Some people will kill for a bargain...
and at the Park Plaza Mall they do! Here, you can shop until you drop...
dead! High tech robots equipped with state-of-the-art security devices
have been recruited as the new mechanical "night watchmen" for the Park
Plaza Mall. When a jolting bolt of lightning short circuits the main
computer control, the robots turn into "killbots"... on the loose after
unsuspecting shoppers. Four couples are trying to make it after-hours in
a mattress store. They make it all right... in the morgue! At Park
Plaza Mall, you can save on everything but your life! Paul Bartel and
Mary Woronov of the hit thriller EATING RAOUL are reunited, plus Russell
Todd (FRIDAY THE 13th), Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND) and
Tony O'Dell (THE KARATE KID) CHOPPING MALL... where they slash their
prices and their customers!
The
Park Plaza 2000 Shopping Center is implementing a new nighttime
security system developed and monitored by Secure-tronics. While part of
that system is fortifying the interior with impenetrable doors timed to
be secured from midnight to 6AM, the core of the system is three 101
series Protector robots who are programmed to neutralize any
non-authorized personnel until the police arrive. On the first night of
this new system, eight (four pairs) of the younger shopping center
employees are secretly planning on an after hours party at the home
furnishings store in the mall, so chosen for the beds and couches for
more intimate pursuits. Set up on a blind date, Ferdy Meisel and Alison
Parks are the two somewhat reluctant attendees, mild-mannered Ferdy
worried about the state of the store after the fact, it where he works,
and proverbial girl next door Alison, who has only worked at the mall
for a week, not knowing anyone at the party besides her coworker Suzie
Lynn. Their party takes a turn when the robots begin to malfunction and
decide that their collective mission is to kill anyone in their way.
Making the situation worse for the eight is that they are caught inside
the shopping center after midnight meaning they are trapped with the
killer and seemingly indestructible robots at least until morning, that
is if they survive until then. Complicating matters is that they are
surrounded within a mall full of merchandise which may work for or
against them.
Chopping Mall is a 1986 American independent techno-horror film co-written and directed by Jim Wynorski, produced by Julie Corman, and starring Kelli Maroney, Tony O'Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Barbara Crampton. It focuses on three high-tech security robots turning maniacal and killing teenage employees inside a shopping mall after dark.
The film was test-screened under the title Killbots by its distributor, Concorde Pictures. After it performed poorly with test audiences, the film was re-titled Chopping Mall, and approximately 19 minutes were excised.
In the years since its release, Chopping Mall has gone on to develop a cult following, and been subjected to film criticism for its perceived themes of human consumption and excess during the Reagan Era in the United States.
Plot
Park Plaza Mall has just installed a state-of-the-art security system, including shutters across all exits and three high-tech robots programmed to disable and apprehend thieves using tasers and tranquilizer guns.
Allison and Suzie, co-workers at a pizzeria in the mall, join their
respective boyfriends, Ferdy and Greg—along with their other friends,
couples Rick and Linda, and Mike and Leslie—for an after-hours party in a
furniture store where Mike, Greg, and Ferdy work. Once the mall closes
for the night, the couples begin to have sex, drink, and party inside
the furniture store.
Outside, a lightning storm strikes the mall several times and
damages the computer controlling Protectors 1, 2 and 3, which
malfunction and kill the technicians and a janitor before starting their
routine patrol. When Mike goes to purchase cigarettes
for Leslie at a vending machine, Protector 1 attacks him and slashes
his throat. When Leslie goes to find him, she is chased by Protector 1,
which kills her with a laser. The others witness Leslie's death, and
barricade themselves in a stock room.
The women attempt to escape through an air vent, but Suzie panics
and they exit the vent system into an automotive shop, arming
themselves with gasoline and flares. Meanwhile, the men break into a
sporting-goods store to arm themselves with firearms. Reunited, the
group use a propane
tank to seemingly destroy Protector 1. While the men set up the
elevator as a booby trap, the killbots ambush the women and ignite Suzie
by shooting her gasoline can, burning her alive. Greg unsuccessfully
shoots them before Rick drags him away.
The teenagers regroup and rig the elevator trap on Protector 2,
destroying it. They then hide in the restaurant where Allison works.
Inside, Greg confronts Allison and Linda about leaving the air ducts and
exhibits rage due to Suzie's death, pulling his gun on Ferdy when he
intercedes on Allison and Linda's behalf. Rick tries to calm him down,
and Ferdy suggests destroying the killbots' main control center in hopes
of shutting them all down. The group agrees and heads to the control
center on the third floor. The robot throws Greg over the railing and he
falls to his death.
On the run, the four remaining survivors, Allison, Ferdy, Rick,
and Linda also find the first robot recovered after its earlier defeat.
They take refuge inside a department store and set up mannequins to
confuse Protector 1 and Protector 3. Their plan works, as the robots
fire at the dummies and one of them blinds itself with its own reflected
laser. However, the blind Protector 3 kills Linda, and an enraged Rick
rams a golf cart into it. A bolt of electricity kills him, but his
attack succeeds in destroying the robot.
Protector 1 corners Allison, but Ferdy rescues her and shoots it
point-blank, damaging its laser just before he falls unconscious.
Despite an injured leg, Allison escapes into Ellis Paint Company and
sets up a trap by mixing paint and chemicals. She lures Protector 1
inside, where it gets stuck, unable to get traction on the spilled paint
and thinners. Allison then tosses a flare into the store, igniting the
chemicals and finally destroying Protector 1. As daylight appears,
Allison leaves the store and Ferdy awakens. The two remain the only
survivors.
In a post-credits scene, a fourth, unknown Protector says its catchphrase "Have a nice day" one last time.