MONSTER IN THE CLOSET (1987)

MONSTER IN THE CLOSET (1987)

Tagline: It's Out! It's Out! It's Out!

(Horror, Comedy, The Punch Of God) [PG]

It was not Mr. Clarke my son, it was the punch of God. 

In this one, several people and even a dog show up dead in their closets. Determined to report on the story Richard Clark decides to investigate with the help of Professor Diane Bennett, her son Professor Bennett and Dr. Pennyworth. It doesn’t take long before it’s discovered there is a monster in these closets and the entire town is seemingly unable to stop it. 

First off, it’s not super unlikely that this would be the first film Paul Walker (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) who was 10 years old at the time would ever star in. What’s unlikely is that his first role was as a teenage professor. This isn’t one of those movies where a huge actor got their start and shows up for a few minutes. Paul Walker actually plays a huge part in this movie. This one also has the distinction of being Fergie’s first appearance in a film, due to the fact that it was actually shot in 1983.  

Secondly, one of the things that really stands out about this movie is that it’s a comedy, but it has a surprisingly effective score. While we do get lighter moments, it starts out with a very horror aesthetic. There are a LOT of funny lines in this flick if you are paying attention to the dialog. I actually think it might be one of the funnier horror flicks I’ve ever seen. Yes, the comedy is campy and some of the writing feels like it was written by the team that did KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, but it’s outstanding. The monster design is pretty nuts, but it’s also wildly inventive and pretty cool looking. 

This is kind of an outlier for Troma who was the distributor I guess. Most of their films are low-quality horror romps with plenty of cheap-looking gore. This one doesn’t really have any gore, but it’s still not really a kid’s movie. In spite of the PG rating, there is frontal nudity in one scene in this movie (just something to be aware of if you are throwing your kids in front of it). 

Acting wise no one is expected to really win any huge awards here, but the comedic timing is pretty solid all around. I don’t always like Henry Gibson who plays Dr. Pennyworth here (a sort of Albert Einstein-type character), but he’s at least not annoying in this one. Claude Akins is decent as Sheriff Sam Ketchem, but again, he isn’t asked to do much in this. Claude is probably most famous for his role in BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Denise DuBarry who plays Professor Diane Bennett is decent as well. She was actually still acting as of 2021. Donald Grant is pretty good in this but only went on to act for another 5 years after this movie. 

If you walk into this expecting a TON of cheese piled high, this is the movie for you. There is just enough horror to call it a horror movie, but it’s still going to be more in the comedy spoof wheelhouse a lot like SATURDAY THE 14TH or STUDENT BODIES. 

Overall I found this one really enjoyable and hope to find a better copy than the one I watched. I have to give this one a 5 out of 7. It sets out to be a pretty goofy spoof and does exactly that effectively. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE BERGQUIST-LEVY PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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