Monster in the Closet

In San Francisco, when several locals are found murdered in their closets, the rookie journalist Richard Clark (Donald Grant) is assigned to investigate the case. He stumbles upon the scientist Prof. Diane Bennett (Denise DuBarry) and her son "Professor" Bennett (Paul Walker) at the police station and befriends them. Soon they learn that a monster is responsible for the deaths and they team up with Diane´s chief Dr. Pennyworth (Henry Gibson) and Father Finnegan (Howard Duff) expecting to destroy the monster and save the world.

"Monster in the Closet" is a brainless classic trash-cult by Troma. The production follows the usual cheese Troma´s style and there are parodies to at least "The Exorcist", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Alien", "The War of the Worlds" and "The Howling" among other films. In addition, it is funny to see the debut of Paul Walker and an early work of Fergie and the cameo of John Carradine. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Monstro do Armário" ("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 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!

Troma aren't exactly well known for high quality horror films, and this one fits the bill pretty well in the quality stakes; but it's actually more childish than the usual gory Troma output. The film is something of a spoof of the monster movie genre and, as the title suggests, focuses on the childhood fear of a monster in the closet. The film kicks off with a few mysterious murders and it's not long before the horrible closet monster is revealed. The monster itself is an extremely camp creation and is sure to leave most audience members in stitches - not usually the desired effect for a monster but the film is obviously intended to be tongue in cheek and the monster is actually a very original creation. I really wasn't expecting anything at all decent from this film, but in fairness to it; it's actually quite decent. There's nothing particularly clever about it; though the idea of the monster 'recharging' in closets is nice in that it seems to be a ham-fisted way of explaining the whole closet monster idea. The characters and plot line surrounding the monster are interesting and entertaining and Monster in the Closet is at least a decent way to waste ninety minutes or so.

Yes, "Monster In The Closet" is a guilty pleasure. Though it's not oriented for veteran horror fans, this film provides fun in a very silly way. It's a good dark comedy involving a very cheesy (Troma style) monster living in children's closets. The beginning is quite good and imaginative, and the ending is stuff for legend in cheesy horror cinema! Thousand cops against the monster is something that hasn't banished from my mind since the early 90's. Recommended for soft core horror fans. When I watched the Disney animated feature "Monsters Inc." I thought about this film, and I immediately saved it from my forgotten movie vault. Your average 80's film.

4/10 -Mediocre fun!