Cameron's Closet (1989)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Cameron Lansing (Curtis) is a 10 year old boy with psychic abilities. His father Owen (Hunter) and a colleague (Chuck McCann) accidentally has Cameron bring to life an ancient demon from the depths of hell who lurks in the boys closet. The evil force causes Owen to fall off a ladder and be graphically decapitated in a great early scene. Cameron moves in with his mom (Kim Lankford) and her bully boyfriend (Gary Hudson) who is killed by the beast in the closet by having his eyes blown out and tossed out the boys window. Detective Sam Taliaferrro (Smith) and cop shrink DR. Nora Halley (Harris) get brought in to investigate. Cameron's uncle and Sam's partner are also killed by the demon and Sam and Cameron join forces to stop the evil. This movie is an above average supernatural chiller from screen Writer Gary Brandner (from his novel) and Director Armand Mastroianni, Mastroianni delivers several nice shocks along with a few good seat rocking jolts throughout the running time which keeps the audience off guard as to when the next one is coming. The interesting plot is handled well along with some inspired gore moments makes this a nice mix. The main demon was designed by Carlo Rambaldi and looks good when it is shown in quick flashes and surprise moments, but looks rather fake and unconvincing the more you see it. Scott Curtis in the lead role of Cameron turns in a very natural and believable performance which helps the overall film. On the down side; there are too many dream sequences (thank the late 1980's "A Nightmare on Elm Street" influence for this) and the ending is nothing special either. There are still plenty of real scares and good ideas at work here making this worth seeking out.

~Spoiler~ Cameron's Closet is a fine slice of 80's horror. It stars Scott Curtis as a young boy with telekinetic powers who accidentally summons an ancient demon who dwells in his closet. The film (written by Gary Brandner of The Howling fame) has some truly inspired moments and even some decent scares. Many of the death scenes are quite memorable. The closet decapitation, Bob flying through the window, and the maniacal ceiling fan are my favorite bits. Carlo Rambaldi (E.T., Dune) is handling the effects and they are well done for the most part. The only area of the film that is lacking is the ending. It was very weak and the film suffers for it. The demon just doesn't do too much after he finally comes out of the closet (pun intended). Also, I felt the explanation as to how this kid conjured the demon was a little vague. Surely they could have elaborated a bit more. Cotter Smith is quite good here and so is the kid as far as child actors go.

No, it's not a gay coming of age film! Just a bog-standard horror B-movie that would have worked quite well as a 30 minute episode of a series like "Tales of the Darkside," or a similar type programme. But as a full length film, it soon outstays it's welcome.The child actor is quite reasonable and not as 'cute' as they tend to be in these roles. It's the adults who are poor, their acting never rises above adequate. Not helped by the dialogue or the clichéd plot of 'the monster that lurks in the cupboard.'All eminently predictable and forgettable, better to go watch numerous old episodes of 'Tales from the Crypt,' to get exactly the same plot done a bit better.

Hmm... so Cameron is a psychic kid who accidentally brings a ferocious demon up from hell into his closet... Sounds like it might have potential. It did, but did it utilize that potential? No. Though this movie is tad creepy, it had some real major lows to it. Examples: the stomach growling noises coming from the closet, the almost 80's music video special effects (no wonder the thing died at the end, I think I would too if someone shot bad special effects at me through their finger tips). So, you should only preview this movie to see if you really like it first, but I don't recommend buying right away, especially without a preview.