Chopping Mall (1986)

We're taking a trip firmly back to my youth today with Chopping Mall, a movie that used to get played A TON on one of my local channels circa 1991-92.  As such, it's got a lot of nostalgic value for me.  Back then, I thought it was cool to see robots roaming around killing people (including Murray Fudderman, no less).  Today, while it's not QUITE the classic that I remember, I still think it's a relatively fun way to waste 75 minutes. 

Useless background info: This flick was directed by Jim Wynorski, a guy who has a pretty decent cult following and a well-deserved reputation as a man who slathers on his cheese as thick as it can go.  Not to say that that's necessarily bad, but it's best to know what you're getting into when you see this dude's name in the credits.  It was also produced by Roger Corman, which acounts for the AFOREMENTIONED Murray Fudderman, a.k.a. Dick Miller, making one of his many appearances as a character named Walter Paisley. 

PLOT: You know how Dawn of the Dead was set in a shopping mall?  Well, so is Chopping Mall.  Clever, huh?  But instead of zombies, the villains in this film are three havoc-causing security robots, accidentally activated by an electrical storm and hellbent on eradicating a group of partying teens from the premises.  Yeah, it's not the deepest thing in the world, and the execution occasionally wanders into dopey territory.  But if you're watching a Jim Wynorski movie for Shakespeare, you're looking in the wrong place. 
PLOT RATING: ** out of ****.

CHARACTERS AND ACTORS: Other than Miller, there's one name that I recognize - Russell Todd, best known to me as the would-be camp counselor attempting to get into Kirsten Baker's pants in Friday the 13th Part II.  I'm actually kinda surprised that this guy didn't make it bigger during the '80s, as he was both talented and handsome enough to rise way higher than the B-level shitfests he's primarily known for.  The characters themselves are your typical horror movie mixed bag, with nerds, jocks, pretty people and shy girls all represented, and none of them made me want to throw my remote at the screen, although none of them were particularly memorable.  Well, except for Suzee Slater, who (a) has gigantic breasts and (b) is the recipient of this death scene.
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS RATING: ** 1/2 out of ****.

COOL FACTOR: A movie with a 77-minute running time has precious little time to waste, and this film wastes absolutely no time getting right to the meat portion of its story, as the characters play cat-and-mouse with the ultra mean battlebots.  The robots themselves are designed very well, rolling around on tank treads and talking in the requisite deep, scary voice, and are able to shoot tranquilizer darts, electrodes, and laserblasts at their quary.  It amounts to a couple admittedly coolly staged deaths and some sporadically tense chase sequences inside the mall.
COOL FACTOR: *** out of ****.

OVERALL: This is one of those movies that were a dime-a-dozen during the '80s.  Come up with a basic premise, throw a relatively attractive cast together, commence series of deaths, go.  Some of them were better than others, and Chopping Mall has managed to rise above the pack over the years and get a cult fanbase with its quirkiness and sense of humor.  It may not be quite as good as I remembered during my childhood, but it's still worth a watch if you've got a couple bucks and slightly over an hour to spare. 
OVERALL RATING: ** 1/2 out of ****.