Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge

After the erection of a new shopping mall, a woman and her friends are shocked to learn that a series of disappearances are being committed by the supposedly deceased boyfriend of hers who burned to death in a house fire to make way for the mall's construction and must stop his revenge plot. While flawed, this is still a generally enjoyable slasher effort. Among the more enjoyable features here is the cheesy atmosphere that's on display here with the films' time-capsule creation and setup that serves this rather nicely. The whole idea of serving as a setting to transplant the famous story away from an opera house to a massive multi-level shopping mall that was highly important in that time period is a great capsule idea that's allowed plenty of fun leeway here to adopt the slasher leanings later on. With that in place, the films' culture and general attitude are so unmistakable from that only continue to further place the look and feel of this one rather easily beyond other cheesy features like the shadowy martial arts training sessions or the erotic-tinged sexual encounter dream that plays out here. There's also the highly enjoyable and better-than-expected slasher outings which are quite fun. With the mall setting being utilized to its fullest with the majority of the early kills around here taking place mainly within the heating ducts and hidden away sections of the mall which allows for some grander extravagance in the kills, there's a lot to like here. From the initial ambushes on the security crews involving the masked man appearing out of nowhere and striking using the setup of the mall to his advantage by disappearing quickly into the shadows, this part is all quite fun and enjoyable when packed alongside several intriguing and interesting kills. That also manages to include some highly enjoyable brawls between the killer and several victims which showcase some fun action in the martial arts scenes and some grandiose stuntwork in the finale out in the open sections of the mall. This all comes off well enough to have a lot to like. Even though this one does have some slight issues here, namely in the films' overabundance of characters that tie up the storylines significantly in the first half. With tons of workers, security, and mall staff to account for on top of the multitude of storylines involving the different figures within the mall and the different cover-ups that are taking place in the community which sometimes means this one features several storylines that don't need to be there. It also helps slow down the final half where the reveal of all these different plotlines causes the stalking and slashing to come to a halt more so than expected as the body-count drops significantly with the killer leaving way too many survivors because of having too much time here spent on aspects unrelated to the main storyline. Coupled with the generally goofy and cheesy atmosphere that's on display throughout here, this is what holds the film back the most. Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, and sex scenes.

I remember buying this movie on video when I was kid after seeing the creepy melted man's face on the cover and the fact that the movie is call "Phantom Of The Mall" seemed like fun, as I was easy to please back when I was a kid, and now viewing this movie as an adult, well I can say that I still think this movie is still fun. The plot revolves around a guy who is badly scarred after a fire that burned down his house, because these people wanted to build the mall on his property and killing him in the process, or so they thought, no instead he's not dead he's living underneath the mall plotting his revenge on the people who made him that way and in the meantime still pine for his ex-girlfriend, very Phantom of the Opera. This movie is cheesy throughout with some interesting kills like a cobra in a bathroom stall, head pushed a fan, a security guard electrocuted until eyeballs pop out and a woman thrown through a window and landing on a spike and plus some familiar faces namely Pauly Shore and a very sexy Morgan Fairchild chewing the scenery and meeting a very sticky ending. But this movie is well paced and a decently made Slasher and plenty of action packed scenes, this movie never gets boring but does become silly at times. All in all a fun way to waste time, but can be forgettable after you first watch it, not one of the best but not one of the worst either.

There's not a lot of memorable things in Phantom of the Mall and the concept is definitely stronger than the execution, but the mall setting and sheer 80's-ness of everything keeps things entertaining. It's always fun to see Morgan Fairchild pop up in something like this.

"Phantom of the Mall" follows a young teenage girl whose boyfriend died in a house fire. A year later, property developers erect a shopping mall on the land. Soon after, a series of murders begin, as a shadowy figure seems to stalk the mall-goers, hiding in its labyrinthine air ducts. While this late-'80s quasi-slasher is a low-stakes viewing experience, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun. For many, there will be a big nostalgia factor due to the period fashions, and the overall atmosphere of the shopping mall at its cultural peak. The story here is (needless to say) adapted from "The Phantom of the Opera," and the screenplay is riddled with silly dialogue and a pace that is often rambling. However, if you can abandon all pretenses, "Phantom of the Mall" is a lot of fun, full of great gags, a handful of bonkers (and reasonably gory) slashings, and a dramatic mall-tastic finale. The performances here are not great, but they are functional given the material, and there are a number of familiar faces, including Morgan Fairchild as the town mayor, and Pauly Shore as an eccentric frozen yogurt shop clerk. Overall, this is a fun, frivolous late-'80s slasher flick that is perhaps more amusing as a time capsule than as a horror movie; however, even despite its clunkier elements, it remains an amusing and over-the-top rehash of a classic story. 6/10.

I'm not that familiar with "The Phantom Of The Opera" and I think the only version I saw was the classic 1920's one. I heard that this was the worst POTO movie ever made. While I haven't seen too many, I can agree. Obviously, it takes place at a mall instead of an opera. It seems like they just did it to update it, which was a dumb idea. A guy named Eric has his house burned down. We see the phantom who covers half his face. They try to make it like it's some mystery on who he is, when it's obviously Eric. Why does my name have to be attached to so many bad movies? This is a very cheap looking film, like it was made in the 1970's instead of 1989. Hey, that's the year I was born! The acting is shoddy and it just looks ugly. *1/2

N the eve of the opening of a new mall, a shadowy man steals a crossbow and kills a security guard. It's hushed up, as so many people are losing their minds that such an amazing mall is open in their town. It's probably only the eight mall in Sharman Oaks )the movie was actually shot at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, Westfield Promenade and Valencia Studios), so this is big news. Melody Austin (Kari Kennell Whitman, Playboy Playmate of the Month February, 1988) and Suzie (The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine and the girl at the craps table in Empire Records) are excited to get good jobs there. That's when we learn that the killer is Eric (oh yeah, his name is in the subtitle, as if we're supposed to know who Eric and why he wants revenge), Suzie's supposedly dead boyfriend, who was lost in the fire that paved the way for the mall. Yep, his family wouldn't sell and damn progress, now everyone is dead and Suzie has moved on, literally working for minimum wage on the ashes of the man she once had sex with in a room that oddly enough has a fireplace. I've been in plenty of houses - I'm not bragging, just stating fact - and I have never seen a teenager have a fireplace in their room before. Maybe it's trust issues. Perhaps it's just ridiculous. To hide his face, Eric slices a mannequin head in half to form the traditional Phantom mask. Anyone that screws with Suzie dies, while he continues to leave her gifts - her favorite flowers, which triggers the above mentioned fireplace fornication flashback; playing her favorite song; even killing Justin (Tom Fridley, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI), the owner of the mall's annoying son when he tries to come on too strong to Melody. Oh that owner of the mall? He's played by Jonathan Goldsmith, the original Most Interesting Man in the World. Yes, even hyperbolic ad pitchmen had to pay the bills at some point. He's aided and abetted by Morgan Fairchild, who plays Mayor Karen Wilton. Did you know that in the swinging 70s Morgan was held against her will on two separate occasions? Here she acts like she doesn't know what's going on until late in the picture - turns out she's behind it all and pays the price by being lofting off the third level of the mall and impaled. It's a wonderful death, as Frank Miller Batman would mutter under his breath.

'Phantom of the mall'. Okay, i'll see what it's like. Hey, that was pretty good. These were my words when I saw this good movie. The acting isn't up to much but the brilliant killings and loads of action make up for it! There are car chases and explosions! The story is really just an inspiration from the 'Phantom of the Opera'. Eric Matthews is the Phantom who is in the mall. Quite obvious hey? He tries to tell his girlfriend that he is still alive by leaving messages all over the mall. Suzie and her friends soon start to believe it but Suzie turns the Phantom down and chaos ensues. It has some good intensity and laughs but really it is good overall. 7 out of 10.'Spoiler'= Watch out for the scene where the Phantom throws Morgan Fairchild through the mall window about 3 floors up!

~Spoiler~ Despite the title, this movie is not as funny as it should have been. I know what you're thinking: Phantom of the Mall has to be a horror/comedy, right? Wrong. There's nothing funny about this movie, not even an early appearance by the legendary Pauly Shore. I hope my sarcasm was received in that last sentence. Only two scenes actually made me laugh, unintentionally I'm sure. One is the sex scene. I've never seen such a blatant use of a body double in my life. Those breasts do not belong to that girl, end of discussion. The second scene is the Phantom's martial arts training. It's pretty ridiculous. The movie really tries to be the 80's answer to The Phantom of the Opera and it takes itself way too seriously. It all just ends up corny...real corny. Eric, the titular character, is badly burned in a fire set up by land developers in order to build a mall where his house once stood. A year later, the mall is constructed and Eric sets up camp there. It doesn't explain where he was that year while the mall was under construction and I don't really care. Throughout the duration of the film, Eric tries to win back his girlfriend and take revenge on the mall tycoons and Mayor Morgan Fairchild. After viewing it, I still can't believe it's a real movie or that Ken Foree agreed to have a part in it (albeit a small part). It's not quite the best movie he's ever made in a mall. The theme song sung by The Vandals is the best part of the movie.

Young woman still upset over the mysterious death of her boyfriend takes a job at a brand new mall. However, it appears a secret admirer is watching over her and making sure nothing bad happens to her. Is it her supposedly dead boyfriend. Good premise given cheap, cliched treatment. Poor special effects to boot! Morgan Fairchild tries to inject some class into this, but even she can't save this mess. Rated R; Sexual Situations, Nudity, Violence, and Profanity.

Melody's (Kari Whitman) boyfriend Eric (Derek Rydall) has ostensibly passed away due to a tragic incident involving a crazed maniac who burns down Eric's house, since they want to build a mall over it. Melody doesn't realize that Eric is still very much alive, hiding underneath the mall, only badly burned, and killing anyone who gets in Melody's path. I liked this movie for what it was. It's an extremely bad movie, don't get me wrong, but it's just fun cheese. Let me get some reasons out of the way, as to why I enjoyed this. Eric is as strong as an ox, and he has martial art skills to boot. It also has hilariously cheap effects, and a corny score, whenever we are shown romantic, flashback scenes of Eric & Melody. It does get a little too neat for its own good in the second half, where they try to tie up all the loose ends, and I had trouble buying it. But with a movie that has a solid pace, a lot of cheesy fun, I couldn't help but have some fun with it, even though it really shouldn't be classified as a slasher. There are elements of a slasher, but it's more of a revenge type picture. Kari Whitman is probably the best of the lot. She does show flashes of decent acting. Rob Esters (Peter Baldwin) plays a hunky love interest. Males will groan at his wooden performance, whilst chicks will most likely dig him. Derek Rydall is laughably hammy as Eric. He talks in this raspy voice, and feels all vindicated, even after trying to kill innocent people. Ken Foree is sadly wasted with complete buffoonery in his role as a security guard. I did like seeing him, though. Morgan Fairchild is sexy and enticing to watch when she was on screen, but I was disappointed where her character headed in the second half. All in all, it's a fun, cheesy flick. If you don't take it seriously, and ignore all the flaws, you might have an OK time. 4.5/10