Every day for the month of October, Coming Soon is making a new horror movie recommendation for those eager to find a new frightening flick for Halloween. From the creepy goodness of a classy ghost story to a blood-spattered gorefest and everything in between, we’ll have something for every taste of horror. And today’s pick is…..
Chopping Mall
What’s Chopping Mall about: In the interest of VERY 80s security, a local shopping mall purchases a robot security system that will monitor and patrol the mall. After a power malfunction the security bots quickly turn into Killbots, and their newfound blood lust happens to coincide with an in-mall party that some employees are having that night in a furniture store (remember furniture stores in the mall?). Bodies fall, bots crush, and heads roll. Cult filmmaker Jim Wynorski directs in perhaps his best film that’s not a horror-parody-sex-farce.
Why Chopping Mall rules: Look at the cover art and the tagline. “WHERE SHOPPING CAN COST YOU AN ARM AND A LEG.” Simple, brilliant, and effective. It pants a picture of a traditional slasher film, and does a good job checking all those boxes while keeping you on your toes. Plus it’s a clean 76 minutes long, hardly a time commitment at all!
How scary is Chopping Mall: The film leans into its own campy idea more than actual scares, so very little of it is frightening. Viewers with a weak stomache for gore may be surprised to find some of the most graphic (best) exploding heads one can find in a feature film this side of Scanners.
Be on the lookout for: Genre favorites Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond) and Dick Miller (Gremlins, The Terminator) appear in the film. There’s also a whole host of blink and you’ll miss them background jokes, like Peckinpah’s Sporting Goods and the all timer line “We have a lost child in lingerie answering to the name of Steve.”
Where to watch Chopping Mall: Chopping Mall is streaming for free on Shudder, and on Amazon Prime Video.
CS October Horror Movie Recommendations:
October 1 – Session 9
October 2 – Bubba Ho-Tep
October 3 – City of the Dead
October 4 – Drag Me to Hell
October 5 – Opera
October 6 – It Follows
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