Monsters in the Closet

In Chestnut Hills, three people are murdered in their closets by an unseen killer, turning a quiet town into a place of fear. The bizarre method and the lack of an obvious suspect set up a mystery that will challenge the investigators.

Richard Clark, a struggling San Francisco reporter, hears about the cases through his snarky rival Scoop Johnson and senses a big break. He travels to Chestnut Hills to pursue the story and uncover the truth behind the killings.

Upon arriving, Richard meets Diane Bennett, a local biology teacher, and her young son, Professor. They discuss the case and begin to sense something beyond ordinary crime is at work.

Richard and Sheriff Ketchem investigate the first victim's sorority house and discover a large claw near the body. The find suggests a nonhuman predator and raises the stakes of the investigation.

Diane brings the claw to her colleague, Dr. Pennyworth, asking him to analyze it for clues about the creature. He begins to suspect a supernatural or alien origin.

That night, Richard, Diane, Professor, Pennyworth, and Father Finnegan gather at Diane's house for dinner. The neighborhood is then rattled by screams and, soon after, a monstrous, powerful creature murders Ketchem in view of the police.

The monster rampages through Chestnut Hills, killing Sheriff Ketchem in front of witnesses as officers retreat, unable to stop it with bullets. The town is placed on lockdown while the military is deployed to contain the threat.

Pennyworth proposes using a glockenspiel to communicate with the creature, and the group heads out to search. They are halted by a soldier and chastised by General Turnbull, realizing Professor's danger as the monster approaches.

The team rushes to the local elementary school when they learn Professor is in danger and manage to save him at the last moment as the monster nears. The narrow escape underscores the stakes of the hunt.

Pennyworth pushes his plan to communicate with the monster, running toward it to try to pacify it, but is killed. The army opens fire, yet the creature remains unharmed and the soldiers retreat.

With evacuation underway, Diane realizes the claw's electrons might allow the monster to be killed by electricity. She pitches the idea to Turnbull, who refuses, and she and Richard construct a scrap-metal trap wired to shock the monster—but the trap fails to subdue it.

Richard's glasses fall as the monster closes in, and the couple retreat to the attic to hide. The monster finally snatches Richard and carries him outside, beginning a new phase of their confrontation.

In a last-ditch bid to stop the beast from rejuvenating, Diane makes a live television appearance urging people to destroy their closets. The broadcast reaches a frightened audience across the country.

The monster drags Richard to San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid, seeking a final closet to inhabit. The creature cannot fit inside, its energy wanes, and it dies, leaving Richard alive.

As responders celebrate Richard's survival, a reporter notes the line about closets as the monster's undoing. Father Finnegan adds the final quip: 'Oh, no. It wasn't the closet. It was Beauty killed the Beast.'