Had all the boxes checked: cheesy dialogue, campy feel, bad acting, silly villain(s),gratuitous boob shot. It was just an entertaining 80 minutes. Please don't expect more out of that and I don't think you will.
Chopping Mall
1986
Action / Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi
Chopping Mall
1986
Action / Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi
Keywords: robotshopping malllaserlockdownmall
Plot summary
The Park Plaza 2000 Shopping Center is implementing a new nighttime security system developed and monitored by Secure-tronics. While part of that system is fortifying the interior with impenetrable doors timed to be secured from midnight to 6AM, the core of the system is three 101 series Protector robots who are programmed to neutralize any non-authorized personnel until the police arrive. On the first night of this new system, eight (four pairs) of the younger shopping center employees are secretly planning on an after hours party at the home furnishings store in the mall, so chosen for the beds and couches for more intimate pursuits. Set up on a blind date, Ferdy Meisel and Alison Parks are the two somewhat reluctant attendees, mild-mannered Ferdy worried about the state of the store after the fact, it where he works, and proverbial girl next door Alison, who has only worked at the mall for a week, not knowing anyone at the party besides her coworker Suzie Lynn. Their party takes a turn when the robots begin to malfunction and decide that their collective mission is to kill anyone in their way. Making the situation worse for the eight is that they are caught inside the shopping center after midnight meaning they are trapped with the killer and seemingly indestructible robots at least until morning, that is if they survive until then. Complicating matters is that they are surrounded within a mall full of merchandise which may work for or against them.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Decent 80's B Movie
Exterminating all Mallrats!
In this insignificant but nevertheless fun 80's low-budgeter, the sex-hungry teenagers for once aren't chased around by a killer wearing a ridiculous mask but by a troop of malfunctioning and heavily armed security robots! Four couples that work in various stores at the Park Plaza shopping mall secretly throw an after hours party during the same night when a lightening storm completely disorientates the 3 brand new "Protector" robots and get killed off one by one. "Chopping Mall" (how can you not love that title?) is a lot of fun to watch and it's easily Jim Wynorski's best effort out of more than 60 directed films. Despite the fact that "Chopping Mall" doesn't take itself too seriously and mainly focuses on satire, there really are some tense moments and properly mounted suspense sequences. The laser head-explosion sequence is famous and there are multiple other cheese-highlights. But what is perhaps the most surprising, are the engaging acting performances and the welcome amount of tasteful nudity. The most familiar cute face in the cast is Barbara Crampton who stars as a screaming beauty in between her two greatest films "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond". Truly ingenious are the endless references towards Roger Corman's repertoire, especially illustrated through cameos of Paul Bartel, Dick Miller and Mary Woronov. Unquestionably, "Chopping Mall" is a righteous guilty pleasure of many, many horror fans.
Cool title, mediocre movie.
The overly familiar "Friday The 13TH"-type premise (with an extra Sci-Fi note thrown in) is better executed here, but the movie still amounts to a complete waste of time after it's over. The characters are engaging enough to keep it strangely watchable (when they die, you may not be moved, but you aren't glad, either),but there are too many dumb inconsistencies in the action scenes (especially in the level of damage that the robots' weapons can induce). (*1/2)