I can’t believe Tab Hunter went from the glory days of singing “Reproduction” in 82 to getting offed in the first five minutes of Cameron’s Closet in 88. The movie really gives mixed signals; we get that sweeping Spielberg-esque opening music and a tour of the wonders of suburbia—before the gore hits moments later…. It’s all very Poltergeist.
Okay, so Cameron is this little kid who seems to have every psychic power imaginable. Cameron’s dad (Tab Hunter) begins to believe Cameron’s abilities unleashed a demon in his closet. Dad tries to put a stop to it. Bad idea.
With dad dead, Cameron moves with his mom and her hot-as-hell boyfriend—who hates Cameron—to a new house. The dicky boyfriend is played by Gary Hudson, who appeared on Dynasty for a while. Damn, is he delicious. His ass bulges against his tight 80s jeans, and then he gets a car wash scene in just 80s short shorts! WTF? I love this movie.
Meanwhile, ditzy mom is fricking Ginger from the first few seasons of Knots Landing. She moved out of the cul-de-sac and ended up in Cameron’s Closet. Bitch could’ve had a decade-and-a-half long career—and been married to that hot Kenny dude who discovered Lisa “Ciji” Hartman.
You just know things aren’t going to end good for the mom’s boyfriend. His peek into the closet is the first time we get to see the 80s cheesetastic demon with glowing eyes. Then a detective shows up as Cameron’s new daddy figure. The detective has creepy-assed dreams. The mom has creepy-assed dreams. So many of the creepiest parts of the film are dreams.
But then things get really good, with some serious jump scares involving corpses coming back from the dead. This is really some freaky stuff for such a tame movie starring a kid. In fact, everything about the film is better than the demon in the closet. But eventually, he’s go to be taken on. Okay, he’s not terrible, but I much preferred the spooky corpses walking around. No regrets about adding this 80s video favorite to my collection.
