When it comes to cult films Jim Wynorski is no stranger. A number of his films fall under the “cult film” umbrella and maybe none more so than his second directorial effort 1986’s Chopping Mall, a film about a state-of-the-art security system installed at a mall to cut down on theft and other criminal activity. The system includes security robots programmed to stop thieves and disable them via tasers and hold them until the proper authorities arrive. What could go wrong? Sounds like a fool-proof plan to me!
One Friday evening after the robots are installed four couples, three of which work at the mall, decide to have an after hours party in a furniture store. I think this sounds like a great idea because the mall has everything you need, especially in the 80’s, so why not party there? The couples are very much 80’s stereotypes – three are cool, jock-like party types and then the last couple are two outsider nerds their friends are trying to hook up. This is not a problem of course. We just need them to hit the usual notes while the killer robots provide the fun.
As the cool couples begin to have sexy time the not-so-cool kids hang out on a couch watching old monster movies. You know what, I kind of like these not-so-cool kids! What these kids don’t now is that due to a lightning strike the security robots have malfunctioned and are now cold-blooded killers!
It had been about 15 years since I had seen Chopping Mall and man do I love this movie. It’s such a wonderful B-movie and an absolute blast as a party movie. Throw this one on with some friends over and bask in the absurdity.
The cast is wonderful as features personal favorites Barbra Crampton and Kelli Maroney. Maroney is basically our lead and final girl and she’s so fantastic. She hasn’t had has many leading roles over the years as she’s deserved but this is certainly one of the highlights. Watch this back-to-back with The Zero Boys (read my review!) and that’s a fun three hours of Maroney-centric action.
One of the most interesting aspects of watching Chopping Mall now is the certain sense of nostalgia for malls it stirred within me. Malls have obviously changed drastically over the years with places like Amazon and other online retailers becoming our primary source for shopping but Chopping Mall came out during the heyday of malls. This is how I remember them as a kid. They’re was some big and grand about malls back then and going to one was almost like an event rather than merely a shopping experience. That really doesn’t exist, at least not on the same scope, today.
Also because the film takes place in a mall we get this wonderful pun for a title even though it’s a poor description of the film itself. I’m pretty sure there is zero chopping in Chopping Mall.
We all know about Chopping Mall though, so the real question is how did Lionsgate do with their Blu-ray release, which along with Bloud Diner, was one of two titles to kick off their brand-new Vestron Video Collector’s Series? I have to say they did a damn good job. This release of Chopping Mall is right up there with the quality of Arrow Video and Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition releases. Lionsgate did real good for all us Vestron Video fans out there.
The picture looks great, particularly when compared to the past DVD release. It’s not a pristine picture by any means but you have to consider what you’re dealing with here – this is a low budget film that was shot quickly at a shopping mall during the evening when it was closed, meaning the original elements are likely not the greatest to begin with. Grain is something you should want when dealing with movies shot on actual film, but Chopping Mall does appear to have more than you’d expect in a few scenes. This is a good thing though because Lionsgate could have taken the opposite approach and DNR’d this to death creating that horrible waxy image. Luckily they didn’t and what we have is a film that has never looked better.
When it comes to special features Lionsgate absolutely delivered on the goods. There are three audio commentaries – two with Wynorski and second unit director Steve Mitchell, one of which they are joined by Maroney and then a third with Nathaniel Thompson and Ryan Turek. I haven’t watched all these yet but I do enjoy the one with Maroney quite a bit. The other special features are as follows:
Isolated Score Track by Chuck Cirino
Back to the Mall
Chopping Chopping Mall
Talkin’ About. . .The Killbots
Scoring Chopping Mall
The Robot Speaks! Ten Questions with the Killbot
The Lost Scene
Army of One
Chopping Mall: Creating the Killbots
Trailer
I’m not going to go over each one of these, but I will point out some highlights. Back to the Mall is basically a mini-documentary on the film featuring in interviews with the cast and crew. This is a lot of fun and gives a lot of insight into what the actors thought of the film, surprisingly almost none liked the final name of the film. The Robot Speaks is a fun interview with a killbot, which is the interview we’ve all been waiting for. Watching these special features all in a row they kind of bleed into one but they’re all worth your time. Most have a runtime between 5 and 10 minutes with Back to the Mall coming in at just under half an hour.
Chopping Mall is no Citizen Kane. It’s easy silly by B-movie standards in many ways. Still it’s incredibly enjoyable and to finally see Lionsgate not only release it on Blu-ray but to do so on a wonderful collector’s edition is a absolute dream. This Blu-ray is a must.
Chopping Mall is now available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate as part of the Vestron Video Collector’s Series.
