Monster in the Closet

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Revision as of 05:32, 26 February 2014 by Dai-Guard (talk | contribs) (cleanup categories)

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.

Contains examples of:

  • 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