Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge may have had the blueprint for a fun time but I found parts to be pretty bland, including the Phantom himself who wasn’t at all frightening or someone I felt sorry for.
Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge
(1989)
Genre(s): Horror
Arrow Video| R – 91 min. – $49.95 | November 23, 2021
Date Published: 11/24/2021 | Author: The Movieman
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Arrow Video provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2½/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: For high school sweethearts Eric (DEREK RYDELL) and Melody (KARI WHITMAN), love’s young dream turns into a nightmare when Eric apparently dies in a fire which engulfs his family home. One year later and Melody is trying to move on with her life, taking up a job at the new Midwood Mall along with her friends, Susie (KIMBER SISSONS) and Buzz (PAULY SHORE). But the mall, which stands on the very site of Eric’s former home, has an uninvited guest – a shadowy, scarred figure who haunts its airducts and subterranean passageways, hell-bent on exacting vengeance on the mall’s crooked developers.
Quick Hit Review: Growing up in the 80s and 90s, the mall experience contained some of my best memories as a kid and teenager, though I wouldn’t say I was a mallrat nor hung out there every chance I had (most of the time I was there to go to the cinemas to catch the newest releases). Still, watching Phantom of the Mall certainly does bring those memories back. However that’s really all that captured my attention. The story of taking the “Phantom of the Opera” and transplanting the story to a mall might’ve made for a fun Tales from the Crypt or Creepshow short, as a feature film there’s not a whole lot to it and worse, the scares are lacking and make-up on the Phantom himself was, I think, unintentionally laughable. The cast was alright and includes pre-stardom Pauly Shore who was fairly subdued compared to his later work on movies like Bio-Dome, Encino Man and Jury Duty amongst many others. The film also features Morgan Fairchild as the mayor. The rest of the cast were fine, although Derek Rydell wasn’t exactly charismatic as the Phantom while Kari Whitman had her moments although I never quite bought her love for either Rydell’s Phantom or Rob Estes’ as the dogged young reporter.
As 1980s horror goes, it’s probably not a big surprise why Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge probably flew under the radar. However, it’s not a terrible movie and I guess perfectly watchable including a fun finale but the rest was kind of bland. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4½/5 |
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This Limited Edition release from Arrow Video has the two-discs housed in an HD keep case which side-slides into a hard slip case, which also includes a fold-out, double-sided poster and nice perfect-bound booklet. The sleeve on the keep case is reversible with the film’s original poster artwork on the other side. Audio Commentaries:
Good compilation here and while would’ve liked to have a cast commentary, but these three tracks offer different perspectives with the first and third providing more behind-the-scenes anecdotes while the second is more on a historical viewpoint. Shop ‘Til You Drop: The Making of Phantom of the Mall (42:22) is a new and lengthy retrospective featurette that includes interviews with Director Richard Friedman, Screenwriters Scott Schneid and Tony Michelman, Actors Derek Rydall and Gregory Scott Cummins, Filmmaker Tony Kayden and Special Make-up Effects Creator Matthew Mungle. Mostly talking heads but an interesting making-of that gives insights into the production. The Vandals Go to the Mall (12:56) — Interview with Joe Escalante of the punk band “The Vandals” on the creation of the Mall theme song. Alternate and Deleted Scenes (7:20) — There are a handful of scenes either cut or trimmed including an alternate intro and ending. Last up are two Trailers and an Image Gallery. The second disc contains the TV Cut (1:28:36) as well as the Composite “Phan” Cut (1:36:18) which combines footage from both the Theatrical and TV Cuts for the “ultimate Phantom of the Mall experience”. |
VIDEO – 4/5 |
| The Phantom of the Mall comes to Blu-ray through Arrow Video and is presented in the original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and has been given a 1080p high-definition transfer taken from a 2K scan of a 35mm interpositive, which was graded and restored. For the most part this is a fine looking high-def picture, detail is sharp enough for the close-ups and colors do appear to be well balanced. The natural film grain and noise is still present so the restoration seemed to have been done right, which is to be expected from most of Arrow’s releases. |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
| The movie includes a PCM 2.0 track that also was restored from the optical sound negative. As with the picture, the lossless sound. Dialogue comes across the dual channels with nice clarity and I did not detect any discernible pops or hisses, making for a clean track. |
OVERALL – 3¾/5 |
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Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge may have had the blueprint for a fun time but I found parts to be pretty bland, including the Phantom himself who wasn’t at all frightening or someone I felt sorry for. The finale was at least okay and as a whole, not a complete waste of time. The Arrow Video release offers adequate video and audio transfers to go along with a good selection of bonus features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.