Customer Reviews

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Phantom of the Mall" is one of those rare films that totally defy logic, yet thoroughly entertain. As you could probably guess by the title, this is essentially "Phantom of the Opera" updated for the 80's teen audience. The plot concerns a young man named Eric who survives his family's house being burned down by ruthless developers making way for a new mall. His face is left horribly burned on one side. Instead of going to the police, or even the hospital for that matter, he takes up residence in a subterranean labyrynth underneath the new mall. His old girlfriend gets a job at the mall and Eric leaves her clues that he is still alive.
The girlfriend gets involved with a budding young reporter who believes the fire at Eric's house was no accident and the two investigate. Meanwhile, Eric kills off some mall security guards and a piano player/would be rapist. He leaves the body of one guard in the office of the mall owner, who promptly disposes of it. You know, anything to avoid bad publicity. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but you can probably figure out where it's headed.
What makes "Phantom of the Mall" so much fun is that virtually everything in the movie defies logic. Eric and his girlfriend are described as being the perfect couple, so why does he wait a year before letting her know he's still alive? Also, what kind of mall security guards go on high speed car chases? And just what kind of mall sells cobras, crossbows, and flamethrowers?!
There's a lot of ridiculousness on hand to enjoy, plus an early performance by Pauly Shore(who gets top billing on the DVD cover). And let's not forget Ken Foree of the greatest mall based horror film "Dawn of the Dead" completely wasted in a role as a security guard.
My rating of 3 stars is based on the quality of the DVD. There are no extras, and it appears to be a transfer from a VHS copy albeit a fairly good one. If you like cheesy 80's horror, or plain old cheesy movies in general, then I suggest that you hang out at the mall with Eric the Phantom. Good times will be had by all.

This is a good movie, if you don't take it too seriously. Basically, it's "Phantom of the Opera" enacted by teenagers in a mall. The title character, a teenager named Eric, was the victim of a fire in his house a year ago, and died- or did he? When a huge mall is erected in the same spot, strange things start happening, including retail thefts and some murders. (One of the highlights is a guy who gets bitten by a cobra in a very sensitive spot). When Eric's girlfriend and her big-haired friend start working at the mall, Eric makes his presence known. The girlfriend then teams up with a cute reporter to solve the mystery surrounding Eric's "accident" and (gasp) find themselves in mortal danger.

I don't know if this was meant to be a lampoon of the materialism and commercialism of the late 1980s, but it sure works as one. In the end, the villians are after money, which, to them, everything revolves around. The scumbag mall owner is a great villian, with his perfect hair and suits, and constant worry about money over everything else.

If you watch this, you have to stick around to the credits, where they play one of the greatest movie songs ever. One of the lines is "Is he really the Phantom of the Mall, or just some retard in a broken hockey mask?"

To some extent, this is an interesting take on "The Phantom of the Opera." It puts the story into the 80s, and instead of an opera house, the action takes place in a mall. (Notable difference in the story of course.) This is an interesting (though not perfect) story of horror. A mall has just opened up, and things seem to be going well. We meet Melody who seems to be a timid, but nice girl who gets a job at a restaurant in the mall. To make a long story short, we gradually learn that her boyfriend Eric supposedly died in a fire trying to save her. We also learn that his house was probably burned down by the owners of the mall to get the property. (Alright. This is an interesting story so far.) Businesses can be corrupt, and even agencies that are suppose to help people with disabilities are corrupt and end up doing them more harm than good.

Moving on, a photo journalist makes advances on Melody even though she isn't ready to date. (She is still mourning Eric.) We start seeing attacks and murders in the mall, and it doesn't take much intelligence for us to know who is doing the murders. Melody is attacked herself on some occasions, and the murderer predictably saves her.

Granted, we probably had our suspicions as to who burned Eric's house down, but the little ambiguity that exists disappears nicely. (One character we may have especially wanted to like was guilty as well.) The concept of so called legitimate business men having hired killers on the payroll is plausible enough. In his small role, the hired killer carries a charm that makes it hard to dislike him entirely.

This could have been a real masterpiece of horror, but 2 things damage it. The movie loses one star for Melody. I'm not saying she had no right to fall in love again, but something just doesn't work here. Eric got scarred beyond recognition trying to save her from the fire in his house; he saved her from being raped in the mall, and from a killer. 3 times he saved her! And when she sees him, she can only say: "I'm sorry. Things have changed." She tops this off by saying with a smile after the tragic climax: "I guess Eric got what he wanted." Talk about ungrateful!

The movie loses another star for the photo journalist. He APPEARS to be interested in finding out what happened to Eric, but he is only serving his own ends. It may have worked better if he was an older man, or a gay man interested in justice, rather than someone trying to win the victim's girlfriend.

Well, that said, this leaves the movie with 3 stars. It is an interesting horror flick with significant suspense and plausibility. It may gather a cult following, but it probably won't become a classic.

There are some movies that you remember from your childhood purely from a nostalgia point of view, and then there are movies that you know you saw, don't remember much about except bits and pieces, but want to track down and see what it was now that you are an adult. I know I saw this movie, but I had no nostalgia for it except for the fact that it was just one of those great 80s video covers that I always saw at the video store and wanted to see. I barely remembered anything else. Finally getting a copy, I am seeing this obscure horror film from 1989 for the first time since. My thoughts? First thing's first....

"Phantom Of The Mall: Eric's Revenge" is about a lovely young girl named Melody (Kari Whitman), who just got a job at the newly opened Midwood Mall. Sadly, the mall is built upon the sight of her former boyfriend's house, where it, and he, was lost in a suspicious blaze of fire. After a couple odd occurrences at the mall, Melody is certain that her boyfriend, Eric Matthews (No, not the older brother from 'Boy Meets World'), is alive and well and haunting the corridors of the new mall, seeking his revenge.

The movie is basically an updated 'Phantom Of The Opera' set in 1989, and to appease the crowd and genre it's aimed at, the movie updates the story with modern day teenagers and set at a mall. And what a mall! If it looks familiar it should. This mall was also useed for "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", the entire 1986 guilty pleasure "Chopping Mall", and scenes from "Commando". It's a great place that is, sadly, long gone. Also long gone is this type of movie. It's cheap, it's cheesy, it's fun, it's a product of the time, and is just a B-movie that revels in the fact that it is a cheap, 80s teen B-movie. That's the fun of the whole thing. It's utterly ludicrous, but who cares? It's entertaining. Isn't that the whole point of a movie like this? The director films the iconic mall well, and there are some fun scenes. Acting wise, there is nothing special, but Kari Whitman as Melody is a lovely vision that no one will be bothered with having to watch for 90 minutes. Rob Estes also appears, as does Pauly Shore who, even though he has a small supporting role, gets top billing here on the DVD cover. Do they really think that would be a big marketing ploy? Morgan "Seriously, I don't know what she's done" Fairchild is also on hand as the Mayor. Watch out for Tom Fridley, who plays the mall owner's bratty son. He is the nephew of John Travolta. Derek Rydall as the Phantom Eric has little to do but crawl around and kill people, but once he finally talks, it's...kinda funny. He was a tragic figure who just turns into another killer.

There is really nothing to get out of this but the sheer enjoyment of fun, vintage cheese. That alone makes me give what is essentially a one to two star movie the three I did. It's not great, it has questions unanswered, etc, but it's just silly entertainment. Sometimes you can't ask for more than that.

I love horror movies, and to me I thought this was a good movie.