monster's unexplained affinity for closets turns out to be a key script element.

Despite some dull patches in which parody becomes merely repetition of cliches, "Monster" is cute with lots of guest stars. Stella Stevens does a fine version of Janet Leigh's "Psycho" shower sequence, getting solid laughs opposite Paul Dooley as her husband. As a goofy old scientist, Henry Gibson has his moments, too. Moffat is perfect as the tough-talking general.

Lead players are fine, particularly Donald Grant, who, in film's well set-up and funniest payoff, turns out to be the object of the monster's affections (once his Clark Kent glasses are taken off) rather than the heroine.

Overproduced in relation to the targets of its parody, "Monster" is well-made (it was shot in 1983 and had post-production completed more recently). End crawl is unintentionally funny as what seems like a thousand people are individually credited or thanked for working on the picture. Film probably will be best remembered for the inspired silliness of its tagline solution to the monster problems, when the heroined goes on tv to plea: "Destroy al closets!".

Watching Monster In A Closet I'd say the film hit about 60% of the time with gags it employed in this film. But I warn you had better have seen a lot of classic science fiction about monsters coming to earth or being discovered here already or you won't get half of what is shown.

I think about half the budget must have been spent on getting some name guest stars to do their thing and support the two less than charismatic leads Donald Grant and Denise Dubarry. But when you get folks like Claude Akins as the redneck sheriff, Henry Gibson as an eccentric scientist, Stella Stevens as a woman in a shower, Jesse White as a hardboiled newspaper editor, Howard Duff as a rather vacuous priest, and John Carradine who is one of the first victims this becomes an item to take a look at.

I really liked what Howard Duff did with the priest. He must have watched Alec Guinness did with his vicar character in Kind Hearts And Coronets.

You even get to see young Paul Walker make his screen debut as a genius kid everyone calls the Professor.

You'll recognize so many moments from some classic monster films, I dare not tell you.