Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Am I Missing Something?

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The first must-see film of the year.

A hideous creature (played by Predator performer Kevin Peter Hall) emerges from closets to kill innocent people; aspiring reporter Clark (Donald Grant), scientist Dr. Pennyworth (Henry Gibson), youngster 'Professor' Bennett (Fast and Furious star-to-be Paul Walker) and his mother Diane (Denise DuBarry) attempt to try and work out what drives the monster and how to stop it.Given its suggestive title and San Francisco setting, I thought that Monster in the Closet would have some kind of gay agenda, but apart from the fact that the (presumably male) creature carries off handsome reporter Clark at the end, instead of the girl, the film doesn't really explore any potential homosexual subtext. Instead, this silly Troma film concentrates on what the studio specialises in: dumb comedy and even dumber horror, with a smattering of topless female nudity (courtesy of middle-aged MILF Stella Stevens). It's all extremely daft, the gags weak and the monster a hilarious z-grade rubber creation with an Alien-like extendable mandible, but it's reasonably undemanding fun for those who enjoy schlock.From a technical standpoint, the film does rise above the usual Troma output, with smart editing and plenty of impressive fluid camera movement (including what I believe to be Louma crane shots), so much so that I was surprised to see that director Bob Dahlin didn't go onto bigger and better things (on the contrary, this was his only ever movie as director). The film also benefits from a cast of familiar faces that includes Donald Moffat, Claude Akins, John Carradine, and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas in her movie debut.4.5, rounded up to 5 for managing to show Stella Stevens in the shower, not once, but three times!

This one is sorta a mixed spoof of science fiction alien-like monster that hides in the closet, creature horror and silly comedy. We have a helpful scientist wanting to communicate and study the monster. There is a news reporter wanting his first big break looking like Clark Kent. A Priest that is willing to exercise the demon creature. And the military out to hunt down and kill it. The film is pretty much what you think it would be - silly non-sense that is kinda funny at times. The film does not take itself seriously so it easy to kick-back and enjoy.It's a shame that John Carradine's character was killed off very early. They missed out on some potentially really funny scenes.This one is not a bad watch if you like these type films - it's nothing special but OK if nothing better on or you are just in mood for a film of this nature.6/10

If you know any Troma movie -- an example is "The Toxic Avenger" -- then you should have an idea of what to expect in "Monster in the Closet". This is a very tongue-in-cheek flick. After three people get killed in their closets, a San Francisco reporter goes to the town to investigate, and discovers that there's literally a monster appearing in people's closets! Nothing can stop this beast! One of the interesting things is the mixture of characters. There's the nerdy reporter (Donald Grant), a teacher whom he loves (Denise DuBarry), her hyper-intellectual son (Paul Walker of "The Fast and the Furious"), a scientist (Henry Gibson) who resembles Einstein and wants to communicate with the monster, a nervous priest (Howard Duff), a general (Donald Moffat) who knows nothing except brute force, and a number of other people. Watch for John Carradine and Stella Stevens in small roles.As I was saying, this movie is not meant to be taken seriously. The whole thing is pretty much a joke. I wonder if the title subtly implies that the monster is gay or something. Whether or not it does, this movie is just plain funny. And Stella Stevens sure is a fox!

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.