Chopping Mall - 1986. Dir. Jim Wynorski
You could say this is your classic 80's cheeseball horror/low budget gore fest. Chopping Mall (rebranded from it's original title - Killbots) features brand new top of the line security robots that are authoritative and prone to violence. These bots are installed in a shopping mall and end up killing the horny teenagers that stay in the mall after closing. Perfect.
With such a short run time, 1hr 17 mins, we are soon provided with what we came for; cheesy 80's industrial techno soundtrack, plenty of nudity and some great bloody deaths with questionable special effects. The acting, naturally, is not the greatest, but honestly it doesn't need to be. It works and it's fun to watch.
I knew what I was getting into due to director Jim Wynorski's tenure as Hollywood's quintessential b-movie/exploitation guy for 25 years (over 150 titles) and production from Roger Corman who needs no introduction. These guys almost seem like the masters of underground cinema, churning out 100's upon 100's of low budget films (Corman has over 500 producer credits) some of which are genius, some awful, and everywhere in between. This one falls somewhere in between.
Some of the appeal of films like this are the in-jokes and Easter eggs by directors and producers, often breaking the 4th wall. This flick is so meta I could barely keep up. Nods to other Corman and Wynorski films include; a poster for The Lost Empire - 1984, which also features some of the cast, and a shop called 'Rogers Little Shop of Pets', which is a nod to Corman's Little Shop Of Horrors - 1960, which also features Dick Miller. Actually Miller's character is lifted directly from Corman's A Bucket of Blood - 1959, who is of course, played by Miller. Got it? Characters at one point are also watching a Corman movie Attack of the Crab Monsters - 1957. Nods to other movies include the line "Klaatu Barada Nikto" from The Day the Earth Stood Still (and subsequently beautifully vocalized, mostly, by Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness). There is a sporting goods store called Peckinpah's, a wave to the legendary director who died 2 years before Chopping Malls release. There is so much more cool trivia around this film, check out its IMDb page for more.
The robots themselves come across as Daleks mixed with Robocop, with Jonny-5 from Short Circuit thrown in. Every time they brutally kill someone they say with glee "thank you have a nice day" which I found quite funny.
I enjoyed this but would say it's for genre fans only. But pretty much a must see for those of us who are the chosen few dedicated to finding the hidden gems of low budget cinema.
You could say this is your classic 80's cheeseball horror/low budget gore fest. Chopping Mall (rebranded from it's original title - Killbots) features brand new top of the line security robots that are authoritative and prone to violence. These bots are installed in a shopping mall and end up killing the horny teenagers that stay in the mall after closing. Perfect.
With such a short run time, 1hr 17 mins, we are soon provided with what we came for; cheesy 80's industrial techno soundtrack, plenty of nudity and some great bloody deaths with questionable special effects. The acting, naturally, is not the greatest, but honestly it doesn't need to be. It works and it's fun to watch.
I knew what I was getting into due to director Jim Wynorski's tenure as Hollywood's quintessential b-movie/exploitation guy for 25 years (over 150 titles) and production from Roger Corman who needs no introduction. These guys almost seem like the masters of underground cinema, churning out 100's upon 100's of low budget films (Corman has over 500 producer credits) some of which are genius, some awful, and everywhere in between. This one falls somewhere in between.
Some of the appeal of films like this are the in-jokes and Easter eggs by directors and producers, often breaking the 4th wall. This flick is so meta I could barely keep up. Nods to other Corman and Wynorski films include; a poster for The Lost Empire - 1984, which also features some of the cast, and a shop called 'Rogers Little Shop of Pets', which is a nod to Corman's Little Shop Of Horrors - 1960, which also features Dick Miller. Actually Miller's character is lifted directly from Corman's A Bucket of Blood - 1959, who is of course, played by Miller. Got it? Characters at one point are also watching a Corman movie Attack of the Crab Monsters - 1957. Nods to other movies include the line "Klaatu Barada Nikto" from The Day the Earth Stood Still (and subsequently beautifully vocalized, mostly, by Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness). There is a sporting goods store called Peckinpah's, a wave to the legendary director who died 2 years before Chopping Malls release. There is so much more cool trivia around this film, check out its IMDb page for more.
The robots themselves come across as Daleks mixed with Robocop, with Jonny-5 from Short Circuit thrown in. Every time they brutally kill someone they say with glee "thank you have a nice day" which I found quite funny.
I enjoyed this but would say it's for genre fans only. But pretty much a must see for those of us who are the chosen few dedicated to finding the hidden gems of low budget cinema.