80
Autobiographical but also singularly imaginative, this formally exuberant bildungsroman plays like a Gregg Araki film with a dash of Cronenbergian psychosomatic body-rebellion thrown in.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Barry Hertz
Dunn’s work is a far more fantastical feat, one that mixes slow-burn drama with a welcome Cronenbergian sensibility. Oh, and Isabella Rossellini plays a talking hamster. Just try to top that.
90
[A] superb coming-of-age drama.
80
Canadian writer-director Stephen Dunn’s first feature treads no new ground in basic outline. But the risk-taking confidence with which he weaves in sardonic magical-realist elements, not to mention his unpredictable yet assured approaches to style and tone, make this a most auspicious debut.
63
Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene
It's when Stephen Dunn dares to inhabit the how and not the what of queerness that Closet Monster feels authentic and deliciously strange.
100
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
Dunn juggles the story’s vital, at times fantastical narrative, eclectic imagery, and wellspring of human fears, flaws and desires with vision and confidence. But Jessup’s powerfully empathetic performance really seals the deal.
75
Dunn demonstrates an impressive ability to bring his unique interpretation of the coming out process to life.
75
The Seattle Times by John Hartl
The ingenious cinematographer, Bobby Shore, uses the Newfoundland locations to achieve some of his most striking effects. The result is sort of a horror film, but not really. It’s too funny to be categorized that way.
75
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.
90
The New York Times by Ken Jaworowski
Connor Jessup wonderfully inhabits the teenage Oscar, who observes others while trying to find himself.