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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 (Derek Rydall) 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. Peter (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, Karen.
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 Peter and Cute Girl go through the motions of a silly investigation. Watch as Mayor Karen, 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.
Stats:
(1989) 91 min. (2/10)
-Directed by Richard Friedman
-Screenplay by Scott Schneid & Tony Michelman and Robert King, Story by Scott Schneid & Frederick R. Ulrich
-Cast: Derek Rydall, Jonathan Goldsmith, Rob Estes, Pauly Shore, Morgan Fairchild, Ken Foree, Kimber Sissons, Gregory Scott Cummins, Tom Fridley, Kari Whitman, John Walter Davis, Dante D'Andre, Terrence Evans
(R)
Media Viewed: VHS
