Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989) User Reviews

Undemanding '80s horror fun.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 21 July 2019]

Gaston Leroux's classic tale is updated to the late '80s, with a mall replacing the opera house as home to its disfigured titular character. Hideously disfigured and presumed dead after unscrupulous developers torch his home to make way for a modern shopping complex, Eric now lurks in the tunnels and vents of the mall, planning to wreak revenge on those responsible while also keeping a watchful eye on his girlfriend Melody (Kari Whitman).

With a smattering of gore (extra points for the eye-popping scene), some gratuitous nudity (a pervy security guard spies on girls in the changing rooms and Melody gets topless for a flashback sex scene), and an early, not-too-irritating role for Pauly Shore, this is a dumb but fun version of the oft-told tale. Phantom Eric does some martial arts moves against the mall's security guards, there's death by escalator, hydraulic door, and air vent fan, and we get a whole load of impressive stunts, including a guy being flipped through the air by a car, a high dive (onto a spike), and a full body burn.

6/10. It's no '80s horror classic, but it's entertaining enough for the duration.

A perfect melding of Phantom of the Opera and The Wraith

[scurvydog84 · 4/10 · 17 July 2000]

One of the cornerstones of low-budget cinema is taking a well-known, classic storyline and making a complete bastardization out of it. Phantom of the Mall is no exception to this rule. The screenwriter takes the enduring Phantom of the Opera storyline and moves it into a late '80s shopping mall. However, the "Phantom's" goal now is simply to get revenge upon those responsible for disfiguring his face and murdering his family. The special effects do provide a good chuckle, especially when body parts begin appearing in dishes from the yogurt stand. Pauly Shore has a small role which does not allow him to be as fully obnoxious as one would expect, mostly due to the fact that his fifteen minutes of MTV fame had not yet arrived. If you're looking for a few good laughs at the expense of the actors and special effects crew, check this flick out. Otherwise, keep on looking for something else.

A Slasher guy with mighty Kung-Fu.

[Greenzombidog · 6/10 · 21 March 2011]

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.

Ignore the title, go watch it.

[twisted_sista · 25 July 2002]

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!

A really bad contemporaneous version of Phantom of The Opera, but undeniably a hoot at times

[callanvass · 4/10 · 14 October 2013]

Melody's (Kari Whitman) boyfriend Eric (Derek Rydall) has ostensibly passed away due to a tragic incident involving a crazed maniac who burns down Eric's house, since they want to build a mall over it. Melody doesn't realize that Eric is still very much alive, hiding underneath the mall, only badly burned, and killing anyone who gets in Melody's path.

I liked this movie for what it was. It's an extremely bad movie, don't get me wrong, but it's just fun cheese. Let me get some reasons out of the way, as to why I enjoyed this. Eric is as strong as an ox, and he has martial art skills to boot. It also has hilariously cheap effects, and a corny score, whenever we are shown romantic, flashback scenes of Eric & Melody. It does get a little too neat for its own good in the second half, where they try to tie up all the loose ends, and I had trouble buying it. But with a movie that has a solid pace, a lot of cheesy fun, I couldn't help but have some fun with it, even though it really shouldn't be classified as a slasher. There are elements of a slasher, but it's more of a revenge type picture. Kari Whitman is probably the best of the lot. She does show flashes of decent acting. Rob Esters (Peter Baldwin) plays a hunky love interest. Males will groan at his wooden performance, whilst chicks will most likely dig him. Derek Rydall is laughably hammy as Eric. He talks in this raspy voice, and feels all vindicated, even after trying to kill innocent people. Ken Foree is sadly wasted with complete buffoonery in his role as a security guard. I did like seeing him, though. Morgan Fairchild is sexy and enticing to watch when she was on screen, but I was disappointed where her character headed in the second half. All in all, it's a fun, cheesy flick. If you don't take it seriously, and ignore all the flaws, you might have an OK time.

4.5/10

You don't like it, you only paid 1.50 for rental anyway. Stop wasting your lives moaning.

[Zombified_660 · 6/10 · 25 July 2005]

I realise many people dislike this movie. Why I ask, do people who obviously have a deep distaste for gory, daft as a brush slacker-horror movies keep renting them out? You all must be a tad masochistic. Eric's Revenge won't have anyone reconsidering where they put Seven Samurai on their 'greatest movies' list, but it's a good bit of dumb fun all the same. I must also point out it's a ton more enjoyable than any of the more 'authentic' (for that read pretentious and pompous) adaptations of the Phantom of the Opera.

If you're a horror aficionado then when you're watching a 'midnite-movie' like this you want a bunch of things. You want a few shocks here and there, some entertainingly OTT gore shots, and a lot of really dumb people about to walk into a sharp pointy death. Eric's Revenge delivers on all these fronts, and damn if it doesn't try and work in a half-decent plot in there. Eric's Revenge manages to at least shake things up a little with it's 'Hideous protector of justice gone mad' plot line, even if it is half Toxic Avenger half Maniac Cop. Bottom line is, it's silly, and it's supposed to be that way, so get of your high horse.

Eric's Revenge is a cheesy, violent late night B Movie, nothing more, nothing less. It's not meaningful, it isn't politically correct, and at one point someone's eyes explode out of their head. It's much better for it too. I had a damn good laugh, and wasn't bored at any point. So there.

Dead malls -- circa the 1990s.

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 7 October 2017]

N the eve of the opening of a new mall, a shadowy man steals a crossbow and kills a security guard. It's hushed up, as so many people are losing their minds that such an amazing mall is open in their town. It's probably only the eight mall in Sharman Oaks )the movie was actually shot at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, Westfield Promenade and Valencia Studios), so this is big news.

Melody Austin (Kari Kennell Whitman, Playboy Playmate of the Month February, 1988) and Suzie (The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine and the girl at the craps table in Empire Records) are excited to get good jobs there. That's when we learn that the killer is Eric (oh yeah, his name is in the subtitle, as if we're supposed to know who Eric and why he wants revenge), Suzie's supposedly dead boyfriend, who was lost in the fire that paved the way for the mall. Yep, his family wouldn't sell and damn progress, now everyone is dead and Suzie has moved on, literally working for minimum wage on the ashes of the man she once had sex with in a room that oddly enough has a fireplace. I've been in plenty of houses - I'm not bragging, just stating fact - and I have never seen a teenager have a fireplace in their room before. Maybe it's trust issues. Perhaps it's just ridiculous.

To hide his face, Eric slices a mannequin head in half to form the traditional Phantom mask. Anyone that screws with Suzie dies, while he continues to leave her gifts - her favorite flowers, which triggers the above mentioned fireplace fornication flashback; playing her favorite song; even killing Justin (Tom Fridley, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI), the owner of the mall's annoying son when he tries to come on too strong to Melody.

Oh that owner of the mall? He's played by Jonathan Goldsmith, the original Most Interesting Man in the World. Yes, even hyperbolic ad pitchmen had to pay the bills at some point. He's aided and abetted by Morgan Fairchild, who plays Mayor Karen Wilton. Did you know that in the swinging 70s Morgan was held against her will on two separate occasions? Here she acts like she doesn't know what's going on until late in the picture - turns out she's behind it all and pays the price by being lofting off the third level of the mall and impaled. It's a wonderful death, as Frank Miller Batman would mutter under his breath.

Clunky but inarguably fun

[drownsoda90 · 6/10 · 27 November 2021]

"Phantom of the Mall" follows a young teenage girl whose boyfriend died in a house fire. A year later, property developers erect a shopping mall on the land. Soon after, a series of murders begin, as a shadowy figure seems to stalk the mall-goers, hiding in its labyrinthine air ducts.

While this late-'80s quasi-slasher is a low-stakes viewing experience, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun. For many, there will be a big nostalgia factor due to the period fashions, and the overall atmosphere of the shopping mall at its cultural peak.

The story here is (needless to say) adapted from "The Phantom of the Opera," and the screenplay is riddled with silly dialogue and a pace that is often rambling. However, if you can abandon all pretenses, "Phantom of the Mall" is a lot of fun, full of great gags, a handful of bonkers (and reasonably gory) slashings, and a dramatic mall-tastic finale. The performances here are not great, but they are functional given the material, and there are a number of familiar faces, including Morgan Fairchild as the town mayor, and Pauly Shore as an eccentric frozen yogurt shop clerk.

Overall, this is a fun, frivolous late-'80s slasher flick that is perhaps more amusing as a time capsule than as a horror movie; however, even despite its clunkier elements, it remains an amusing and over-the-top rehash of a classic story. 6/10.

Too dumb

[ericstevenson · 4/10 · 29 August 2018]

I'm not that familiar with "The Phantom Of The Opera" and I think the only version I saw was the classic 1920's one. I heard that this was the worst POTO movie ever made. While I haven't seen too many, I can agree. Obviously, it takes place at a mall instead of an opera. It seems like they just did it to update it, which was a dumb idea. A guy named Eric has his house burned down.

We see the phantom who covers half his face. They try to make it like it's some mystery on who he is, when it's obviously Eric. Why does my name have to be attached to so many bad movies? This is a very cheap looking film, like it was made in the 1970's instead of 1989. Hey, that's the year I was born! The acting is shoddy and it just looks ugly. *1/2

The only thing it's missing is the mall being alive.

[ReadingFilm · 7/10 · 19 February 2024]

This movie was not made for 80s audiences but for future audiences to relive the vibes of the 80s. As a 1980s hyperreal fetish object it is superb. It's why a lot of b-movies from the time have become treasured, but even among a lot of them, the DTVs, the slashers, the Empire films, this is a step up. You start with that Gothic will work no matter what. Every time it cuts from mall settings to the phantom, you are getting cinema. Crawling through air ducts, piecing things through security cameras, these are all details in Gothic noir. Even better that Pauly Shore is there. In recreating a 1980s fetish object directors would certainly put him in their movie, not to say anything of his artistic significance, it is just like palm trees in California.

The camera cannot be cheated. It is a strange facet of cinema that you can go to the ends of the earth, to strain on screen, but then just, mall, gothic, Pauly Shore, the film exists in the simplest way, and works nicely. If I am underselling it to say lower your standards, it is more to have no standards at all and look at it more like an audio-visual National Geographic exhibit of the "mall". I read both essays in the package of the Arrow Video set, and both are focused more on the death of the mall, rather than the film itself, and this concept of the mall, yes it is extremely nostalgic and packed with emotion for an audience. I take more for why this works, the Phantom of the Opera, the Gothic shorthand. Of course it will end with gore, people on fire, the entire mall exploding in glorious fashion. But with the death of the mall, it takes on a double meaning. Gothic always knew the pain the suburbanite, of the 80s/90s kids, our nostalgia, loss and sorrow in great economic change. Gothic knew. This is just one of the films that made a very intellectual association in combining these subject, as we age to become haunted Gothic figures ourselves.

Pretty standard late 1980s attempt at horror...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 22 November 2022]

I have actually never seen, nor heard about, the 1989 horror movie titled "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" before now late in 2022, as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it. And of course I did so, given my interest in the horror genre.

Truth be told, then I wasn't really harboring a whole lot of expectations for the movie, given the somewhat dubious cover of the movie. In fact, I didn't even know who was in the movie.

The storyline in "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge", as written by Scott Schneid, Frederick R. Ulrich, Tony Michelman and Robert King, was a pretty generic horror plot for a late 1980s horror movie. But hey, if you enjoyed that era of horror movies, then there should be some campy enjoyment to be had here. Sure, I made it through the movie, but I was only mildly entertained by the plot.

Something that definitely impressed me, where the storyline failed to, was the cast ensemble. There were a lot of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Rob Estes, Pauly Shore, Morgan Fairchild and even Ken Foree.

For a horror movie then "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" was just frightfully devoid of anything particularly scary. There were a couple of kills along the way, but nothing fancy or overly interesting. And for a life-long horror aficionado such as myself, then "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" was a walk in the park.

My rating of director Richard Friedman's 1989 movie "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Pretty dull really.

[alienlegend · 4/10 · 24 February 2023]

Sorry this one bored me. I love a good Phantom movie but this didn't deliver. There isn't much mystery really and the storytelling is rather bad plus the kills just aren't that great (a cobra in a toilet? I hadn't seen that before but probably for good reason). Even with Joe Bob's excellent commentary, this was a bit difficult to get through and Joe Bob didn't seem too impressed with it either. A lot of it just doesn't make sense like Eric killing the innocent repair guy at the beginning and where was Eric while the mall was built (I guess in his underground lair lifting weights? It just seems dumb).

"Is there a Phantom of Mall?" Folks are bound to ask! "Is He the Phantom of them all, or just some Retard in a broken Hockey Mask!"

[drunk-2 · 22 November 1999]

Though I suppose it would be well possible to make a better movie about a shopping mall version of the Phantom of the opera, to the best of my knowledge no one ever has. Unless you count "Gremlins 2: The New Batch", on account of the fact that it featured a Phantom themed Gremlin. I don't count this though, so let's move on. Not only is "P.O.M" (as I shall now call it) the best movie ever to place the Phantom in a mall, but it is also the greatest (IE: only tolerable) Polly Shore movie ever made. This movie being made in 1988 before Polly Shore was famous enough to be allowed to act like Polly Shore in a film. Another nice touch is the fact that the front doors of the Mall are labelled "Mall Entrance." Really I though they were the entrance to something other than the building they're attached to like the magical world Narnia or something. Anyway the real draw of this film is it awesome musical theme. It's reminiscent of a better day when almost all movies had a rock'n song about their plot at the end, under Hollywood's "well it worked for Ghostbusters" policy. The song boldly dares to use such controversial terms as "Boobs" and "Retard". Point being if your not doing something productive to uplift the human spirt (which if you're reading my review on "The Phantom of the Mall" you and I both know you aren't) rent and watch this hidden jewel of cinema and make Mr. Polly "The Free World's Punching Bag" Shore a couple pennies richer. Go ahead, I dare ya!

Average very average

[Coventry · 3/10 · 21 December 2003]

Phantom of the Mall is a film that fits best in the "easily forgotten" category. It's a pretty lousy variant on the famous story by Gaston Leroux, the Phantom of the Opera. Not a bad idea to itself, but the plot and production of this movie are way to weak to bring a decent homage to that story. On the bright side, Gaston Leroux doesn't has to turn over in his grave just yet. It could have been a lot worse.

Phantom of the Mall has too many useless flashbacks in it and way too many boring sequences to make it memorable. Also, the scriptwriters wanted to give too much draught to the story than necessary. And even though there's a lot of mystery getting build up about the character of Eric ... the basic plot is ordinary and déjà-vu. ***SPOILERS*** It's about a young couple that brutally gets torn apart because the boy gets killed in a fire. That fire was set to his house because he and his parents refused to sell their home in order to make room for a huge mall to be build. The boy survived the fire and he has hidden himself in the mall to avenge himself. Meanwhile he guards his girl who now works in the mall and tries to forget her loss ****END SPOILERS*** This pretty simple - but rather effective - plot gets thickened by lots of pointless elements and annoying conspiracy theories. While it should just be an entertaining horror movie, it desperately tries to be an intelligent thriller...and that's not what the fans look for. There are a few innovative killings but they're not satisfying enough for people who want to see a relaxing horror movie. And besides, Phantom of the Mall could have used at least a bit of humor!! This entire production - the cast included - takes itself way too serious.

I'll try to finish with a few positive aspects...Like for example, it stars Ken Foree !! Die-hard horror fans will certainly recognize him as Peter for Dawn of the Dead! That's like the horror milestone that yet has to find an equal. Even though his role in this movie is limited and even completely unnecessary...it was good to see him again. TV-movie fans will also recognize Morgan Fairchild as the mayor, she's a fine actress and an elegant lady. Pauly Shore is also in this but I can't stand him...so my opinion about him may be a bit biased. And finally, a bit of praise for the leading actress named Kari Whitman. She's an extremely beautiful girl and she does have a bit of talent...too bad she never made it to the top. Actually, this movie is her biggest achievement and that says enough about her career...

Phantom of the Opera set at an American mall in the '80s

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 16 April 2023]

A new mall is opening in the San Fernando Valley, but it has dubious beginnings, which might explain the mysterious psycho lurking its nether regions (Derek Rydall). Morgan Fairchild plays the mayor while Jonathan Goldsmith is on hand as the greedy mall owner; Pauly Shore appears as an employee and Rob Estes a reporter.

"Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" (1989) takes the milieu of "Chopping Mall" (1986) and inserts the Phantom of the Opera story with bits of De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974). It's comic booky 80's horror with almost a (cheesy) superhero approach, although things turn insane in the last act.

Kari Whitman is a highlight on the feminine front as protagonist Melody while Kimber Sissons is on hand as statuesque Suzie. Of course, Morgan is her usual striking self.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot at Promenade Mall in Woodland Hills (also used in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High") and Sherman Oaks Galleria with studio stuff done in Valencia, all in the Los Angeles area.

GRADE: B-/C+

Has Some Charm

[mindyannfraizer · 4/10 · 18 December 2021]

There's not a lot of memorable things in Phantom of the Mall and the concept is definitely stronger than the execution, but the mall setting and sheer 80's-ness of everything keeps things entertaining. It's always fun to see Morgan Fairchild pop up in something like this.

A delightful 80s horror gem that will resonate with fans of the era

[kevin_robbins · 7/10 · 20 April 2024]

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.

80s Horror for Teen girls

[Cocoa_Butter77 · 3/10 · 5 November 2014]

With a name and premise that parodies the classic Phantom of the Opera, a classic novel, originally written as a serialization by Gaston Leroux in 1909, and made into a classic movie staring Lon Chaney in 1925 and into a classic musical by Andrew Llyod Webber in 1986, Phantom of the Mall is not a classic in 80s cheesiness. It is a romantic horror aimed at teen girls and very dated.

The premise is that a young man named Eric, who was partly burned in his house during a fire while helping his girl friend out the window by an evil mall developer's (to build a mall in the space) henchman, is some how living under the mall watching his girlfriend and her friends through security televisions. When somebody wrongs his girlfriend or her friend, he kills them and plots his revenge on those who burned down his house and disfigured him, and supposedly killed his parents in their sleep, although it's only mentioned at the flashback scene when the house is burning down, it's never mentioned again.

Somehow nobody knows that he's down there. At the beginning, when one guard sees him, and for some odd reason gets right up in his face when he's standing still, he gets murdered. So, people who do see him get killed I suppose? He kills one guy on an escalator, the mall owner's punk son, even though the mall seems to still be open, or people are just leaving. Yet nobody sees it? Anyway, his girlfriend Melody, who is still grieving over his death, is now working at the mall, which is over the same land that Eric's house stood. He puts the same kind of flowers that he gave her when she knew he was alive in her locker and gives her old gifts that they shared and plays their music on the jukebox. This lets Melody know that he's still alive.

There's a reporter, Peter Baldwin, investigating Melody's story who she develops the hots for. She tells him that she saw the guy who burned down Eric's house and that he had a dangling earring with a medal at the end. The guy was such a scumbag that he came up to her as she was lying in the grass in Eric's yard, after Eric helped her out the second floor window of his room, and stands over top her with out a mask or anything. He was now working at that very mall as a security guard, after Eric offed two other guards and dropped on of their bodies in the mall owners office. The henchman/guard,has greased back hair, that cements his scum bagginess if you didn't know if he was one or not.

Peter ends up identifying the culprit from his dangling earring, that he's still wearing. He attempts to conspicuously take his picture in a Sam Goody store within the mall, through a wall mirror. The no good scumbag guy hears the click of his camera and chases Peter in a sort of silly chase scene. As he chases him, we see that the guy is such a scumbag that he pushes over a baby carriage with a baby inside.

Melody and Peter find out for certain that Eric is still alive after they exhume his empty grave, which I guess nobody who prepared for his burial noticed. After they find this out, Melody goes back home, has a dream she's having sex with Eric, then Peter, but then is wake up when he becomes scumbag in her dream and I guess says what I take is his catchphrase. When she's up, she goes back to her job as a waitress at one of the mall's restaurants, there she sees scumbag sitting at one of the booths. She runs to call Peter, the guy chases her down to the basement, where Eric opens up a can of whoop-ass on him, and beheads him under a freight lift door. He takes Melody back to his lair where he's been working out and has dresses for her. Melody's happy to see him at first, or is just humoring him, because she doesn't want to stay with him anyway. Eric tells her he plans on blowing up the entire mall and he tries to keep her back with him. He then goes to prepare his revenge.

Peter hears Eric run by, and goes looking for Melody in the vents. Peter finds her in Eric's special place, Eric tries to fight him, but Melody tells Eric to stop because she loves Peter. They end up getting away to tell the mayor Morgan Fairchild, who is attending the big mall event. She pulls out a gun and tells them to move it, because this is just too big for her. How dare they warn her about a bomb and make her lose money! She winds up impaled. Eric runs into main a**hole mall developer, and fires him with a blow torch that makes him fall back into propane cans right before the mall blows up. Afterwards Melody and Peter talk lovey-dovey to each other, and are surprisingly nonchalant about the situation.

So, if you read this far, you would notice that this movie was just one giant plot hole after another. A movie that is an update of sorts to the Phantom of the Opera that takes place in the mall could have only been made in the eighties or early 90s.

A generally enjoyable if slightly flawed slasher

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 1 December 2021]

After the erection of a new shopping mall, a woman and her friends are shocked to learn that a series of disappearances are being committed by the supposedly deceased boyfriend of hers who burned to death in a house fire to make way for the mall's construction and must stop his revenge plot.

While flawed, this is still a generally enjoyable slasher effort. Among the more enjoyable features here is the cheesy atmosphere that's on display here with the films' time-capsule creation and setup that serves this rather nicely. The whole idea of serving as a setting to transplant the famous story away from an opera house to a massive multi-level shopping mall that was highly important in that time period is a great capsule idea that's allowed plenty of fun leeway here to adopt the slasher leanings later on. With that in place, the films' culture and general attitude are so unmistakable from that only continue to further place the look and feel of this one rather easily beyond other cheesy features like the shadowy martial arts training sessions or the erotic-tinged sexual encounter dream that plays out here. There's also the highly enjoyable and better-than-expected slasher outings which are quite fun. With the mall setting being utilized to its fullest with the majority of the early kills around here taking place mainly within the heating ducts and hidden away sections of the mall which allows for some grander extravagance in the kills, there's a lot to like here. From the initial ambushes on the security crews involving the masked man appearing out of nowhere and striking using the setup of the mall to his advantage by disappearing quickly into the shadows, this part is all quite fun and enjoyable when packed alongside several intriguing and interesting kills. That also manages to include some highly enjoyable brawls between the killer and several victims which showcase some fun action in the martial arts scenes and some grandiose stuntwork in the finale out in the open sections of the mall. This all comes off well enough to have a lot to like. Even though this one does have some slight issues here, namely in the films' overabundance of characters that tie up the storylines significantly in the first half. With tons of workers, security, and mall staff to account for on top of the multitude of storylines involving the different figures within the mall and the different cover-ups that are taking place in the community which sometimes means this one features several storylines that don't need to be there. It also helps slow down the final half where the reveal of all these different plotlines causes the stalking and slashing to come to a halt more so than expected as the body-count drops significantly with the killer leaving way too many survivors because of having too much time here spent on aspects unrelated to the main storyline. Coupled with the generally goofy and cheesy atmosphere that's on display throughout here, this is what holds the film back the most.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity, and sex scenes.

Dumb 80's horror trash.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 5/10 · 2 September 2008]

Girls ex-boyfriend Eric wants his revenge after burned himself in the fire caused by mall developers.Now horribly disfigured he haunts in the mall where the gal works and kills people working there.Armed with conveniently located knives,crossbow,poisonous snakes and massive amounts of dynamite Eric unleashes an all out assault on the shopping mall.Pretty hilarious and annoying horror flick that features a kung fu fighting phantom.The killings are surprisingly creative including death by escalator,exhaust fan blade and incinerator door.The story is dumb,the suspense is completely absent and the acting is bad to the bone.If you have enough time to kill give it a look,but I wouldn't go too far to find it.5 out of 10.

A Madman Seeking Vengeance at the Town Shopping Mall

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 14 November 2023]

This film essentially begins with a young man by the name of "Eric Matthews" (Derek Rydall) and his girlfriend "Melody Austin" (Kari Whitman) spending some time together at Eric's house late one night. The scene then shifts to a year later when it is revealed that Eric died in a fire that very night and the property that the house was built upon had been purchased to make room for a brand-new shopping mall. That being said, although the mall initially begins business a week early, the grand opening itself is set to take place on the 4th of July with the mayor "Karen Wilton" (Morgan Fairchild) and the owner of the mall "Harv Posner" (Jonathan Goldsmith) set to deliver speeches. And it's then that a disfigured man in a mask begins to kill mall employees one-by-one. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie started off well enough but eventually became more and more ridiculous the longer it ran. And although Kimber Sissons ("Suzie"), Kari Whitman and Morgan Fairchild were certainly quite attractive, none of them were quite capable of overcoming some of the more unrealistic and implausible scenes mentioned earlier, and I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly below average.

You'll be surprised how good this is.

[The Yeti · 19 October 2001]

'Phantom of the mall'. Okay, i'll see what it's like. Hey, that was pretty good. These were my words when I saw this good movie. The acting isn't up to much but the brilliant killings and loads of action make up for it! There are car chases and explosions! The story is really just an inspiration from the 'Phantom of the Opera'. Eric Matthews is the Phantom who is in the mall. Quite obvious hey? He tries to tell his girlfriend that he is still alive by leaving messages all over the mall. Suzie and her friends soon start to believe it but Suzie turns the Phantom down and chaos ensues. It has some good intensity and laughs but really it is good overall. 7 out of 10.'Spoiler'= Watch out for the scene where the Phantom throws Morgan Fairchild through the mall window about 3 floors up!

Not Bad

[gwnightscream · 5/10 · 5 August 2022]

This 1989 horror film is basically a modern day "Phantom of the Opera" featuring a badly, disfigured teen, Eric hiding in a new shopping mall.

Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Melody and a reporter, Peter investigate his accident while he roams and kills anyone in his way. Aside from some of the acting, this isn't bad. It's a bit similar to the Robert Englund "Phantom" with gruesome make-up effects and a good score. Give this a try if you like horror or revenge flicks.

Great atmosphere, but nothing else to write about

[Coffee_in_the_Clink · 4/10 · 6 August 2023]

In the same week that I re-watched 1978's "Dawn of the Dead", I found that there is something atmospheric about an empty shopping centre. In "Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge" the filming appears to have all taken place after-hours, obviously the only time that the crew were allowed access to the mall to shoot their film, and this ends up contributing to the atmosphere. It is the only good thing about the movie, I am afraid. This "Phantom of the Opera" for the 1980s is a dud overall, and very boring.

After his home is destroyed by a nefarious building corporation, who want the land for a shopping centre, Eric is badly burnt and believed dead by the world and his girlfriend (I had a problem getting my head around this aspect of the film) and he ends up living in the ventilation ducts and backrooms of the new shopping centre. Eric sets out to have his revenge, and fairly soon the bodies begin to pile-up.

It is a decent watch, but ultimately I did not find this one worth the hassle of seeking out. It is your standard '80s slasher, although largely bloodless and forgettable, apart from some random and surprising decent stunts crammed in (some random fella gets thrown into the air by a speeding car, and it looks very real), and there are some quirky scenes involving ears and eyeballs in ice-cream, as other reviewers have noted.

Worse than Montezuma's Revenge

[NoDakTatum · 2/10 · 7 October 2023]

Somewhere between the food court and Zip's, the mall in this film has an explosives store. This is the only place the title character can purchase the bomb he plants in the dull finale. A fictional town has a new mall, built on some land that was condemned. Cute Girl (I didn't catch her name) gets a job as a waitress there. She lost her boyfriend Eric in a fire at the site where the mall stands. The villainous mall owner hires the arsonist responsible for the fire as a security guard after his first security guard ends up dead. Rob Estes is a photog/reporter trying to find a story. He hooks up with Cute Girl, and their mutual "funny" friend Buzz (Pauly Shore), and try to find out if Eric is still alive. He is, living in the mall basement (?) and traveling through the air ducts and offing different people who upset his former girlfriend, including the arsonist. Morgan Fairchild is along for the ride as the town mayor.

You probably did not need a plot sketch since the entire story is in the title. Someone named Eric is taking revenge against people as a phantom of a mall. This also means there is no suspense. We know Eric is behind this, but we still have to see Estes and Cute Girl go through the motions of a silly investigation. Watch as Fairchild, who we know has been in cahoots with the mall owner all along, pull a gun on our heroic duo in the middle of a crowded party, yet no one says a word as she leads them to her office. The fictional town is huge, but no policeman is ever called- everyone relies on mall security for order. Eric has been hiding since the mall was built, but I am not sure where. He seems to live in a basement area, but you would think some construction worker would have found him. He also has furnished his pad quite well, and found a few outlets since he has electricity. This film is not Eric's revenge, it is the film maker's revenge on me for being dumb enough to watch it.