Director: Jim Wynorski
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 77 Minutes
Purchase: Amazon
This product was provided free for the purpose of this review.
Of all the ’80s genre distribution companies that were born out of the home video market, Vestron Video is one of my personal favorites, so I was ecstatic when I found out that Lionsgate decided to reboot the brand and begin releasing new Blu-ray versions of some of Vestron’s classics. The first two releases to hit store shelves are 1986’s Chopping Mall and 1987’s Blood Diner, both of which I’m familiar, having covered the first on our Grindhouse Weekly feature and the second for my personal #52filmsbywomen challenge.
I saw Jim Wynorski’s Chopping Mall for the first time just over three years ago and instantly fell in love with it, so I was tickled pink to find out that this was one of the first releases on the Vestron Collector’s Series. Rewatching it now for this review, I can attest that the movie is still awesome, and I still love it.
With an instantly recognizable cover and clever title, Chopping Mall may appear to be some kind of campy slasher movie in a mall, but there’s really not a whole lot of chopping going on. It does play out like a slasher though, as it revolves around agroup of promiscuous teens spending the evening in a mall, but too bad for them, a bolt of lightning caused the new mall security robots to go haywire and start attacking.
You can check out my previous review here, but Chopping Mall is ’80s horror at its best. The writing is funny and surprisingly well done; the effects hold up (especially that wicked head explosion); and it’s chock full of ’80s consumerism.
The Blu-ray is loaded with new special features, including a sizable making-of featurette that has interviews with the cast and crew, three audio commentary tracks, seven additional featurettes and, of course, the trailer. In regards to bonus content, this disc has it all. I like that Lionsgate isn’t simply dumping out these Vestron titles and is taking time and care with them, making sure they are a complete package. The only thing that would bring this release over the top is if a booklet was included with the Blu-ray.
If you’re a horror buff and haven’t yet checked out Chopping Mall, I would highly recommend picking up this release; even if it’s a titled you’ve seen before, the sheer amount of bonus content still makes this one an easy choice for purchase.
