Even though the movie had already been shown in test markets by the time Short Circuit hit theaters in the spring of 1986, Chopping Mall is the answer to what would happen if they took the Slasher/Dead Teenagers genres and mashed them up with murdering robots. What if Johnny Five blew people’s heads off as he was designed to do instead of dancing to Saturday Night Fever? I mean the first Terminator movie is also a glorified slasher but all the sequels and reboots have turned the original concept into something totally different.
A megamall, Park Place Center, has implemented a new security system that involves three high-tech robots that are suppose to tase and shoot people with tranquilizer darts if they are found in the building after hours. The mall also has other state of the art technology like automated locks and shutters that automatically close the entrance/exit doors. Despite some criticism by shop owners, two of which are Paul and Mary Bland (Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov in an ode to their roles in the cult classic Eating Raoul), the robots are perfectly harmless people are assured. All mall workers with ID badge’s must present them and the robots will recognize them and let them go.
Of course, if you’ve ever seen a sci-fi/horror movie, you know this isn’t the case. Chopping Mall was released a year before the ED-209s in RoboCop would malfunction and turn a frightened businessman into swiss cheese during a demonstration. The weekend comes and the young (and horny) people who work at the mall decide to throw a party in one of the furniture stores. Naturally, they fit all the stereotypes you’ve seen before and you can tell from the minute you meet them at which point the robots will pick them off.
Nerdy geek store worker Ferdy Meisel (Tony O’Dell) is hooked up with the shy Allison Parks (Kelli Maroney), who works at the pizzeria. Ferdy’s more supportive friend and co-worker, Greg Williams (Nick Segal), has a girlfriend, Suzie Lynn (Barbara Crampton), who happens to be Allison’s friend and co-worker. Also joining them are blue-collar working couple, Rick and Linda Stanton (Russell Todd and Karrie Emerson). And finally there’s horndog dudebro Mike Bernlan (John Terlesky) and his ditzy rich man’s daughter girlfiriend, Leslie Todd (Suzee Slater).
Wanna make a bet on who is the first to run afoul of the robots who are called “Protectors?” As often as movies do going back to Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, a lightning storm outside strikes the mall and causes damage to the computer system that controls the Protectors and they malfunction and turn bloodthirsty. Yet after they kill someone, they say in a robotic voice supplied by Jim Wynorski, writer and director, “Thank you. Have a nice day.”
In many ways, the movie, even though it’s a cheaply made exploitative B-movie is a hilarious commentary on the captitalism and consumerism of the Reaganeighties. In George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, the undead were seen as a metaphor for the consumers, mindlessly wandering around a shopping mall without an explanation of why they’re there or why they won’t leave.
By 1986, the goal was to get people to buy as much as they could. Using credit cards for minor purchases, rather than emergencies or big items, was becoming more common. The malls in the 1980s and 1990s were also where people went to hang out for hours on end. An opening montage shows how people hurriedly walk through malls, going in stores, coming out, getting on elevators and getting off, just buying up stuff left and right. The interior of the mall itself, Sherman Oaks Galleria, was used in Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Commando. Just like Dawn of the Dead, filming took place at night.
The movie was the result of a deal Julie Corman, wife of Roger, had with Vestron Pictures to make a movie set in a mall. Wynorski agreed to write the movie cheap only on the condition he could direct it. Filming reportedly took 20-22 days with scenes also being filmed on a soundstage. Originally, the idea was to film it at the Beverly Center shopping mall, but it was too expensive. Julie Corman, who produced it, worked out a deal with the Galleria’s management not to cause any damage and to have all filming for the day completely by 9 a.m. with no cast/crew or equipment present. Believe it or not, but the Protectors were actual robots that were built to be operated by remote control. Five were constructed in the event that one or two were damaged in the production.
By filming in a mall where a lot of people in their late teens and early 20s worked in the 1980s, the movie also says something about how workers are viewed. A middle-aged janitor, Walter Paisley (Dick Miller), is one of the first victims of the Protectors. And with changing views this day on the idea of the workforce, it’s about a corporation valuing property over people’s lives. As it was in the 1980s and still is, people who work in retail, food service and janitorial work aren’t as valued as highly. In the last few years, janitorial/housekeeping work has been given the phrase “environmental services” because it sounds better.
SPOILER ALERT!! You could also find an argument that since both Allison and Ferdy are the ones who are most hesitant to having a party at the furniture store, they survive, because they show respect to the store owners. But in all honesty, I think they are both nervous. Rick and Linda manage their own auto service business and are the last to be killed since their blue-collar jobs are what people consider the “backbone” of the economy but people really don’t respect them the same way they view janitors. It’s no surprise that Mike and Leslie are the first one killed, not just because it’s a trope in horror movies but it reflects their work ethic. Mike seems to be a preppy slacker as he bosses around Ferdy (whose uncle owns the store and he respects the position he’s in) and Leslie is shown bored at work as her father owns the store she works at.
Chopping Mall was released by Concorde Pictures on March 21, 1986 in regional test markets under the title Killbots. However, it got a bad reception and was pulled from theaters. Originally at 91 minutes with credits, about 15 minutes was cut and it was retitled to Chopping Mall. I first saw it on HBO in the late 1980s under this title, but I remember the Atlanta stations would air it under the title Killbots in the late 1980s or 1990s. Some reports indicate the Killbots movie poster led audiences to believe it was a kids movie.
Howver, the title Chopping Mall makes it blatantly clear it’s a horror movie similar to the slasher genre, even though no one in the movie is chopped up. However, one character does get a gruesome fate that I won’t discuss further for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet
Also despite the movie greusome-sounding title, there’s a lot of comedic elements, such as the inclusion of the Bartel and Woronov, who reportedly ad-libbed all their lines. Miller’s role is a reference to his role in the 1959 Roger Corman-directed A Bucket of Blood. Miller also appeared in The Little Shop of Horrors. A pet store is called Roger’s Little Shop of Pets. A kiosk is called Krush Groove. And the sporting goods store where they get firearms to fight the Protectors is called Peckinpah’s, a reference to director Sam Peckinpah, known for making violent movies with a lot of gun play like The Wild Bunch. Also, the sporting goods store in a mall is also a reference to Dawn of the Dead.
For what it’s worth, there is a great little action horror movie with a little social commentary and an attitude of not taking itself too seriously.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 