Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989)

Good, cheesy fun

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?" January 31, 2008

Phantom of the Mall

I love horror movies, and to me I thought this was a good movie. January 9, 2007

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

"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. August 13, 2006

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