Did I miss something? This unusual movie can boast a fine performance by Anthony DeMarco, playing a 6 year old (he is probably older) whose parents are about to separate and probably divorce. The film is mostly about how their fighting and anger affect him, and the first half of the story is interesting, as Jake, the boy, develops a fear of a zombie he believes is in his closet, based on a suggestion planted by an older playmate whose mother is a friend of Jake's mom. It seemed clear to me that this was not really a horror film, as the zombie was in his mind. But the problem with the film is that I think it was implying that his parents problems were the cause of this fear. Yet I think many children have this or similar fears that have nothing to do with their parents relationships. Then when Jake appears to slay the zombie, I am not sure what this was supposed to signify. His parents are unchanged in their attitudes, and the movie appears to reach no resolution for anyone. As such, for me it just seemed to say that some women use their children to get at their exes, which isn't exactly a surprise. The script needed to be less extreme in how excessive the women's reprimands of Jake sounded. It often wasn't believable. So is he over his fear? I don't mind some ambiguity but this film feels as if it ended with no conclusion other than it is cruel how some parents hurt their kids psychologically when their marriage is crumbling. Not exactly a major revelation. I believe there was the potential for a fine film here, but it fell well short of its ambitions.
Review of Jake's Closet
