Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge

Dont be put off this film by the star rating or the tacky movie title. I collect 80s B- movie classics and i quite enjoyed this movie. Its about a girl who starts a new job in a mall and is still traumatised over the death of her boyfriend(Eric)and evidence keeps on showing up that makes her believe he may still be alive. He protects her when she is in danger, and goes on a murderous rampage. The Fx arent fantastic but the story is quite interesting and the acting is reasonable, (ive seen worse). So if you can find a copy catch it if you can!

I recently watched Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989) on Shudder. The plot revolves around a young man determined to hold onto his home, which a developer aims to replace with a mall. When he refuses to sell, the developer resorts to arson with the young man and girlfriend inside the home, resulting in tragedy. Presumed dead, the young man's girlfriend survives, while he becomes a deformed entity wreaking havoc within the newly built mall.

Directed by Richard Friedman (Doom Asylum), the film features performances by Jonathan Goldsmith (known for Dos Equis commercials), Derek Rydall (Popcorn), Pauly Shore (Son in Law), Morgan Fairchild (Campus Man), and Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead).

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge strikes a balance as not great but also not bad, yet undeniably entertaining. It encapsulates the essence of 80s cinema with its characters, storyline, attire, and settings. While the kills lack gore and sophistication, there's a quirky charm to the corpses and dismemberments. The reveal is straightforward yet enjoyable, and the presence of a young Pauly Shore adds to the film's nostalgic appeal.

In conclusion, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge is a delightful 80s horror gem that will resonate with fans of the era. I'd give it a 7/10 and suggest giving it a watch, at least once.

OK, first of all this is pure unadulterated 80's cheese. The shoulder pads are massive, the hair is massiver ( is that a word? ) and the fashions are gross. The plot is ludicrous, Eric's house was burnt down and they built a mall in it's place. So like some homeless ghoul with a vocoder ( you'll know what I mean when you hear his voice ) he haunts the mall. The movie has some great kills a car chase and explosions. There's a bad guy that looks like George Michael from the Faith video. Morgan Fairchild is in it how 80's is that. A few highlights are Eric takes one guy out with a series of roundhouse kicks and he lasso's a guy. The girl in peril has so many dream sequences she may be narcoleptic, each one is accompanied buy the same power ballad. Unfortunately Pauly Shore is in this movie, but he isn't doing that annoying voice that he started doing later in his career. Joy of joys, after the thrilling climax there is a song on the credit sequence about the film. Great fun. I loved it.

The sound quality and picture quality were a little ugly but this could have been down to a bad quality transfer. The effects and design were ample for the purpose. Nothing special though. I liked the attempt at a modern take of a classic story. Shame that it is really tacky and unimaginative! Still tacky cheesy fun is contained within which is something. It was enjoyable seeing Pauly Shore looking fresh-faced and young but he hadn't fully become the weasel yet. Apart from one cool moment and some fun stunts it is average tacky cheese from the eighties. This deserves a remake, it could have been better!

My review was written in May 1989 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

Horror movie cliches get a ho-hum airing in "Phantom of the Mall", a sleep-inducing effort which generates camp humor only in its ridiculous final reel, probably too late for most fans.

Mayor of Midwood, California, Morgan Fairchild, inaugurates a new shopping mall, but a masked figure stalking the airshafts starts killing people. His main target is pretty young waitress Kari Whitman, who in her nightmares is convinced the killer is her dead boyfriend Eric.

Rather strained script contrives an additional killer plus a couple of nefarious villains. Visual references to the "Phantom of the Opera" don't come off, and the phantom's makeup job is poor and unscary.

Final reel features some effective stuntwork and breathless pacing, with the deaths and twists sadly coming so fast that it's funny. If only helmer Richard Friedman had turned up the throttle earlier. (Producer Tom Fries is credited with directing additional footage.)

Kari Whitman makes an empathetic heroine, but her flashback sex scenes are poorly shot and use of a nude body double is obvious. Fairchild has little to do until the slambang finale, while rest of the cast is adequate.