User Reviews

Sweet young college student Gail Aynsley (a sound and appealing portrayal by the pretty Roberta Weiss) rents an upstairs room from anthropology professor Dr. Fenner (a fine performance by Fritz Weaver). Unbeknownst to Gail, there's an odd and possibly deadly creature living in the closet of said room. Director Tom Savini, working from a compelling script by Michael McDowell, relates the absorbing story at a brisk pace, ably creates and sustains a strong aura of intriguing mystery, milks plenty of nerve-rattling tension from the claustrophobic single room setting, and stages the startling climax with real skill and style. Moreover, this episode gains considerable harrowing power and impact from the way it slyly capitalizes on basic primal fears concerning such familiar topics as that strange monster under the bed and that scary thing lurking in the dark. The titular creature is quite freaky and gnarly looking. Robert Draper's cinematography makes neat use of a prowling camera. The very ending is simply priceless. One of this show's most potent and effective episodes.

Tales from the Darkside: Inside the Closet starts as college student Gail Aynsley (Roberta Weiss) rents a room in a large house owned by college professor Dr. Fenner (Fritz Weaver), he gives her the room that belonged to his daughter. Everything seems fine but there's a little closet in the corner of the room with a small door that according to Dr. Fenner hasn't been opened for years, however the first night Gail hears what he thinks are rats in the closet but the truth is far more frightening than that...

Episode 7 from season 1 the Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during November 1984, the first of three Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by special make-up effects master Tom Savini (a personal hero of mine & I've met him by the way...) I was really looking forward to this because of his connection with it & I enjoyed this a lot. The script by Michael McDowell has a nice premise & plays on our fear of things that may or may not lurk in the dark & what potential horrors may hide in our closets! It's a creepy little tale which most of us can relate to in some way or another & which is why it's an effective little story & one of the show's best. Having said that I wasn't quite sure what was going on as the ending doesn't make a lot of sense, what happened to Gail's body for instance? Why did Dr. Fenner claim everything was OK to her mother at the end? There are also a few other loose ends which I'd have liked explained a little better but as a short 20 minute episode from an anthology TV series it's very memorable & perfectly entertaining.

This one features the very first sight of human blood in the series when Gail gets her finger caught in the rat trap (I love the idea of the prey setting a trap for the hunter) & the creature slashes her back. The little creature itself is brought to life via an animatronic puppet designed & created by Savini & is far more impressive, realistic & has far more personality than any horrible GCI computer graphic ever could. It's an ugly little bugger & I wouldn't like one living in my closet! This is also probably the first out-and-out horror themed Tales from the Darkside episode that tries to be scary, there's no light fantasy elements here! It has a nice atmosphere & is quite creepy at times. This only features two actor's, Weiss does OK as Gail while the vastly experienced Weaver does alright who also appeared in a similarly themed short horror segment from the anthology film Creepshow (1982).

Inside the Closet is a nice 20 minute pure horror tale with neat creature effects & a good story that most will be able to relate to in some way or another. One of the show's best, definitely worth a watch.

Inside The Closet is one of the best episodes of season 1. A College student Gail Aynsky(Roberta Weiss) finds a place to rent from Dr. Fenner (Fritz Weaver). When Gail moves in she is thrilled until one night she is awakened by weird noises. At first she believe it's rats, so she tells Dr.Fenner. He tells her not to worry about it, but he will look into it. Gail is very disturbed, she searches the closet. There she finds clothing for a little girl, but Dr. Weaver has no children, supposedly. Each night it gets worse until Gail finds out what truly is living in her closet. By the time she finds out, she becomes it's next victim. At the end of the show we see this deformed creature coming down the stairs. Once it reaches the bottom, it goes to Dr. Fenner. The Dr. is on the phone, he looks down picks her up and comforts it. He then proceeds to take it upstairs to bed. This is one of the scariest or scariest episodes of season 1, would recommend it to anyone.

"Inside the Closet" is one of the more famous episodes of Tales from the Darkside as it's the first thing that was directed by Tom Savini. While writer Michael McDowell died at the too-young age of 49, he left behind scripts to films like Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Thinner.

It's a very simple story: Gail (Roberta Weiss) needs a room so she can keep studying in college and ends up finding one from Dr. Fenner (Fritz Weaver), a professor whose daughter is away at college and wife has just died. Or so he says...

In 22-minutes, with two actors and sets, as well as little to no budget, Savini transforms the basic into one of the most frightening -- and sweet, oddly -- tales in this series. I've seen Lizzie up close and in person and it's just as eerie in real life.

I'd rather not spoil too much, other than to say that Gail is not alone in the house and all of her fears are very, very real.

Finally what I started to watch this show for. Really good horror episode that kept me on the edge of the chair in suspension, while having goosebumps up and down my spine. Nothing new or original, but that's the very reason it's so effective. Episode that aims for the biggest childhood fears, fears we all have buried somewhere in sub-conscience. Is there a monster in the closet? What's that noise under the bed? May I sleep with lights on tonight? Sounds silly, but it works better than I'm comfortable to admit. If my bed had legs I doubt I would be able to fall asleep tonight. Although the monster is well done for that time and budget and it appears at the end, I think episode would be even more effective if it wasn't shown at all. Fear of unknown is the greatest fear of humanity, and there's no monster that can scare you more than one whose presence you feel but can not see.

Dear parents, thank you for having sofa beds instead of beds with empty space under, so I never had to fear what's under the bed at night. This kind of small things make happy childhood.

8/10

!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!

I think that monster is doctor's daughter whose mother is stuffed ape that we can see on the wall on several occasions. I can't see other reason for that stuffed monkey having as much screen time, or for monster looking so much like ape, or for doctor's attitude towards it. Is there anyone willing to share their opinion?