With Halloween around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to cover this childhood favorite. I remember back when I was lad, we would watch this film around Halloween every year from grades one to three, and then sadly, the tradition ended for some reason or another, which was a shame as I always looked forward to watching it, but I had to wait until it was finally released on video in 1995. There's a Nightmare in My Closet, classic story about a young boy who thinks there's a monster lurking in his closet, and I'm sure we all had similar fears growing up, but it was always just our imaginations. There was never anything to be afraid of, there were no monsters in our closets... right? Anyway, our story begins one dark and stormy night as young Christopher and his babysitter, Cindy, watch a television show that I'm assuming is called America's Got No Talent. While listening to Miss Illinois puff an off-key rendition of "Glory, Hallelujah" on the tuba, Cindy heads off to answer a phone call, leaving Christopher to change the channel to something more stimulating: it's Masterpiece Horror Cliche Theater! On another dark and stormy night, a stereotypical British couple visit an old, abandoned spooky house, full of covered furniture and eyes that watch them through a painting. Despite their frightful surroundings, the stalwart couple venture upstairs. Once on the second floor, they enter a room and hear the most mournful, horrifying and braying cry one could imagine. Like a cat suffering a bellyache while being strangled. Like a banshee from the fires of Hell having stubbed his toe.... and it was coming from the closet! As the demonic wailing grew louder, the couple slowly open that closet door and gasp in horror at... some girl twirling a baton AND a hula hoop? No, Cindy switched the channel right at the most crucial moment. Cindy, you cockblocker! Christopher pleads for her to change it back, but she says nothing doing and tells him to get ready for bed. Oh dear, do you realize what you've done? Do you know how wild and vivid a child's imagination can be? If left unchecked and free to roam, there's no telling what types of horrors it will concoct to satisfy his curiosity of who, or what, was behind that door. Dejected, he ventures upstairs to his room and is about to get his pajamas out of the closet, when a flash of lightning scares him, sending him diving under the covers. Cindy has to get the jammies for him, then chides him for watching that scary movie, though assures him there's nothing to be afraid of. However, when the improperly shut closet door creaks open on its own, Christopher is not so sure.
In an act of redemption, Cindy brings the young lad the ultimate cure-all: milk and cookies. It's here that they have a nice talk, and she once again assures him that nightmares only exist in his head, and not the closet. Then she wishes him good night and leaves the room. Okay, well, that was a nice moral, so does our story end here? No, Christopher shines his flashlight on the closet door, which had come open a crack, and he screams bloody murder. Good to know the babysitter's pep talk went right over his head. Cindy comes back into the room, having become very fed up with this nightmare business, even though it's pretty much her fault. She practically has to open the closet and show him there was nothing in there... however, when she turned out the light, a pair of glowing, disembodied eyes appeared in the darkness behind her. Way to give your audience nightmares of their own. It's not a monster, there's a ghost in that closet. Anyway, at her wit's end, Cindy leaves the closet wide open and orders him to go to sleep. Well, it looks like Christopher will have to solve this little dilemma himself. Whenever that nightmare would come out of that closet, he'd be ready for it. Armed with a ping-pong ball gun and a football helmet, he bunkers himself in his bed and waits. Now, what happens next is every time he turns out the light, the closet door starts to open and a weird, pink hand reaches out, though when he turns the light on, everything is normal. I think this symbolizes that he's drifting in and out of sleep. Eventually, the nightmare makes its way out of the closet and over to the bed, only to then get caught in the act! Apparently Christopher's nightmare was a monster that I can only describe as a pink dragon with a huge head, wings for ears, a mace tail, and a snazzy vest. Was this also what was hiding in that closet in the movie? That would be pretty funny. Well, both Christopher and the nightmare scare each other to death, then the latter tries to book it back to the closet, only the boy has him cornered. The monster makes a vain attempt to try and scare him (he's so adorable) only he gets a ping pong ball shot at his head, making him fall over backwards and start crying. As you can tell, it's definitely this guy's first day on the job at Monsters, Inc. It's then that Christopher makes peace with his enemy by giving him his milk and cookies, which the monster devours, glassware and all, then they hop into bed, with the nightmare requesting the closet door be shut. That's an interesting idea, do nightmares get nightmares? I know that in the book, a second monster peeks out, but not here. Having overcome his fear of closets and monsters, Christopher and his new pal go to sleep. Oh, won't his parents be surprised when they get home. "Mom, Dad, can we keep him? He'll scare away burglars."
And so ends There's a Nightmare in My Closet, excellent children's film to watch around Halloween, or any time. It's based off the book of the same name by Mercer Mayer. For all its cheesiness, this is a fun watch, and is definitely an '80s movie. Made by Phoenix Films, they produced several live-action adaptations of popular children's books, such as Corduroy, and A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog, which was also based off a book by Mercer Mayer. Nightmare doesn't pull any punches and it isn't afraid to be scary with its spooky atmosphere, that quirky yet haunting musical score by Harry Manfredini, and of course, the gags, like the eyes in the darkness behind Cindy. I'll bet the nightmare was making faces at her too. For being a babysitter in a horror story, I'd say she got off pretty lightly. So yeah, this Halloween, if you can find it, I definitely recommend There's a Nightmare in My Closet, for the frightened child in all of us who needs a reminder that our imaginations are working overtime.
In an act of redemption, Cindy brings the young lad the ultimate cure-all: milk and cookies. It's here that they have a nice talk, and she once again assures him that nightmares only exist in his head, and not the closet. Then she wishes him good night and leaves the room. Okay, well, that was a nice moral, so does our story end here? No, Christopher shines his flashlight on the closet door, which had come open a crack, and he screams bloody murder. Good to know the babysitter's pep talk went right over his head. Cindy comes back into the room, having become very fed up with this nightmare business, even though it's pretty much her fault. She practically has to open the closet and show him there was nothing in there... however, when she turned out the light, a pair of glowing, disembodied eyes appeared in the darkness behind her. Way to give your audience nightmares of their own. It's not a monster, there's a ghost in that closet. Anyway, at her wit's end, Cindy leaves the closet wide open and orders him to go to sleep. Well, it looks like Christopher will have to solve this little dilemma himself. Whenever that nightmare would come out of that closet, he'd be ready for it. Armed with a ping-pong ball gun and a football helmet, he bunkers himself in his bed and waits. Now, what happens next is every time he turns out the light, the closet door starts to open and a weird, pink hand reaches out, though when he turns the light on, everything is normal. I think this symbolizes that he's drifting in and out of sleep. Eventually, the nightmare makes its way out of the closet and over to the bed, only to then get caught in the act! Apparently Christopher's nightmare was a monster that I can only describe as a pink dragon with a huge head, wings for ears, a mace tail, and a snazzy vest. Was this also what was hiding in that closet in the movie? That would be pretty funny. Well, both Christopher and the nightmare scare each other to death, then the latter tries to book it back to the closet, only the boy has him cornered. The monster makes a vain attempt to try and scare him (he's so adorable) only he gets a ping pong ball shot at his head, making him fall over backwards and start crying. As you can tell, it's definitely this guy's first day on the job at Monsters, Inc. It's then that Christopher makes peace with his enemy by giving him his milk and cookies, which the monster devours, glassware and all, then they hop into bed, with the nightmare requesting the closet door be shut. That's an interesting idea, do nightmares get nightmares? I know that in the book, a second monster peeks out, but not here. Having overcome his fear of closets and monsters, Christopher and his new pal go to sleep. Oh, won't his parents be surprised when they get home. "Mom, Dad, can we keep him? He'll scare away burglars."
And so ends There's a Nightmare in My Closet, excellent children's film to watch around Halloween, or any time. It's based off the book of the same name by Mercer Mayer. For all its cheesiness, this is a fun watch, and is definitely an '80s movie. Made by Phoenix Films, they produced several live-action adaptations of popular children's books, such as Corduroy, and A Boy, A Dog, and A Frog, which was also based off a book by Mercer Mayer. Nightmare doesn't pull any punches and it isn't afraid to be scary with its spooky atmosphere, that quirky yet haunting musical score by Harry Manfredini, and of course, the gags, like the eyes in the darkness behind Cindy. I'll bet the nightmare was making faces at her too. For being a babysitter in a horror story, I'd say she got off pretty lightly. So yeah, this Halloween, if you can find it, I definitely recommend There's a Nightmare in My Closet, for the frightened child in all of us who needs a reminder that our imaginations are working overtime.
