Monster in the Closet

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A 1986 monster movie spoof by Troma in which the titular creature emerges from its lair (guess where that is) and begins slaughtering citizens in a small Californian town. It's up to would-be newspaper reporter Richard Clark and scientist Diane Bennett to find a way of killing it. Very very campy, but doesn't take itself at all seriously, and is amusing if viewed in the right frame of mind.

Tropes used in Monster in the Closet include:


  • Absent-Minded Professor: Dr. Pennyworth, to the nth power.
  • The Cameo: John Carradine plays a blind victim of the monster. Stella Stevens drops in for a quick parody of Psycho.
  • Child Prodigy: 'Professor' Bennett.
  • Da Editor: Played by Jesse White of "Maytag repairman" fame.
  • Expy: The monster pretty blatantly steals some design ideas from the Xenomorph in Alien.
  • For Science!: Dr. Pennyworth's attitude towards life in general. It gets him killed.
  • Frickin' Laser Beams: 'Professor' builds one to use against the monster. It doesn't help.
  • Fridge Logic: Why would a blind person have a lamp on in his house?
  • General Ripper: General Turnbull.
  • The Glasses Gotta Go: Clark "becomes" literally mesmerizingly handsome when he takes his glasses off.
  • Hot Scientist: Diane, of course.
  • Impending Doom POV: Parodied.
  • Jerkass: Clark's fellow reporter Scoop; you're likely to cheer more when he gets his comeuppance than when the monster is defeated.
  • Large Ham: The two leads are fairly subdued, but much of the supporting cast goes to town with this trope.
  • Meaningful Background Event: The monster lumbers into view behind young Professor while the latter is working in a school classroom.
  • Monster Misogyny / Touch of the Monster: Parodied; see Stealth Pun below.
  • Nigh Invulnerable: The monster; it turns out the only way to destroy it is to destroy every closet in the world.
  • Police Are Useless: The sheriff tries his best, but..
  • Shout-Out: The heroes try to kill the monster using an electrocution setup exactly like the one used to destroy the 1950's version of the Thing. It has no effect.
  • Stealth Pun: The movie's title, assuming the monster is male, which is never made clear.
  • There Was a Door: The heroes are attempting to lure the monster into a trap, and are waiting at the end of a hallway, with the front door open to the outdoors. The monster comes smashing through the interior door they are leaning against.
  • Things That Go Bump in the Night