Closet Monster

I am not going to give anything away on this post, but Connor Jessup is, in my opinion, going to be a star. In this movie he portrays a young kid who is struggling with his sexual identity. I think how he goes through his senior year with his best friend might relate to many people who watch the movie. It did for me. I think that Connor is going to be a HUGE star in the upcoming future. However, if he just keeps making small movies that are impactful as this one, that is fine with me. BTW, the talking gerbil was Brilliant!

Trigger Warning(s): Bullying (Homophobia) | Grotesque Imagery (Stage Makeup) | Vomit Noted Actor(s) Oscar (Connor Jessup) | Peter (Aaron Abrams) | Buffy (Isabella Rossellini) | Wilder (Aliocha Schneider) Characters & Storyline Oscar has primarily grown up with his father Peter. To say the least, Peter is homophobic. Not to the point he'd march against gay rights and what have you but, arguably, like many, he tolerates the existence of gay people but wouldn't necessarily want to accept them in his family. Especially his son. But the story isn't about Peter, nor really his relationship with Oscar. What this movie is about is Oscar trying to get away from his town for a new life in New York, the ability for new experiences, of which one includes falling in love with a boy. So when a young man named Wilder is hired at the same Home Depot-esque store, may dreams come true for this talented makeup artists? Highlights The Hamster (Buffy) Usually, pets are just accessories and not much more but for Oscar his pet Buffy he gives a voice to. She, technically he, is a long- term friend, a confidant, and also one of the few comical characters of a rather drab film. A Different Kind of Queer Boy To me, diversity isn't just showing gay people, showing Black people, and etc, you have to also surpass the stereotypes. Which isn't to say I don't support or like the idea of femme men getting their story told on screen, but arguably they hold the flag, they are the ones you often see while it is like masculine men are still in the closet. So with Oscar being into monster makeup and good with his hands, I feel it helps bring a fuller mosaic in terms of what gay people look like and what their interest are. For while, yes, makeup is often associated with gay men, this dude was making these cool ass monsters and hanged out in a tree house and just made his sexuality perhaps the least interesting thing about him. On The Fence No Real Romance or Conflict While Wilder flirts with Oscar, nothing really comes of it. While Peter is homophobic, there is no reconciliation or some big to do about it. The lack of romance and drama is different and I can't say if that is good or bad. I will say though that it did leave you feeling that perhaps the movie should have then made Oscar's fears of being hurt or murdered, for being gay a more central focus. That alongside perhaps a fear of anal sex, since one situation seemed to trigger some kind of PTSD. Overall: Mixed A part of me wants to label this as Positive (Worth Seeing) but I'm struggling to come up with a way to justify that. For while I can praise the use of the hamster as a means of support and the media continuing to diversify the representation of gay men, I got nothing which justifies sitting and watching a 90-minute movie. No one's performance is awe-inspiring, every road the story could have gone done it just peers with binoculars, and it leaves me with nothing to really say you may get excited about. So, mixed seems like the best option.

WOW...just got finished watching this movie, I actually clicked on it by accident...I didn't know what it was and almost turned on something else...I'm so glad I decided to watch it..This is one of the best movies, if not the best I have seen all year... I will be on the lookout for other movies from this director, VERY well done..and the lead actor did a tremendous job as well, and has a bright future ahead... I won't get into what the story is about...but I will say that growing up gay can be VERY tough...I know...You feel like you are alone... and no one understands you...So if any other gay person is reading this...Hold on...We all find ourselves...eventually

Sorry, but that was one of the borest films ever. Nothing happened. No firm story line. Acting was good but the story... Duh...

Yes! It's definitely one of your better coming of age stories. Oscar is a kid dealing with his parents divorce living with his possessive father who manliness clashes with Oscars's artistic side and then there is the fact that he's allowing his sexually to approach the surface. He deals with it by having a close relationship with his hamster, Buffy. It's a cliché seen in a lot of movies but done so naturally in this one that it does not seem like one at all. Plus I was surprisingly entertained by the whole movie. Wonderful character development. I just like all the supporting character's relationship with the main one. I cant think of another great or greater example of a teen going through growing pains. Take a look.

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

Another coming of age film for the modern generation that leaves a million unanswered questions and at times is simply confusing. The transitions from the imaginary to real world interaction aren't very well-defined and the characters are simply boring. The 7+ score drew me into watching, but both the wife and I were left disappointed as so many questions were left unanswered. The gratuitous scene towards the end I assume was meant as a metaphor for something, but it failed to make any sense at all. I often wonder if movies like this reflect how America is changing or if filmmakers are simply to lazy to write a decent story. A generous 5 out of 10.

Not a review, just wanted to point out that the person who gave a one- star review based on the lack of french-Canadian accents in this film.. ... this is not a french-Canadian film. This is a film made by a Newfoundlander, set in Newfoundland, written in Toronto, and only has one character in the entire movie who is supposed to be french- Canadian. Giving one star based on your interpretation of an accent, when that's not even the accent most actors are portraying is really, really lame. Personally, I truly enjoyed this film and it's twisted, dream-like format. The plot was semi autobiographical, and you can see the care and passion that everyone involved in the project put into it. Plus, who doesn't like a talking hamster?

There are some great qualities of this film: The soundtrack is amazing, the cinematography is great, and there are some interesting and unique themes. However I was mostly disappointing with the film. The main character, Oscar, is not particularly likable. He retains the "angsty teen" stereotype without many redeeming qualities to combat it; lots of whining, complaining, etc. On top of this, the storyline is a bit all over the place. There are so many different subplots going on all at once, and they don't exactly mesh together very well. Lots of scenes happen metaphorically, but are displayed literally. In some ways this is very successful, but some it feels either confusing, or too obvious. Overall I wouldn't necessarily suggest this movie, but I did enjoy some moments (the party scene was great).

Closet Monster is that rare first feature coming from an auteur with vision, clarity of thought and a voice unique enough to rise above the noise. Chances are few will see it; its limited appeal, not to mention limited release isn't likely to turn many heads. Yet for those who seek it, and more importantly, those who stumble on it years in the future, this movie is just enough to maybe fall in love with. Even at a young age, Oscar (Jessup) didn't exactly have it easy. His parents divorced early on in a scene depicted as both turbulent and petulant. He boards largely with his father (Abrams), in a living situation that highly suggests some serious transgressions on the mother's (Kelly) part. What's worse is somewhere amid the memories of tree house building and playing vampire hunter, Oscar vividly remembers the beating and paralysis of a gay teenager from his school. Years later Oscar's worst kept secret is hidden from his father by his presumed interest in his photography model Gemma (Banzhaf) and a macabre fascination with monster makeup. That of course all changes and threatens to unravel with the arrival of Wilder (Schneider), whose wavy blonde hair and exotic accent appeals to the tortured Oscar. Oscar's story might as well be an analog to every closeted teen, suffocating under the provincialism of their hometown, longing for an escape to the assumed gay utopias of New York, San Francisco or Miami Beach. The universality of his story is further hammered home by a host of tried and true storytelling techniques literalizing his journey. Oscar infers his conscience via his pet guinea pig Buffy (Rossellini) in order to process his complex emotions. Key images and plot points are amplified by hyperbole and forays into body horror and intellectual montage. In many ways Closet Monster invites comparisons to other fanta-fablest films like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) and Swiss Army Man (2016) especially when it comes to exploring emotionally salient themes. Yet just like those films, Closet Monster occasionally undermines its themes in the service of artistic flourish. Director Stephen Dunn indulges in one too many moments of ponderous slow-motion and euphoric whimsy with the same film-school pretension that sunk similar films like Before I Disappear (2014). Yet when the movie pivots into its groove, it really does have a lot to say through Oscar's unique, granular life. Connor Jessup does an incredible job balancing a role that requires layers of alienation, tension and longing while also conveying outward vulnerability and priggishness. While I personally wish his relationship with his father had more complexity and objectivity than the average emotional abuse cliché, the film does leave things open for reconciliation. Closet Monster is certainly not the definitive coming-out movie; I'm pretty sure The Way He Looks (2014) took that spot away from My Own Private Idaho (1991) quite some time ago. Yet as a evocative drama and melancholic piece of entertainment, it has the seriousness and caprice to stand on its own merits. And if it gives young kids like Oscar the courage to be themselves then I say it's all worth it.