Closet Monster (2015)

A creative and driven teenager is desperate to escape his hometown and the haunting memories of his turbulent childhood.

Director:

Stephen Dunn

Writers:

Stephen Dunn, Don McKellar (story editor)

Stars:

Aaron Abrams, Jack Fulton, Joanne Kelly

10 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aaron Abrams	...	Peter Madly
Jack Fulton	...	Oscar Madly (9)
Joanne Kelly	...	Brin Madly
Isabella Rossellini	...	Buffy (voice)
Jinji Dawson	...	Anna
Meghan Cullen	...	Kathryn
Bradley Nippard	...	Teenage Boy (as Brad Nippard)
Megan Kennedy	...	News Reporter
Connor Jessup	...	Oscar Madly (18)
Sofia Banzhaf	...	Gemma
Sean Panting	...	Constable Bennett
Megan Rose Jones	...	Ms. Mercer
Tim Myles	...	Student (as Timothy Myles)
Mary Walsh	...	Allison
Igor Pugdog	...	Allison's Dog

Storyline

8-years-old Oscar Madly became traumatized. Around the same time that his mother left their family (with Oscar firmly taking his dad's side), Oscar witnessed a gay hate crime at school that left the victim bloodied and permanently paralyzed. Ten years pass. Oscar, befriended by his talking hamster Buffy, wants to get into a special effects make-up school (using his friend Gemma as a model), and has come to realize his spiteful father's anti-social, immature short-comings. When Oscar meets co-worker Wilder at the hardware store, sexual feelings begin to stir but accompanied by severe stomach pains (the memory of the hate crime). A farewell costume party for Wilder brings Oscar's issues to a head, expressed sometimes in surreal terms.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | closeted gay | treehouse | pet hamster | talking animal | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Dunn's debut feature film.

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Quotes

Oscar Madly (18): It's not New York but what do you think?
Buffy: I think you look happy.
Oscar Madly (18): Hope you don't get eaten by the seagull.
Buffy: Hm, I'm just happy you're not gonna set me on fire.
[Oscar releases Buffy to the sea]
Buffy: But you know I'm not the original hamster from your childhood, right? I mean it has been ten years. Your parents replaced me, like, four times.
Oscar Madly (18): What was that?
Buffy: Oh, nothing. Goodbye.

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Connections

References Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)

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Soundtracks

Arcadia (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
Written by Apparat (as Sascha Ring) (GEMA)
Published by Random Noize Musick GmbH (GEMA)
License courtesy Red Brick Music Publishing (SOCAN)

User Reviews

A living breathing poem

PROS: The first thing that you need to mention with this movie is the acting. With a whole bunch of new faces you tend to assume the worst, and this was not the case here. This movie was filled with good actors, from small roles to big ones such as the main character Oscar played by Conner Jessup. Although this movie was not a horror, the strong message that the movie had was delivered in a horrific way. You really got to see the dark the scary side of being a gay kid in the closet. This was shown in a very poetic way as well. With every scene being a metaphor for something greater and all the metaphors added up to sending a strong message at the end. The final thing that I really appreciated was the transitions in the film. Each transition did more than go from one scene to the next, the transitions acted sort of like chapters in the main characters life. This gave the movie that lit bit of an extra touch.

CONS: For me the few cons are greatly overshadowed by the film as a whole, but it doesn't mean they aren't there. The first problem I had was the one scene with the nuts and bolts. I won't give anything away, but this seen, although very deep and spine chilling, was very confusing. It was very brief and held no further context to the film. The other thing that bothered me was the ending. I completely understand that the ending needed to be simple to cope with the intense climax, but there is a difference between simple and boring. This movie forgot that.

www.chorror.com

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 2016 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Closet Monster

Filming Locations:

St John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,118, 25 September 2016

Gross USA:

$42,166

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,360

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media, Elevation Pictures, Best Boy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1