Chopping Mall aka Killbots (Jim Wynorski, 1986)
Trash rating
Chopping Mall was the first film produced by Roger Corman's Concord Pictures; the company he formed after selling New World to a group of investors back in 1983. The film was produced by his wife Julie and directed by prolific trash filmmaker Jim Wynorski who also co-scripted along with with TV writer Steve Mitchell. Wynorski would go on to write and direct a glut of ultra low budget slasher, monster and action films throughout the 80's and 90's, but is probably best known for
Chopping Mall; his sequel to Steve Carver's 1974 success
Big Bad Mamma, and the barbarian cheapie
Deathstalker II. It's clear that with
Chopping Mall Wynorski and Concord were attempting to cash in on the 80's slasher boom that took hold in the wake of films like
Halloween (1978) and
Friday the 13th (1980). What sets the film apart and makes it infinitely more interesting however is the science fiction robot slant most likely inspired by the huge success of James Cameron's
The Terminator...
In a possible nod to Romero's
Dawn of the Dead the entire film takes place (as the title amusingly suggests) inside a huge inner city shopping mall. The story begins with a commercial for a robot security system in which a would be robber is electrocuted by a droid that looks suspiciously like Number 5 from
Short Circuit (released the same year). After the mall bosses agree to buy three of the robots, we skip forward to a group of teens (most notably Kelly Maroney from
Night of the Comet, and Barbara Crampton from
Re-Animator) planning an illicit party in the mall after they finish work. They're your usual bunch of hormonal college types with big hair and an insatiable appetite for sex and cliched dialogue. There's the cocky gum-chewing jock type (John Terlesky) dating Crampton's character, and the nice guy nerd in glasses who looks like Rick Moranis (Tony O'Dell). Of course things don't go to plan when a storm kicks up, and lightening strikes the robot control room resulting in a 'short circuit' (hehe) that turns them into laser firing kill-bots. The rest of the film has the dwindling bunch turn guerilla after getting locked in by the automated security doors, and raiding Peckinpah's (geddit) sporting goods for some guns...
Chopping Mall is no long lost classic despite the flashy special effects and tight running time. It has a great central premise of teens trapped in a mall by killer security robots, but the script just isn't witty or clever enough to fully capitalise on the idea. The film is action packed with plenty of chases, explosions, and laser firing robot action, but none of it is particularly inventive or remarkable, and besides the infamous (and excellent) Suzee Slater exploding head sequence; there's precious little gore and violence on offer. Where Chopping Mall redeems it's self is with the knowing in-joke film references sprinkled throughout the film. First off we get a neat little cameo from Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel (of
Death Race 2000, and
Eating Raoul fame) who pop up making sarcastic quips during the robot demonstration sequence. Corman regular Dick Miller also puts in an all too brief appearance as a grumbling janitor, and just check out the posters in the burger bar; it's like a New World Pictures run down. Elsewhere Geritt Graham (
Used Cars,
TerrorVision) is sadly underused as a doomed computer technician, and we visit more amusingly named shops (Roger's Little Shop of Pets anyone?). So there you have it,
Chopping Mall will probably only appeal to Corman fans and aficionados of low budget 80's horror. It's good, if undemanding fun that could have used a sharper script and a lot more gore. But Suzee Slater and Barbara Crampton both 'get em' out' as it were, and at a mere 77 minutes it doesn't outstay it's welcome. In my opinion it's films like
Chopping Mall with their cool ideas that should be getting the glossy remake treatment, if only to improve on such a missed opportunity.
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