Category: Horror films

Really Awful Movies: Ep 194 – Chopping Mall

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Scenes from a mall. A CHOPPING Mall. On this episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, a look at this Jim Wynorski feature, Chopping Mall.

Wynorski (The Return of Swamp Thing / Hard to Die / Big Bad Mama II) is known as a highly prolific genre director. He directed 7 features from the mid eighties to the decade’s end. And usually worked on a really low budget. This Corman production was no exception, filmed at the same mall as the one used for the excellent Arnold vehicle, Commando (which we podcasted on this very show).

And the plot could not be any more simple: a team of robotic security bots malfunction, causing them to run amok and destroy everything in their path. The “everything” in question includes a bunch of “teen” partiers, some of whom work in a furniture store, and therefore have access to lots of bedding. It also includes some mall staffers unlucky enough to be working overtime/after-hours.

Chopping Mall has a few things going for it, namely, the always gorgeous Barbara Crampton, a terrific score, and of course, cheesy killer robots. But there’s more to it than that. There are some winking cameos by Corman regulars (you’ll have to watch the film, and then listen to our show!), a dash of nudity (according to the DVD extras, Wynorski reported that ““Roger wanted some nudity in this picture.”) and of course, a couple of terrific kills.

With a shooting schedule of less than a month, the film, released as Killbots bombed (audiences thought it was a cutesy robot feature). However, it was given a new lease on life with its new slasher audience-friendly title, Chopping Mall.

Thanks for listening!

 

 

Really Awful Movies: Ep 193 – Video Nasties

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On this special episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we delve into the Video Nasties phenomenon.

The term “video nasty” was a Brit colloquialism which has its genesis in the early 80s, coinciding with the slasher boom. It originally referred to films distributed on VHS that were heavily criticized for their violent content.

Some of the films were cut to be able to get a release, while some distributors felt the full brunt of the law.

On this episode, we break down some of our favorite (and not so favorite) films from the Video Nasty canonical 72, including Anthropophagus, The Last House on the Left, Bloodfeast, Don’t Go Near the Park, Cannibal Ferox, The Driller Killer and others.

We’ve covered lots of these films already on the podcast (such as Don’t Answer the Phone, etc), but have never fully broken down how this came about. We LOVE these movies, and even something as dreadful as Don’t Go Near the Park, is hella fun. One of these days, we’ll have crossed all these films off our bucket list.

Don’t forget to check out our Really Awful Movies Podcast, with new episodes uploaded for your listening enjoyment every Friday.

 

 

Really Awful Movies: Ep 192 – Don’t Go Near the Park

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A truly baffling exposition-fest, coming-of-age, caveman /cannibal curse/vampire movie, Don’t Gear Near the Park is one of the more odd cinematic experiences one can have in the realm of horror.

It fulfilled two criteria for review on this site: a) it was a Video Nasty, and b) it had “don’t” in the title, a subset of films one of us refers to as “admonition movies.”

A caveman sibling duo, is cursed with advanced aging. And the only way to slow down the runaway train of wrinkles, is to…feast on the entrails of victims…in a park…And to fully alleviate the curse, the brother half (Gar) has to father a child, on whom both he and his caveman sister can feed. Full points for originality.

Fast-forward 12,000 years to present day California, and Gar has changed his name, and found his betrothed (played by Linnea Quigley, scream queen extraordinaire). She gives birth to a girl, Bondi, who is the apple of Gar’s eye. Will Gar feed on his offspring? Will the curse be lifted? Does any of this make a lick of sense?

But this isn’t even a coming-of-age tale about Bondi. Don’t Go Near the Park features child actor Meeno Peluce as a runaway, Nick, who befriends a curmudgeonly writer, played by Aldo Ray (seemingly there to provide endless exposition about strange curses…and so the old guy can drone on about the park in question, while mentoring the kid).

Featuring some dollar store bloodletting, day-for-night continuity issues, appalling hair/makeup effects, a narrative that makes Umberto Eco’s body of work look like A Cat in the Hat, this is one BIZARRE BIZARRE film.

Check it out!