Search - Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge on DVD

Realism? Logic? Who Needs 'em. This is Entertainment!

Gary Young | Tucson, AZ USA | 08/13/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

""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."

Good, cheesy fun

Pugmom | Pittsburgh, PA USA | 01/31/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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?""

Notable Flaws, But Some Decent Horror

Bradley Headstone | New York | 10/30/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."