Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge

Summary

“I’m a major stockholder in this mall! That means major profits!” 

Arrow Video has been one of my favorite niche video labels since they first arrived in America with releases of Society, The Mutilator, and Hired to Kill. I immediately was taken in by their dedication to releasing oft-neglected pieces of horror and action cinema from the past. With Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, Arrow has returned to the Eighties horror genre with a slasher that bravely attempts to adapt elements of The Phantom of the Opera to America’s favorite Eighties past time: the large shopping mall. It is a brainless popcorn movie with numerous nonsensical moments, and in my opinion it is all the better for it. Adding to my enjoyment of the picture, the film was helmed by Richard Friedman who had directed Scared Stiff. His movies from that time were all pretty bonkers and I can definitely see how his movies only appeal to a certain demographic of film watchers that are able to completely turn off their minds while viewing his films. I am one of those viewers and I enjoyed watching the film last night.

As the movie begins, a shadow draped figure takes some apparel off of a mannequin. A security guard enters the darkened space and when he approaches the man in the shadows, the guard is stabbed to death. The killer grabs half of a mask off a mannequin and puts it on his face. He also grabs a crossbow and moves into the ventilation shafts of the mall. The Midwood Mall is officially opening for business. Harvey Posner (Jonathan Goldsmith,) the general manager of the mall, is joined by Mayor Karen Wilton (Morgan Fairchild) for the opening ceremonies. Teenage girls Melody (Kari Whitman) and Suzie (Kimber Sissons) both get jobs at the mall. Also working at the mall is Buzz (Pauly Shore in one of his earliest roles.) At the opening a reporter named Peter Baldwin (Rob Estes) notices Melody and approaches her. She tells him that her boyfriend Eric (Derek Rydall) had been killed when his house burned down, but the body was never found and nobody believed her story of his possible survival. While these characters all move around the mall, the masked murderer hides in the ventilation shafts. He kills a security guard and a repairman. One of the security guard bodies is dumped onto the table of Harvey Posner from one of the ventilation shafts. Harvey does not let anyone know what has happened, and burns the body to cover up the issue. He has far too much at stake to warn any possible victims. He also brings in a hired thug named Christopher Volker (Gregory Scott Cummins) to sort out what is happening at the mall. There may be more behind the burning down of Eric’s house, and could it be possible that Eric has come to the mall seeking revenge? Meanwhile, Melody and Peter find themselves thrown together and in danger as he explores her story.

Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge is not a “good” film, but for a certain type of movie lover this is a very entertaining train wreck of a picture. For my tastes, this is the type of picture that defines my enjoyment of Arrow Video’s line.  As much as I enjoy the better films released by Arrow – and there are too many to name – I really enjoy when they release a good popcorn movie that can bring a smile to my face. The plot is ridiculous. In the special features, the writers waxed poetically about how their original script was excellent and the film had scrapped most of the elements that made that script work. They were obviously not very pleased with the final product, but let’s be honest – was a film that adapted The Phantom of the Opera setting to a large shopping mall ever going to be Shakespeare? I don’t think so. One of the things I enjoy about the films of Richard Friendman is that the director seems to care not one bit that the plot is ludicrous. He goes into the film with good energy, ramps things up, and delivers something that will entertain. The finale of the film involves some impressive stunt work and should please viewers that make it all the way to the end of the picture. Realistically – if you are reading this review, you probably already know if this type of picture is for you. If you feel curiosity welling up in you, it will probably not disappoint you.

The cast of the picture is not made up of notable talented stars, but it is made up of the perfect assemblage of actors for a B-movie. Rob Estes went on to star in shows like Silk Stockings and Melrose Place, so he is a familiar face. Kari Whitman was a former playmate who continued to act in a minor capacity after the film. Interestingly enough – despite being a playmate – the couple sequences that involve nudity are performed by a fairly obvious body double, which I have always found to be comedic when it happens in films. Pauly Shore isn;t given much to do in the film, but just having Pauly Shore in the film at all gives the film a little extra B-Movie street cred. Jonathon Goldsmith is perfectly cast as the morally bankrupt Harvey Posner and Morgan Fairchild is another great addition to the cast. Rounding out the cast, Gregory Scott Cummins is great as the villainous Volker.

At the end of the day, you should know if this movie is up your alley. I enjoyed watching it and it comes with a firm recommendation for people down for this type of entertainment.

Video

Arrow provided the technical specs in their booklet:

“Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with stereo audio. 

All restoratiog work was carried out at R3Store Studios in London. An original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution at Technicolor, Hollywood. The film was graded and restored at R3Store Studios, London. The original stereo mix was remastered from the optical sound negatives. 

Additional editing to produce the TV Cut and Composite “Phan” Cut (which combines footage from both the Theatrical and TV Cuts) was performed by Marc Morris. An SD video master was sourced to present the content unique to the TV Cut.”

Arrow’s release features looks good. The 2K scan looks very healthy, even if it does not have the extra detail that a 4K scan would provide. The movie is fun to look at thanks to the pop of the colors of the signage of the numerous stores in the mall. The film is very much of its time. The cinematography on the picture is not interested in showing off too much, but it gets the job done. Fans of the film will be very pleased with what Arrow have done, even if the results can only reflect the original filmmaking. 

Audio

Similar to the video, the audio has been lovingly restored. Arrow has provided an LPCM 2.0 track that is true to the original sound design. It is a pretty energetic track and has been cleaned up nicely.

Supplements:

Disc One

• Audio Commentaries
• Audio Commentary with Richard Friedman
• Audio Commentary with Ewan Cant and Amanda Reyes
• Audio Interviews with Composer Stacy Widelitz and Associate Producer Robert J. Koster
• Shop ‘Til You Drop: The Making of Phantom of the Mall – this brand new featurette is a lot of fun as screenwriters Scott Schneid and Frederick R. Ulrich (who basically disavow the film,) 
• The Vandals Go to the Mall – an interview with Joe Escalante of the punk band The Vandals.
• Alternate and Deleted Scenes – these are from the TV Cut of the film
• Trailers
• Image Gallery

Disc Two

• TV Cut
• Composite “Phan” Cut – combines footage from both the Theatrical and TV Cuts.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 4/5

Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge is an entertaining and completely ridiculous film from director Richard Friedman. While this film would not be considered “good” in any traditional sense, I definitely had a lot of fun watching it. I respect Arrow’s continued interest in bringing as many VHS era slashers to Blu-ray as possible, and this film feels like a solid successor to the very early releases from Arrow Video that made me fall in love with the label in the first place. Some people will completely write the movie off as garbage, and in many respects they will not be wrong. I respect the loving way in which Arrow approaches some of the most ridiculous projects, and this is a great case in point. The video and audio have been restored well by Arrow, and the special features include two additional cuts of the film, numerous audio commentaries, and a great feature on the making of the film. For the people out there that enjoy this type of thing, this release earns a solid recommendation. For people on the fence, I would recommend a rental first.