A shopping mall at night, horny youth, killer robots, guns and lasers, and a very synth heavy soundtrack. No...it's not a Jean Michel Jarre concert, but a pretty watchable little horror flick called Chopping Mall.
Great low budget movie! Goofy, cheesy, and campy with a really simple story about malfunctioned security robot at shopping mall killing teenager fun.
A fistful of teenaged mall employees hold a drunken after-hours orgy at the end of their shift, just days after the installation of three roving anti-theft robots on the premises. In a typical bit of B-movie magic, the control suite is struck by half a dozen bolts of lightning and the automatons begin indiscriminately slaughtering everything with two legs and a pulse. Did I mention this is a Roger Corman production?
Mired in the trappings of every bad direct-to-video slasher to ever burst upon the scene in the 1980s, it's deliciously, laughably awful. Although they produce sounds on par with a blender set to puree every time they're on-screen, these bots are able to routinely sneak up on their unsuspecting prey throughout the film, slinking like cats through the night. They're far from intimidating, with bulky tank treads and tiny little T-Rex arms to spin and clap for no particular purpose, but I suppose the kids' fear of them is somewhat justified after seeing a friend's head turned to mash by a well-placed laser shot.
Crammed full of stupid decisions, silly special effects, well-glazed acting and tits, tits, tits, it's got everything you'd expect from the genre and the period... except chopping. These monsters prefer to do their killing with beams of searing pink light.
"They remind me of your mother. It's the laser eyes."
Teens wrecking havoc in a shopping mall at night and killer security Dalek robots delivering cheesy one-liners... "absolutely nothing can go wrong". If you love 80's cheese and killer robots, Chopping Mall is a blast!
What gives it charm is the robots being animatronic practical effects (or actual robots, idk), they look so good and they have some deadly robot tricks up their sleeves (lasers, tasers, tranquilizing darts...) which keeps things entertaining. Some of the kills are inventive and robot themed but others are very bland and don't expect too much blood or gore. The score took me by surprise, it's great and fits with the robot thematics. I always like the shopping mall location in movies there's so many possibilities with all the different shops and this is no exception, they used it well. The tarantula/snake scene was terrifying. I expected a little more from the third act, it doesn't really standout compared to the rest. Still a good fun watch overall.
"Thank you, and have a nice day."
Once you get passed the misleading title and some of the poorly aged effects, it's actually a fun little horror movie about killbots chasing a bunch of teenagers around a mall. It also stands as one of the few 80s bodycount movies to feature female protagonists proactively take charge and kick some serious ass. It's a fun time.
One of the better trash movies. Entertaining. Worthy of a second viewing? Debatable. Still worth a watch. The movie cover makes no sense so don't base an idea on that.
Shout by A.J. GriglakVIP 11BlockedParent2021-09-05T22:31:53Z
Perfect blend of 80s cheese and mindless fun. Also, will be useful as a historical piece when shopping malls no longer exist.