Chopping Mall
Short description
A shopping mall installs a new security system built around three robots, one for each floor, programmed to patrol after closing and stop intruders. Access is meant to be limited to staff carrying the proper identification badge. On the night the robots begin operating, a group of young employees stays behind after the mall closes to party in one of the stores. When the system malfunctions, the machines stop distinguishing between thieves and anyone else still inside, and the teenagers find themselves trapped with the robots hunting them. They improvise weapons from whatever the shops provide and try to survive until morning, when the mall is due to reopen.
Jim Wynorski directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Steve Mitchell, and Julie Corman produced. It was Wynorski's first feature as director in a career that would run to 22 films, followed the next year by Deathstalker II: Duel of the Titans. The cast is led by Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, Russell Todd, Karrie Emerson, Barbara Crampton and Nick Segal, with 29 credited cast members and 74 credited crew. The film runs 77 minutes.
Released in November 1986, the film drew a critics' rating of 5.6/10 from 11 reviews, closely matching its audience scores: 5.6/10 on IMDb from around 20,000 votes and 5.8/10 on TMDB from just over 400 votes. Critics and audiences have therefore landed in much the same place on this low-budget horror and science-fiction hybrid.
What's left behind the scenes
- The filmmakers received permission to shoot in a real shopping mall on the condition that they not damage the surroundings and remove all traces of their presence before opening in the mornings. The head of the mall's security constantly nitpicked at the film crew, while the owner was much more accommodating.
- Actress Kelly Maroney performed almost all of her stunts herself.
- To film the security robots, the special effects department actually assembled five remote-controlled robots. Three robots were needed for scenes with robots in the first half of the film, and two more were kept as spares in case something happened to one or two of the first three. To make the robots look realistic and due to budget constraints, they were assembled from the frames of wheelchairs and parts of conveyor belts. With the exception of firing laser beams, all other actions were performed by the security robots, responding to commands from a remote control.
- Director Jim Wynorski said that Roger Corman invited him to lunch before filming and told him to bring a notebook. Jim used the advice and techniques he received during the hour-long meeting throughout his subsequent career.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
