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

 

Directed by: Richard Friedman

Starring: Derek Rydall, Jonathan Goldsmith, Rob Estes, Pauly Shore, Kimber Sissons, Tom Fridley, Kari Whitman and Morgan Fairchild.

Genre: Horror / Slasher

Rated: R

This 1989 re-imagining of the classic Phantom of the Opera, brings the story to the mall culture of the 1980s. Rather than a man living beneath the opera house obsessed with a young opera singer, there is a man living under the new mall, obsessed with Melody Austin, a young waitress working in one of the restaurants. This mysterious man appoints himself as her guardian angel and will do anything to protect her (and other young women) from any harm.  Melody is working to move on after losing her boyfriend, Eric in a housefire one year prior, and begins to find clues to her admirer's identity, making her wonder if Eric really died after all. She teams up with new potential love interest, Peter, to find out what really caused the fire at Eric’s home and if he actually survived.

I went into this movie looking for a cheesy good time and I was pleasantly surprised. Is the plot a silly rehashing of a far superior classic? Yes. Are the deaths ridiculous? Yes.  Are the special effects shoddy? Definitely. Yet there were so many things that charmed me about this film and made me enjoy it.

The plot is silly, yet I couldn’t help wanting to find out the truth behind the house fire that may or may not have taken Eric’s life. Was it a tragic accident or was there something more sinister behind it? The mall currently stands where Eric’s house used to be. Was the mall developer responsible for the fire? It’s honestly a bit predictable, but fun to follow along none the less.

The kills are over the top but so entertaining. The deaths involve arrows, fan blades, electrocution, escalators, and even a cobra (where in the hell did the killer get one of those?!). Approximately 90% of the kills were terrible people that were harming others in some way. For most of the movie I was rooting for the killer as he continued to take out the garbage in his own special way.

In relation to the kills, we must consider the special effects and gore. Both left something to be desired, but they were able to entertain all the same – even if it wasn’t the kind of entertainment the movie was going for. For instance, when one character’s eyes pop out while they’re being electrocuted, it looks like sausage links shoot out of the sockets. The burned skin effects aren’t the greatest, there is minimal blood and the decapitated head looks like a stuffed Halloween mask. 

I liked the main group of teens the film focuses on. Melody is a very sweet, albeit traumatized girl, who witnessed Eric's assumed death. Peter is a reporter that is obviously in love with her, willing to do whatever he can to help her find out what happened to Eric. Suzie is Melody’s fun, laid back best friend who tries to break Melody out of her shell. Even Pauly Shore’s character, Buzz, seems like a decent guy, aside from his desperate attempts to win Suzie’s affections. These are friends that truly care about each other and band together to help one another if one of them is in trouble. I actually worried for these characters a bit, which is unusual in the B-movie slasher fare I often review.

The acting was fairly solid for the most part. Kari Whitman carries the film well and Rob Estes gives a decent performance as Peter. I found Morgan Fairchild’s appearance in a film like this surprising, but enjoyable. The only performance that I found truly lacking was Derek Rydall’s as the phantom. This character is overly dramatic – especially his rage fist pounding when he witnesses something that angers him. This gesture is done at least three times throughout the film and it is quite laughable every time.

Another thing I was not expecting in this film is that it did veer away from some of the classic slasher tropes. Melody is not a virgin, there’s no “slutty” girl in the group, the comedic relief character is also a very caring friend, and, perhaps most surprising of all, the nudity is tasteful and the sex scenes are sensual. Kari’s breasts are only shown from the side view, and the sex scenes are Melody's memories where Eric is worshiping her body. They definitely feel shot more through a female gaze – perhaps to indicate Melody’s perspective. We get far more nudity from Buzz dropping his pants and mooning a security guard. If you’re going into this looking for gratuitous T&A, there really isn’t much to be found – just some side boob and Pauly Shore butt.

This is not a film that takes itself seriously. It knows exactly what it is – campy, cheesy, slasher fun – and does not try to be anything else. It knows what the audience wants – pure, mindless entertainment – and it delivers. Halloween this is not, but it is still a good time if you just want to shut off your mind for a while.

6/10

StageFright (1987)

Directed by: Michele Saovi

Starring: David Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, Robert Gliqorov, Giovanni Lambardo Radice, Loredana Perrella, Martin Phillips, Mary Sellers, Jo Ann Smith and Clain Parker

Genre: Horror, Slasher, Foreign, Giallo

Language: English

Rating: Unrated

I’d been looking for this film for a long time since I’d heard it was great from a number of fellow horror fans. I found it in parts on Youtube last night and I was not disappointed. The story follows a small group of stage actors rehearsing for the impending opening of their play. They soon find themselves locked inside the theater with a masked madman intent on killing them off one by one.

I feel this slasher is a step above many others because it actually lets you get to know the characters and feel for them. They each have unique personalities and there were many that I wanted to survive. Also the characters actually exhibited some intelligence and stuck together in groups; rarely was someone left alone. That was a nice change of pace.

The direction of this film switches from gritty and gory to beautiful. The onstage death is graceful and tense as the rest of the cast begins to realize that the actress is being killed for real. The music is so light and beautiful contrasting with the terror of the group as they watch her being stabbed to death. The tension only mounts when they realize they are locked inside the building with the killer. The rest are far more brutal and even upsetting as many happen when there are other people around who are unable to save the victims.

I only have a few gripes for this film. First, I felt there were some instances where the music felt out of place. The rock-like score during the chase scenes ruined the tension for me. I much preferred the music during the onstage death and during the climax of the film. The ending wasn’t that great either, I felt it could have been done a little differently. Lastly, the production values are a little off as at times you can’t hear the dialogue over the music, or one character is harder to hear than another. This could just be the version I watched, though.

Overall, this is a fun slasher flick with intelligent, likable characters, decent directing and brutal deaths. I will be adding this to my collection and I recommend it for any horror fan.

7/10