A stunning feature directorial debut from Stephen Dunn that beautifully captures the difficulty of coming out, internalized homophobia, first crushes, and divorce

| Mar 29, 2023

As a film about sexual awakenings, Closet Monster is commendable in its focus not on the mechanics of sexuality, but instead on its ramifications.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 2, 2021

If I've said it once I have said it a million billion trillion times - every movie needs to have Isabella Rossellini voicing a hamster.

| Jul 6, 2021

Grapples with sexuality or homophobia and does so with style and guts.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 4, 2021

Deliciously [mixes] genres from domestic comedy to teen horror/fantasy.

| Jun 9, 2020

Stephen Dunn has in fact crafted an instant classic of queer cinema that takes the coming-of-age and coming-out tale, rejuvenates it and delivers a film that unapologetically puts the elephant in the room in its very title.

| Sep 15, 2019

Closet Monster is a little obvious with its symbolism... However, [Stephen] Dunn stylistically pulls off the movie's themes beautifully.

| Aug 7, 2019

Closet Monster is certainly worth a watch due to its originality, quirkiness and honesty, none of which ever seem forced.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 18, 2019

[An] absolutely stunning queer coming-of-age story.

| Aug 27, 2018

With its surrealist treatment of gay identity and hothouse take on familial melodrama, Closet Monster inevitably feels like a precious carbon copy of Xavier Dolan's work.

| Aug 22, 2018

Murder, masturbation, melancholy, molly-this is one overstuffed Canadian debut feature. Perhaps they should have cut the talking hamster.

| Sep 28, 2017

Somehow that revolutionary, empowering message never got through to Dunn. His film seems sexually and psychologically arrested in the pathology that blocks coming out.

| Mar 3, 2017

If you didn't think a hamster voiced by Isabella Rossellini could make you cry, think again.

| Dec 26, 2016

A psychological thriller that has the ability to leave no one indifferent, something that makes one of the pearls to discover this year and a future cult title. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 12, 2016

One way to tell a promising director is by the acting in his or her film, and the performances in "Closet Monster" are solid all the way around, no matter how small the role.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 30, 2016

If it all doesn't work perfectly, that's oddly okay, the character-driven highs making up for the bits and pieces that fail to reach the same sort of unpredictably enthralling heights so much of the rest thankfully soars to.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 28, 2016

Sort of a horror film, but not really. It's too funny to be categorized that way.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 24, 2016

A film school thesis project that somehow found its way into general release.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Oct 13, 2016

If Dunn can direct his next work with more considered distance from his characters, he has a great future as an inventive and assured film director.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 30, 2016

Dunn plays around with perspective and style, but all the flash doesn't obscure the film's emotion and heart, which are deep and true.

| Original Score: B- | Sep 29, 2016