07 October 2014

October 7th

Chopping Mall (1986) directed by Jim Wynorski
Like Motel Hell, another movie with a cool title and awesome poster that can't possibly live up to either. I remember being so disappointed back in the day when I discovered the movie's villains were the retarded children of the Terminator and Johnny Five. Age has mellowed me a bit, I suppose, and now I think the movie's pretty fun. The killbots are so over-the-top goofy -- shooting lasers that explode heads and telling each victim to "have a nice day" -- that they can't help but make me smile. It could also be the setting. Dawn of the Dead has permanently made malls a cool place for a horror film. There's something about wandering around a closed shopping center at night after everyone has left that has the scent of childhood fantasy.

With the exception of the first two teen victims -- a douchebag constantly chewing gum and his demanding ladyfriend -- all of the characters were strangely likable. I found myself actually disappointed when a killbot would take one out, as I liked them so much and was rooting for all of them to make it. That's odd for a slasher-style film, usually populated with easily disposable and not particularly nice stereotypes who only serve as grist for the killer's mill.

2 comments:

  1. "Chopping Mall" also has my favorite exploding head of all time. It's, like, up there with "Scanners," man.

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  2. It totally is. I'd forgotten about that scene and shouted out loud "holy cow!" while watching it.

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