‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘Inside the Closet’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Something that is truly fascinating about 1980s horror-themed television shows… is how incredibly tame they were back in the day. Because gore was simply a no-no on broadcast television, as were stories that really did their best to gross out the audience or terrify them and it does makes sense as to why this was the case. Because in the 1980s, television was quite conservative and feel-good in nature, and the thought of using a wholesome format, one that thrived via sitcoms and family entertainment, to scare people or make them nauseous, just seemed… sacrilegious in a way.
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However, obviously those close-minded attitudes changed somewhere down the line. Since The Walking Dead became a pop-culture sensation by offering up gore and surprises and quality scares. Not to mention, horror is everywhere on television these days, as are shows that dive deep into incredible concepts that wouldn’t have been on the air twenty years ago. But what was it that truly started to make folks ponder upon the very real possibility that quality horror was a viable form of prime-time entertainment? And well, there’s a good chance that the scary stories we enjoy on tap on TV today, blossomed from a single piece of terrifying fruit that Tales from the Darkside put on the airwaves back in 1984.

For the episode, ‘Inside the Closet’ is nothing short of a waking nightmare, a feat that the story accomplished by giving us a down home, simple horror story. One that introduced the audience to a young woman named Gail Aynsley, and when we catch up with Gail here… she is simply looking for a room to rent on campus. The kind that will afford her peace and quiet to help her complete her art degree and she finds one at the home of a Dr. Fenner, the dean of a veterinary school on campus. But what appears to be the perfect room to rent is anything but. For a tiny closet inside Gail’s new home comes complete with chittering noises and the door that is supposedly locked, that tends to open on its own. Leaving Gail quite curious as to what is inside the closet and well… her ongoing desire to uncover its contents, will lead to nothing but regret… and pure terror.

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Simply because, there is something hideous living within that closet, a creature known as Lizzie, and she’s in good with Dr. Fenner… in fact, it is strongly implied that ‘she’ is his daughter and well, as you can see from the photos in this article… Lizzie is the first real reason that this episode is not only scary but serves as a keystone tale for modern horror on television. Because… just look at her, she’s pure nightmare fuel and you simply didn’t see that kind of creation appear on television in the 80s. But Tom Savini (who also masterfully directed this tale… more on that a moment) was eager to break that edict and push the envelope by way of something that would truly freak people out and well, mission accomplished. Because her appearance is fear-inducing and everything she does sends chills down your spine, and the true terror present within this tale, doesn’t end with dear Lizzie.
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Because Savini’s work here behind the camera, is utterly brilliant. Because he blends together the wonder/horror of modern effects with classic horror elements, alongside his own desire to really rock the audience with tension and the end result of that… is twenty minutes of intense scares. The kind that unsettles a viewer through and through. Since we don’t see Lizzie until the end of the story, but those quick flashes of her disgusting visage are enough to put us on the edge of our seat with worry, and that boils over when she finally arrives. To the point where one might jump or yelp aloud when that little hell beast does her thing and the fact that this story is still utterly frightening after all these years, truly serves as a testament to Tom Savini’s skills as a director.

But what matters more, is that the impactful scares here, and the production values of this episode, made it clear that quality horror could in fact be part of the television landscape and it also established the fact that Tales from the Darkside could do it all from a horror standpoint. Since this episode is devoid of deeper commentary and simply leans into the scares and our fears of the unknown and in many ways, not only is this the story that would inspire others to go for broke horror wise on television in the years to come… but this is also the moment that this series truly arrived as an icon of the genre. Because this episode really is something special and it will be interesting to see what other full-on horror stories await us as our journey through the darkside continues. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

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