Chopping Mall - DVD

As a kid, I remember seeing the VHS box art for Jim Wynorski’s 1986 film CHOPPING MALL at the numerous visits my family paid to various mom and pop rental shops. Along with MANIAC, it’s the art I remember most from that timeframe, as I was still pretty young and it legitimately scared me. I would eventually see MANIAC in the early ‘00s, falling in love with the picture. Last night, I checked out CHOPPING MALL for the first time and while I wouldn’t say I fell in love, I definitely had a good time. The plot is pretty straightforward. A mall decides to utilize state of the art robots to patrol its corridors after close, defending the stores from would be burglars. Meanwhile, some young people decide to have a late night party at one of their father’s furniture stores on the robots’ first evening of activity. Unfortunately, after a rogue lightning strike, the robots have been freed from their preprogrammed restrictions and are now roving killing machines. Trapped inside with the robots by metal security doors (who knew malls needed this much protection?), our partiers have to fight to stay alive. Performances are about what you’d expect from this low budget affair. Broad, though not wooden or all that unpolished, everybody looks like they’re having a good time with Wynorski and cowriter Steve Mitchell’s script. There are even some recognizable faces. Genre icon Barbara Crampton is warm and screams admirably as valley girl Suzie, fan favorite Dick Miller has an extended cameo as a grumpy custodian, and Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov briefly reprise their roles from EATING RAOUL. The rest of the cast is filled with character actors who did plenty of work in the world of cult and genre flicks. One thing I didn’t expect was the cheeky sense of humor the film uses. Though not over the top or intrusive, there’s a streak of self-awareness that really heightens the enjoyment factor. The makeup and special effects are also very impressive. There are multiple fairly large explosions, a full body burn sequence, and a fantastic exploding head effect. Even the robots, though clunky, are not unbelievable. Plus there are a few nicely done stunts and a scene involving live tarantulas and snakes. Chuck Cirino’s lively electronic score gives the film a nice tempo and an appropriately computerized flavor. Shockingly, it was shot in a real mall. There’s some decently serious property damage on screen so I’m amazed they were able to have everything cleaned up every morning for opening. Jim Wynorski’s CHOPPING MALL is a pretty fun little slice of low budget ‘80s sci fi horror. Reading about the film, it seems like it was initially about twenty minutes longer so I’m very interested in what may have been cut. As it stands, at 77 minutes, it’s brisk and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The Vestron Video Collector’s Series blu ray has a pleasing look and contains a plethora of extras. I watched the newly filmed retrospective immediately after finishing the movie and found it both entertaining and informative. I’m very happy to have added the film to my collection. Recommended for fans of SHORT CIRCUIT, the original DAWN OF THE DEAD, and the EVIL DEAD series.

It's hard to go wrong with a shopping mall horror film from the 80s. Vestron put together a stacked package with this release. The transfer is excellent. Great late night viewing!

I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid. Really enjoyed seeing it again as an adult.

Chopping mall is one of those cult classics worth owning, vestron makes a great attempt to capture the true spirit of this classic great features and transfer

I'm an eighties kid, and as such I grew up in the era of dark, dank video rental stores offering dodgy low budget movies. Back then the internet was not a smart phone search away, and it was kind of a fun thing to take a gamble on a movie based solely on the cover and description on the movie case. Chopping Mall was one video cover that always caught my eye on the shelf with it's cool clever art, but I never did get around to actually renting as I always opted for some cheesy sci-fi or fantasy movie instead. Besides, I thought it was a" Friday the 13th" type slasher movie from the name. Well here we are in 2016, and I finally decided to take the plunge after watching a trailer on YouTube and learning that this was actually a shlocky sci-fi killer robot type thing in the vein of Terminator or Saturn 9. Nice! I guess in a way it was a good thing I waited because I don't think the movie even looked this spectacular when it showed in the theater. It has been fully restored picture wise, no scratches, dust or other things associated with retro movies. The clarity is awesome, and the colors look nice with lots of eighties neon. There's also lots of bonus material made especially for this release. As for the movie itself, it's a fun, corny movie that's a product of it's era. If you like eighties low brow humor, teen violence and nudity then this fits that bill. I'm glad I waited to see this improved cut of the movie, even if it took decades to see.