Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989)

You won't be disappointed!

One of my all time favorites.

hyped garbage

Brilliant and touching

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.

Girls ex-boyfriend Eric wants his revenge after burned himself in the fire caused by mall developers.Now horribly disfigured he haunts in the mall where the gal works and kills people working there.Armed with conveniently located knives,crossbow,poisonous snakes and massive amounts of dynamite Eric unleashes an all out assault on the shopping mall.Pretty hilarious and annoying horror flick that features a kung fu fighting phantom.The killings are surprisingly creative including death by escalator,exhaust fan blade and incinerator door.The story is dumb,the suspense is completely absent and the acting is bad to the bone.If you have enough time to kill give it a look,but I wouldn't go too far to find it.5 out of 10.

~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.

One of the cornerstones of low-budget cinema is taking a well-known, classic storyline and making a complete bastardization out of it. Phantom of the Mall is no exception to this rule. The screenwriter takes the enduring Phantom of the Opera storyline and moves it into a late '80s shopping mall. However, the "Phantom's" goal now is simply to get revenge upon those responsible for disfiguring his face and murdering his family. The special effects do provide a good chuckle, especially when body parts begin appearing in dishes from the yogurt stand. Pauly Shore has a small role which does not allow him to be as fully obnoxious as one would expect, mostly due to the fact that his fifteen minutes of MTV fame had not yet arrived. If you're looking for a few good laughs at the expense of the actors and special effects crew, check this flick out. Otherwise, keep on looking for something else.