Cameron's Closet 1989
Movie - Review & Info

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Film Review:

Another entry in the 80s horror sub-genre of closet terror, alongside such scary clothes-store horrors as Poltergeist, Monster In The Closet and, um, this one. I'm sure there's more, but at present their titles slip my mind (must have been memorable then...)

This enjoyable little film centers around Cameron Lansing (Scott Curtis), a child with the gift of strange psychic powers. These powers are in part developed by his father, who unwittingly gets them to the stage where they are able to unleash a demon from a mysterious little statue. We never really find out why the statue wound up in a secure military unit, but its not long before strange stuff is happening to the people around Cameron.

When his father, (played by the funnily named Tab Hunter) is horrifically decapitated in Cameron's closet, he is moved in with his mother. A dream haunted cop turns up to uncover the truth behind Cameron's death when even more stuff starts happening, like Cameron almost meets his end in a ceiling fan, and his mother's unctuous lover is shot out the closet at a rate of knots, his eyes melted out of his face.

As the cop digs deeper he must decide if the kid is evil or a victim, and how his bizarre dreams fit in with the grand scheme of things. A fiery and cheesy effects laden finale later, and the whole shebang is sorted out.

The film has plenty to keep you entertained, but at times feels plodding and confused. There are a few moments of nastiness to savour, not least the demise of Cameron's Dad in a scene that could be best used by Health and Safety to illustrate correct use of chairs and hunting knives.

The visual effects seem to center around the old favourite of a smoke filled laser tunnel and bright lightening whilst the climatic demon (shoddily essayed by special effects hack Carlo Rambaldi) is disappointing and briefly viewed in a haze of dry ice.

All said and done though, the characters are real and interesting enough to make you care about their fates, and there are plenty of good scenes in the film to keep things moving along. There should be a coming out of the closet punchline here for you, but I'll leave that to you.