ReelBob: ‘Monsters in the Closet’ ★★
By Bob Bloom
Droll and macabre humor propels the very low-budget indie feature “Monsters in the Closet.”
It plays like an elaborate home movie with production values that reinforce that feeling.
This is a supposed horror anthology, but it is more gross and grisly than scary.
It’s the comedic underpinnings that bind these four short stories.
The framing story’s conceit is an author of horror books who, having found a centuries-old book of black magic, creates an audio book of short stories. When read out loud, the stories come to life.
The first story, “Please Kill Me Again,” is a zombie tale, told in first-person, point-of-view perspective by a young woman transformed into one of the walking dead.
The grossness of multiple body parts and internal organs are juxtaposed by the young woman’s narration. Her confusion about why people are repulsed by her in rather funny. She also can’t understand why she is killing people, thinking she is offering to help them.
It is a different take on the zombie genre.
The second story, “Home Improvement,” centers on a young couple who have bought their first home — a rundown house. They are peppy and cheery, seeing themselves as do-it-yourselfers, fixer-uppers.
As time passes, though, the excitement and challenges of ownership begin to fade and power tools are soon used for different purposes.
This story is kind of dull, dragging on a bit too long, lacking the satiric bite needed to sharpen the premise.
The same cannot be said for “The One Percenters,” which shows why the rich are different from the rest of us.
A spoiled young woman, waiting to attend Princeton, goes on a camping trip with three friends, despite her snobbish father’s warning that the class difference between her and her blue-collar friends will be too vast for her to accept.
Her dad prophetic words come true with deadly results, which linger when the young woman finally reaches the college of her dreams.
The last story, “Frankenstein’s Wife,” a cautionary vignette about love, centers on the mad scientist continually and ineptly bringing his wife — whom he accidentally killed —back to life until she is so fed up that she storms out of the castle — located in New Jersey.
Yep, that is the lowbrow humor of that piece. It is not as funny as it could be.
Overall, despite the bargain-basement budget, “Monsters in the Closet” is a mixed bag. It basically bats .500.
The acting is somewhat amateurish, the special effects are poor and the production values are nil.
But, because a couple of the stories, gel, the overall impact is not totally muted.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap substack and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET
2 stars out of 4
Not rated, bloody and gory images, violence, language