Le placard de l'angoisse

I recently viewed the UK film 🇬🇧 Cameron's Closet (1988) on Prime. The plot centers on a young man with telekinetic abilities who inadvertently unleashes a demon in his closet. The demon, intent on claiming the boy's soul, proves ruthless in its pursuit, stopping at nothing to eliminate anyone who stands in its way.

Directed by Armand Mastroianni (He Knows You're Alone), the cast includes Cotter Smith (Mindhunter), Scott Curtis (Santa Barbara), Melissa Harris (Thirtysomething), Kim Lankford (Malibu Beach), and Leigh McCloskey (Inferno).

Cameron's Closet boasts several redeeming elements that contribute to its overall appeal. The opening sequence, featuring a father armed with a machete in his son's room, sets a chilling tone reminiscent of classic "monster under the bed" tales mixed with slasher. The demon itself is well-designed and exudes a palpable intensity, with impressive makeup and prosthetics enhancing its menace. Notable scenes, such as the humorous "thrown out the window" moment, add an enjoyable touch to the film. The cast delivers authentic performances, and the storyline proves engaging, punctuated by a memorable shower scene. While the kills may not reach peak intensity, the film's conclusion is satisfying and merits attention.

In conclusion, Cameron's Closet stands as an above-average entry in the horror genre, offering a worthwhile viewing experience. I would rate it 6.5-7/10 and recommend watching it once.

Armand Mastroianni("Blood Wedding","Distortions")directs this slightly gruesome horror film about young boy named Cameron who has telekinetic powers.When his father and a psychiatrist run experiments on him,they unknowingly release an Aztec demon from hell who makes his home in Cameron's bedroom closet.As the demon eliminates all the adults one by one,Cameron realizes that he alone possesses the ability to defeat him."Cameron's Closet" is a pretty mediocre and bland horror flick.Still there are at least four very violent and gory scenes,in which certain characters die for no real reason.The monster from Carlo Rambaldi,who helped build the monster for "Alien",is basically a head which isn't the least bit menacing.The acting is decent,but the storyline is completely predictable.Overall,If you are a rabid horror fan like I am give it a look.6 out of 10.

A young boy with telekinetic powers unleashes a force set on destroying anything in its path.

We meet Cameron, a child who has the ability to move things with his mind. He likes to play in his closet a lot of the time with his action figures. His father appears terrified of his powers and what something so simple as playing in his room can do thanks to his special abilities. Late one night, the man investigates the closet and is killed by a machete, it's made to look like an accident. The question to the audience is did Cameron control that killing or was it something more sinister?

After the traumatic event, Cameron moves to LA to live with his mother Dory and his rude stepfather Bob. We then meet Sgt. Sam Taliaferro who has been having a recurring daydream, with parts of it very similar to what Cameron has imagined. Meanwhile, Cameron starts hearing growling voices from his new closet which kill his stepfather late one night. With Sgt. Taliaferro on the case, and a psychiatrist who notices Cameron's abilities, can this evil lurking around Cameron be stopped?

There were a lot of mysteries to solve in this one. What was the connection between Taliaferro and Cameron, was Cameron's inner rage responsible for the murders, and who or what is the demonic presence lurking in the closet. The acting ws your average run of mill for a mid 80's horror film. I did think there was great chemistry between Talliaferro/Dr. Haley/Cameron throughout. Mel Harris was a standout.

Cameron's Closet definitely used ideas from other films, in particular Pulse (1988) and A Nightmare on Elm Street. There was a scene in this one very similar to Tina's death in NOES for example. Great special effects with all of the demon scenes, lots of well done gore as well.

Overall, Cameron's Closet is a very average horror film that uses elements from other films out at that time. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel or create suspense with twists and turns. It follows along the same cookie cutter path it's on from the beginning of the movie. The ending and final showdown may have been the most disappointing part of the entire movie. It felt rushed and all too expected for a horror fan like myself.

5/10.

My review was written in April 1989 after a Midtown Manhattan screening.

"Cameron's Closet" is an ambitious but very disappointing horror film. Pic arrived tardily in Manhattan theaters months after its poster went up in subway displays, just in time for its appearance in video stores.

Attempt at a minor league "Exorcist" on a puny budget is a mistake. Levitation and other effects are merely okay and the pic lacks the scope of a horror epic. Gary ("The Howling") Brandner merely has fashioned a convoluted tale of a monster in the closet of little boy Cameron (Scott Curtis).

The kid has been experimented upon (a la Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom") by his dad Tab Hunter, combining psychokinesis with demonology to unleash a monster (a demon worshipped by the Mayans, no less).

Hunter exits early, killed by the demon, and mains tory psychically (and unconvincingly) links Cameon with the police detective (Cotter smith) assigned coincidentally o the serial murder caused by the hellish critter. Smith's real-life mate, Mel Harris of tv's "thirtysomething", is cast as a psychiatrist treating both Curtis and Smith (!), latter suffering from blackouts caused by the demon.

Not helped by flat lighting of interiors and dullish Armand Mastroianni direction, pic plods to several confrontations with the monster, poorly executed by Carlo Rambaldi to look like Batman wearing his cowl. An extraneous near-incest scene is pointlessly thrown in near the end like an audience wakeup call.

Harris adds plenty of class to the proceedings, while Smith is bland and little Curti merely competent. Chuck McCann scores in a non-comedic role as a boozing ex-scientist.

Professor Owen Lansing is researching human psychic abilities hidden deep in the mind and he experiments on his young son Cameron. They're going quite well, until Cameron's unintentionally uses his powers to conjure up a demon. Lansing tries to put a end to the trouble, but his killed in a horrific 'accident'. So Cameron goes to live with his mother and her boyfriend, but the demon also follows and takes up residence in the boy's closest. Meanwhile, police detective Sam Talliaferro, who has been put onto the case after the unusual death of his mother's boyfriend. Is having bad dreams that seem to be linked somehow to Cameron. A psychiatrist Dr. Nora Haley is looking over Sam, but she also gets the case of Cameron. She discovers the boy's secret abilities. Nora and Sam go on to connect that everything is contributed to a demonic presence who has its eyes set on Cameron.

Oh, "Cameron's Closest" is quite an unremarkable low-budget horror film. Well, it's not completely worthless, even though it's nowhere near as flavoured and exciting like many of its counterparts within the same decade. This late 80s horror junk was mildly enjoyable in some silly patches and icky make-up effects, but ponderous pacing and muddled plotting makes for mostly a bland outing that keeps us in the dark to what's going on. There's potential in the interesting and novel premise of mixing the supernatural with science (which "The Howling" author Gary Barndner adapted his screenplay off his novel), but director Armand Mastroianni's unevenly fruitless and ham-fisted execution leaves a lot of its brimming concepts unfulfilled and sticks to the gimmicks. Lucky there are some nicely imaginative and downright bizarre deaths handed out by the evil dweller in the closet. The nasty make-up, especially from the zombies and death scenes are well conceived. Even some atmospheric visuals, in the shape of few brooding dream sequences promise something, to only bungle it with unintentional goofiness that destroys any unsettling mood that was there. Like that of special effects designer Carlo Rambaldi's (think of E.T.) plastically tacky monster creation. Sometimes the FX is questionably dire and overly sugar-coated, just stick around for the lacklustre climax between demon and child. It's pretty hasty when it wraps it up.

The material dreams a good concept, but its talky nature, convoluted angles (so many to choose) and senseless inconsistencies engulf the monotonously vague script, which could've done with occasional wit. The presentation is well-photographed and production values hold up, but the musical score was flat, lighting hazily dim and editing was terribly hack-eyed. The cast do a fine job, maybe better then the material actually deserved. Scott Curtis gives an appealing turn as Cameron. Cotter Smith is sturdily efficient as detective Sam Talliaferro and Mel Harris impress with a steadfast turn as Dr. Nora Haley. Tab Hunter plays the unfortunate father who cops it in the opening minutes. There's sound performances by the support cast Kim Lankford, Leigh McCloskey, Chuck McCann and Gary Hudson as the jerk boyfriend.

It's saved by over-the-top deaths, some laughably shoddy developments and capable performances. Just like Mastroianni's other genre efforts; "The Supernaturals" and "He Knows You're Alone", it's watchable.