From the Snygg Brothers, Zack and Spencer, comes the horror anthology Monsters In The Closet. The wraparound story is one of the most clever in recent memory. Famous horror novelist Raymond Castle (Tom Cikoski) is dead. His estranged daughter, Jasmin (Jasmin Flores), is dealing with his estate and affairs. She discovers some files containing her father’s audiobook recordings of his latest short story collection when going through his things.
In between each story, strange happenings befall Jasmin, and she finds herself in ever-increasing perilous situations involving zombies and hounding literary agents. These moments give the entirety of Monsters In The Closet a sense of urgency and tension that not all anthologies can keep up in the wraparound. This helps a lot as Flores is only so-so in the acting department.
Please Kill Me Again, directed by Spencer Syngg, and co-written by Syngg and Denyse Arlene Hollis. The POV narrative stars Hollis as Genny, who wakes up surrounded by zombies. As she attempts to escape the flesh-eaters, Genny looks into a mirror and discovers she’s a zombie! Now, all she wants is to get someone to kill her, as she does not want to live as an undead corpse. This plan is much easier said than done, though, as the zombie woman accidentally kills every human she encounters.
“…discovers some files containing her father’s audiobook recordings of his latest short story collection…”
This segment is pretty good, though not perfect. The narrative of Please Kill Me Again begs a few questions: how did Genny keep her sentience? Are all zombies in this world self-aware? Things like that. On the other hand, this story is a lot of fun, and Hollis is giving her all as the zombie. Plus, the first-person style works well, and the gore effects are excellent.
The Syngg Brothers direct and co-write, alongside leads Luke Couzens and Carmilla Crawford, the next installment, Home Improvement. Married couple Tina (Crawford) and Zeke (Couzens) are excited to have just bought their first home. While it is a fixer-upper, the lovebirds are excited and determined to clean the place up themselves. However, their personalities clash as the couple continues to mess up the various improvements. Eventually, things come to a head brutally and fatally.
Home Improvement is the funniest of all the segments of Monsters In The Closet. Crawford and Couzens are incredible as the only actors on screen. They play off each other well and bring the funny and pain in equal measure. Of course, it helps that the script is witty and quickly sets up the characters and their dire though amusing situation. The little ways Tina and Zeke prod each other, which then escalate to near-fatal blows, are hilarious.
"…the wraparound story is one of the most clever in recent memory."
