CULT – Chopping Mall

Published on: 26th August, 2009

CULT - Chopping Mall  | read this item

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As home computers became more affordable and commonplace during the early 1980’s, filmmakers would develop an obsession with technology and artificial intelligence. Both Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and James Cameron’s The Terminator had shown what can happen when man’s creations are allowed to run amok, whilst the more family-friendly Short Circuit had explored how a production line robot could develop thoughts and feelings and believe that it was alive. Low budget filmmaker Jim Wynorski had no such ambitions when he directed Chopping Mall in 1986; all he wanted to do was entertain. Blending science fiction, exploitation and slasher, his flick would focus on a group of kids trapped in a shopping centre as new state-of-the-art security droids malfunction and go on a killing spree. Regardless of his intentions, Chopping Mall could be seen as the flipside of Short Circuit, showing what can happen when those that we create to protect us become our greatest threat.

Wynorski was born in Glen Cove, Long Island on August 14 1950. Having developed a taste for science fiction as a child with the likes of Chiller Theatre, Wynorski’s first break came in 1983 with The Lost Empire. Funded by Henry Plitt of Plitt Theatres, the project was conceived as a tax loss, and Wynorski was given the freedom to finally direct a sci-fi feature. The film proved to be a modest success and Wynorski was approached by Julie Corman, wife of cult filmmaker Roger Corman, with the option of shooting a movie about a killer loose in a mall. Eager to make another film, Wynorski agreed and immediately brought his friend, Steve Mitchell, on board to help develop a screenplay. Roger Corman was renowned for producing stylish movies with little money and so Julie had the experience to make their premise look professional.

The inspiration for their story would come from Gog, a 1954 science fiction flick, which told of a malfunctioning computer in an underground government facility that causes two robots to attempt to start a nuclear reaction. The film had been conceived as the closing chapter to Ivan Tors’ loose trilogy Office of Scientific Investigation, following on from The Magnetic Monster and Riders to the Stars. Wynorski had been a fan of the movie as a child and decided that transporting the robots into a shopping centre environment would provide some entertaining set pieces. Eventually the two of them would craft a script entitled Robot, which would be delivered to both Corman and Vestron Video.

One film that some critics would cite as an influence but both Wynorski and Mitchell would claim they have not seen is Trapped, a TV movie from 1973 which saw James Brolin trapped in an apartment store after hours and forced to run for his life from the security dogs. Whilst the plots of each film are relatively similar, this could purely just be coincidence. Impressed with the script, Corman would raise approximately $800,000 for the film’s budget, which would be re-titled Killbots to emphasise the horror aspect of the story. Both Julie Corman and her husband (who would act as executive producer) would have enough faith in their relatively inexperience to allow him the freedom to make the movie as he wished.

With the principal characters being young, the majority of the cast was made up of up and coming talent with only a few films to their credit. For the lead role of Alison Parks, the producers chose Kelli Maroney, who had become a minor name after regular roles on Ryan’s Hope and One Life to Live and had appeared in the hit teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Her co-star, Tony O’Dell, had recently landed a major role in the popular sitcom Head of the Class, although Chopping Mall would mark his feature debut. One face that may be recognisible to fans of early eighties horror was Russell Todd, whose brief role in the 1980 slasher He Knows You’re Alone (which also started the career of Tom Hanks) would be followed by Friday the 13th Part 2 the following year.

Barbara Crampton had proven herself to be a capable and brave actress after co-starring in the 1985 zombie gorefest Re-animator (which would feature a scene in which a naked Crampton is strapped down whilst a decapitated head performed cunnilingus on her). She would team up with the director, Stuart Gordon, once again in 1986 for another H.P. Lovecraft adaptation, From Beyond. Paul Bartel had enjoyed a long and distinguished career as both an director and actor, having previously worked with Roger Corman on several movies (including Hollywood Boulevard, Piranha and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School). Another Corman veteran was Dick Miller, who would not only appear in all of his films from the 1950’s onwards but also that of his protégé Joe Dante (including The Howling and Gremlins).

With Killbots being set in a modern mall, the producers were forced to find a suitable location that could accommodate for all of their needs. They eventually settled on Sherman Oaks Galleria in Los Angeles, a three-storey complex that had become a popular attraction to teenagers during the early eighties. The mall had previously been used in the aforementioned comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, as well as the Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick Commando. Schwarzenegger would, incidentally, return several years later to shoot scenes for the blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgement Day. For the external scenes, additional footage was filmed outside of The Beverly Center near West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma shot some of his thriller Body Double.

In an effort to keep the production as cost-effective as possible, Wynorski would surround himself with a group of unknown-yet-promising collaborators. The cinematography would be handled by Tom Richmond, who had previously worked on another low budget flick, Hard Rock Zombies, but would later find acclaim for Killing Zoe and Right at Your Door. Composer Chuck Cirino would become a regular of Wynorski, teaming up with the director once again on Sorority House Massacre 2, Hard to Die. The Killbots themselves would be created by Robert Short, who had cut his teeth on such cult favourites as Alligator and The Slayer, before entering the mainstream with E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, Splash and Beetlejuice.

.Principal photography lasted for approximately three weeks, with the production having the run of the Sherman Oaks Galleria from 9pm until 7am, resulting in constant night shoots. Wynorski and the producers would fill the movie full of references to Corman’s previous work, by not only casting several regular actors but also have them reprising older roles, with Bartel and Woronov appearing as the same characters they had portrayed in Eating Raoul, a film that Bartel had gained acclaim for as a director in 1982. Wynorski himself would include his own in-jokes, with one scene showcasing a poster from his previous film, The Lost Empire.

Killbots was first released on March 21 1986 and performed below expectations. Corman was convinced that the movie should be a success and that it was the title that had failed to catch the public’s attention. Whilst Wynorski and Corman sat in a screening room trying to decide what to call the film, the janitor suggested they call it Chopping Mall. The two of them immediately knew they had found their title and the movie was re-released under the new name. As predicted, the film was a modest success and helped turn Wynorski into a cult filmmaker, whose work throughout the eighties and nineties would include an array of sequels such as 976 -Evil 2, Sorority House Massacre 2, The Return of the Swamp Thing and Ghoulies IV. Despite the success of Chopping Mall, Wynorski felt that the concept had been fully explored first time around and has never had a desire to make a sequel.

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