Chopping Mall
Encyclopedia
Chopping Mall is an American
horror
/science fiction film
, produced by Julie Corman
and originally released on March 21, 1986 under the title Killbots.
Upon release, the movie did poorly at the box office. It did better when it was re-released as Chopping Mall. It's about killer security robot
s taking over a shopping mall
and murdering teenage employees. The term killbot
is never actually mentioned during the movie.
Jim Wynorski
directed the movie and wrote it with Steve Mitchell
. It was filmed mostly at Sherman Oaks Galleria
, with occasional set shots (e.g., the paint store). The movie starred Kelli Maroney
(who appeared in Night of the Comet
and the daytime soap opera
Ryan's Hope
) and Tony O'Dell
(from the TV series Head of the Class
). Roger Corman
and his wife, Julie, produced it. Paul Bartel
and Mary Woronov
share a cameo as their characters from Eating Raoul
, Paul and Mary Bland.
There are at least two different versions of the movie. The TV cut has some extra footage, like a small homage to Attack of the Crab Monsters
, extended scenes of Ferdy and Allison watching TV, some aerial shots, and an extension of one of the Ferdy/Allison scenes. This is one of those rare times when the TV edit has more than a few extra seconds of footage over the theatrical version, but no official source offers this version.
s) and apprehend would-be thieves.
Four couples decide to have a party in one of the furniture stores where three of them work. They all stay after hours at the mall, drinking, partying, and eventually three of the couples have sex in the furniture store beds, while the fourth couple, Alison and Ferdy, watch old science fiction films on TV.
Outside, a lightning storm strikes the mall several times and damages the computer controlling the security robots, which kill their technicians and a janitor, before going on regular patrol in the now empty mall. Two of the teens leave the furniture store to buy cigarettes, and are subsequently killed by the robots - now the "killbots" of the movies original title. The surviving teens witness the killbots kill Linda, and break into a sporting goods store ("Peckinpah's"
) to arm themselves, whilst the girls take petrol
and flares from an automotive store. During the firefight two more of the group are killed as the killbots utilise their lasers which were intended to cut through debris & rubble in their path.
The teens destroy the first killbot by luring it into a lift which they have booby-trapped, and decide to make their way to level 3 of the mall where the killbots' control centre is located. En route they are ambushed by the second killbot, and destroy it, not however before it kills both Leslie and Greg, leaving Alison and Ferdy in the storage areas of the mall. The third and final killbot corners Alison who is rescued when Ferdy shoots it point blank, damaging its laser, and setting himself up as a target instead - the killbot strikes and appears to kill him as Alison escapes.
Alison falls to the lower mall injuring her leg, and sets another trap for the killbot in a paint store, by mixing paint and chemicals from the shelves. She goads the killbot into the store where it becomes stuck - its tracks unable to find traction on the spilled paint and thinners - and throws the flare into the store where the volatile chemicals explode, destroying the final killbot. As she leaves the store, she hears Ferdy call her from the upper mall, revealing that although covered in blood, he is still alive.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
/science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, produced by Julie Corman
Julie Corman
Julie Corman is an American film producer. Corman is married to film producer and director Roger Corman.-Career:Julie Corman began her career in the film industry by she marrying legendary film director/ producer, Roger Corman. Her first feature producing credits consisted of a series of "Night...
and originally released on March 21, 1986 under the title Killbots.
Upon release, the movie did poorly at the box office. It did better when it was re-released as Chopping Mall. It's about killer security robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s taking over a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
and murdering teenage employees. The term killbot
Killbot
A Killbot is a generic term for a type of stereotypical fictional robot character, commonly appearing in works of science fiction. Killbots are usually large, menacing machines created to perpetrate murder or other damage....
is never actually mentioned during the movie.
Jim Wynorski
Jim Wynorski
Jim Wynorski is an American screenwriter, director, and producer.-Career:Wynorski has been making B-movies and exploitation movies since the early 1980s. He has directed over 75 feature films. His earliest films were released to the theatrical audience and played in movie theaters...
directed the movie and wrote it with Steve Mitchell
Steve Mitchell
Steve Mitchell is a retired American basketball player for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was selected with the 12th pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets.-Notes:...
. It was filmed mostly at Sherman Oaks Galleria
Sherman Oaks Galleria
Sherman Oaks Galleria is a shopping mall and business center located in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States, at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda Boulevards in the San Fernando Valley....
, with occasional set shots (e.g., the paint store). The movie starred Kelli Maroney
Kelli Maroney
Kelli Joan Maroney is an American actress who has starred in film and in television.-Biography:Maroney's most notable television roles were her first: Kimberly Harris Beaulac on the soap opera Ryan's Hope and Tina Lord on One Life to Live...
(who appeared in Night of the Comet
Night of the Comet
Night of the Comet is a 1984 film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney. It has elements of such diverse genres as science fiction, horror, zombie apocalypse, comedy, and romance....
and the daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
) and Tony O'Dell
Tony O'Dell
Tony O’Dell is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as preppy Alan Pinkard on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class from 1986 to 1991.-Early life and career:...
(from the TV series Head of the Class
Head of the Class
Head of the Class is an American sitcom that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network. The series follows a group of gifted students in the Individualized Honors Program at the fictional Monroe High School in Manhattan, and their history teacher Charlie Moore...
). Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and his wife, Julie, produced it. Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
and Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...
share a cameo as their characters from Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul
Eating Raoul is a 1982 black comedy about a married couple living in Hollywood who resort to killing swingers for their money. It was directed by Paul Bartel and written by Bartel and Richard Blackburn...
, Paul and Mary Bland.
There are at least two different versions of the movie. The TV cut has some extra footage, like a small homage to Attack of the Crab Monsters
Attack of the Crab Monsters
Attack of the Crab Monsters is a 1957 American black-and-white science fiction film, written by Charles B. Griffith and produced and directed by Roger Corman via Los Altos Productions, on contract for distribution by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. The plot follows a scientific expedition...
, extended scenes of Ferdy and Allison watching TV, some aerial shots, and an extension of one of the Ferdy/Allison scenes. This is one of those rare times when the TV edit has more than a few extra seconds of footage over the theatrical version, but no official source offers this version.
Plot synopsis
Park Plaza Mall has just installed a state-of-the-art security system, which includes security shutters across all exits, and three high-tech security robots, programmed to disable (using tasers and tranquilliser gunTranquilliser gun
A tranquilliser gun , capture gun, or dart gun, is a non-lethal gun used for capture via a special chemical. Tranquilliser guns shoot darts filled with tranquilliser that, when injected, temporarily sedate an animal or human, so that it may be handled safely...
s) and apprehend would-be thieves.
Four couples decide to have a party in one of the furniture stores where three of them work. They all stay after hours at the mall, drinking, partying, and eventually three of the couples have sex in the furniture store beds, while the fourth couple, Alison and Ferdy, watch old science fiction films on TV.
Outside, a lightning storm strikes the mall several times and damages the computer controlling the security robots, which kill their technicians and a janitor, before going on regular patrol in the now empty mall. Two of the teens leave the furniture store to buy cigarettes, and are subsequently killed by the robots - now the "killbots" of the movies original title. The surviving teens witness the killbots kill Linda, and break into a sporting goods store ("Peckinpah's"
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
) to arm themselves, whilst the girls take petrol
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
and flares from an automotive store. During the firefight two more of the group are killed as the killbots utilise their lasers which were intended to cut through debris & rubble in their path.
The teens destroy the first killbot by luring it into a lift which they have booby-trapped, and decide to make their way to level 3 of the mall where the killbots' control centre is located. En route they are ambushed by the second killbot, and destroy it, not however before it kills both Leslie and Greg, leaving Alison and Ferdy in the storage areas of the mall. The third and final killbot corners Alison who is rescued when Ferdy shoots it point blank, damaging its laser, and setting himself up as a target instead - the killbot strikes and appears to kill him as Alison escapes.
Alison falls to the lower mall injuring her leg, and sets another trap for the killbot in a paint store, by mixing paint and chemicals from the shelves. She goads the killbot into the store where it becomes stuck - its tracks unable to find traction on the spilled paint and thinners - and throws the flare into the store where the volatile chemicals explode, destroying the final killbot. As she leaves the store, she hears Ferdy call her from the upper mall, revealing that although covered in blood, he is still alive.
Cast
- Kelli MaroneyKelli MaroneyKelli Joan Maroney is an American actress who has starred in film and in television.-Biography:Maroney's most notable television roles were her first: Kimberly Harris Beaulac on the soap opera Ryan's Hope and Tina Lord on One Life to Live...
as Alison Parks - Tony O'DellTony O'DellTony O’Dell is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as preppy Alan Pinkard on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class from 1986 to 1991.-Early life and career:...
as Ferdy Meisel - John Terlesky as Mike Brennan
- Russell ToddRussell ToddRussell Todd is an American former film and television actor. His film and television acting career includes a part in the film He Knows You're Alone and appearances in television series including Another World, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless...
as Rick Stanton - Karrie Emerson as Linda Stanton
- Barbara CramptonBarbara CramptonBarbara Crampton is an American actress.She is considered a scream queen.-Early years:Crampton was born in Levittown, Long Island, New York. She was raised in Vermont and spent summers while growing up traveling the country with the carnival as her father was a carnie...
as Suzie Lynn - Suzee Slater as Leslie Todd
- Nick Segal as Greg Williams
- Mary WoronovMary WoronovMary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...
as Mary Bland - Paul BartelPaul BartelPaul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
as Paul Bland - Dick MillerDick MillerRichard "Dick" Miller is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 films, particularly those produced by Roger Corman, and later in films of directors who started their careers with Corman, including James Cameron and Joe Dante, with the distinction of appearing in every film made...
as Walter Paisley - Jim Wynorsky as Killbots (voice)