Review: Chopping Mall

Originally titled Killbots, this film is a cross between Short Circuit and Robocop. It was produced (although initially uncredited) by film legend Roger Corman, who has 385 films to his name. Released in the USA in 1986, it actually pre-dates Robocop, which came out in 1987. Yet, as was the style of a Corman film, it was done on a very small budget. It is pure 1980s with one of the best horror soundtracks of all time. It is goofy and enjoyable fun.

The film begins with young people, clearly in their mid to late twenties, planning a party after the mall they work in closes. All the while, the brand new robot security guards, which were not supposed to be online yet, are unexpectedly activated by a freak storm. Despite having an aim worse than a stormtrooper, the robots begin to hunt them down.

If she looks familiar, the character of Barbara Crampton is played by Barbara Crampton who is best known for starring in The Re-Animator.

For years, it has been wrapped up in a gallon of legal troubles (the DVD release had to be taken from the VHS copy as a result), so it’s not easy to find outside of streaming. Although there’s supposedly a novelization coming in 2024, there is some hope that more people will get a chance to see it. 

Do yourself a favour and seek out the soundtrack. I’ve not been able to find it on streaming, but it is out there if you know where to look.

It understands enough to have some sympathetic characters to counteract the typical 1980s sex-starved “teenagers” with some that are normal. There’s even the “ugly” one because she wears glasses trope. All of them appear to be hard of hearing as they cannot detect rumbling larger robots until they are a few feet from them. Poor kids. There are even some random crazy and racist shop owners in the beginning if you want it to be any more 80s.

Granted, the guys continue to fire guns at the robots after extended periods of time, seeing they don’t work in the slightest. Super clever dudes.

They do the best they can with the budget, filming in a mall after hours under the condition they cleaned up and were gone by 9 AM the next day. The kills are fun, with the pre-CGI era special effects looking a lot better than you might expect. 

Bottom line. It’s fun. Don’t take it too seriously.