Year: 1986
Runtime: 77 min
Language: English
Director: Jim Wynorski
After a security system demonstration goes horribly wrong, eight teenagers find themselves trapped inside a shopping mall at night. Three police robots, now out of control, begin to hunt them down. The group must use their wits and whatever they can find to survive the deadly robots’ rampage and escape the mall before they become the ultimate victims.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Chopping Mall (1986), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
In the midst of a lively after-hours celebration, Allison and Suzie, along with their partners Ferdy, Greg, Rick, Linda, Mike, and Leslie, throw caution to the wind inside a furniture store, embracing a night filled with fun, romance, and a hint of recklessness. Outside, however, a fierce lightning storm wreaks havoc on the Park Plaza Mall, crippling the high-tech security system and unleashing a trio of lethal robots—Protectors 1, 2, and 3—programmed to deliver ruthless justice.
As Mike steps out to grab cigarettes for Leslie from a vending machine, he is ambushed by Protector 1, which mercilessly slashes his throat. The atmosphere shifts to terror when Leslie ventures out to find Mike, only to meet a similarly grisly fate at the hands of the killer robot’s unyielding laser. The remaining guests, horrified by the unfolding carnage, scramble to seek refuge in a nearby storage room.
In the ensuing chaos, the women make a desperate attempt to escape through an air vent, but Suzie’s panic leads them to abandon that plan altogether. They sprint instead into an automotive store, arming themselves with flammable substances and improvised explosives, while the men take cover in a sporting goods shop to gather firearms.
United at last, the group devises a plan to confront the rogue robots. They seemingly succeed in eliminating Protector 1 by detonating a nearby propane tank, but the victory comes at a steep price—Suzie pays with her life. As the women regroup, they receive a chilling surprise: the killer robots have reassembled and are back on the hunt.
Determined, the remaining survivors focus their efforts on Protector 2. After ingeniously setting a trap in the elevator and neutralizing the robot, they retreat to Allison’s workplace restaurant for safety. Tension rises as Greg lashes out at Allison and Linda for abandoning their escape route, fueled by the grief from Suzie’s death. Ferdy intervenes, defusing the escalation, while a collective decision is made to target the robots’ control center—the only hope of quelling the mechanical threat.
As they make their way to the third-floor command center, the robots spring into action. Protector 2 brutally tosses Greg over the railing, leading to his demise. The remaining group—Allison, Ferdy, Rick, and Linda—upon finding the destroyed robot, realize the grim reality they face. They take shelter in a department store, using mannequins to mimic their presence, a ploy that momentarily distracts the robots. However, the ruse costs Linda her life to Protector 3’s lethal assault. Fueled by grief, Rick makes a brave stand against the adversary, employing a golf cart as a battering ram, but despite his short-lived triumph over the robot, he too ultimately falls.
In a critical moment, Protector 1 corners Allison, but Ferdy comes to her rescue, striking a decisive blow to the robot’s laser emitter before succumbing to his injuries. Even though she suffers a serious leg wound, Allison manages to escape to the nearby Ellis Paint Company. There, she concocts a clever trap by mixing paint and chemicals, leading Protector 1 to become ensnared in the slickness. Seizing the moment, she ignites a flare, triggering an explosion that obliterates the relentless robot.
As dawn breaks, Allison emerges from the chaos, now alone after Ferdy’s tragic end. With only the memory of their fallen friends, she embodies unwavering determination against the odds. The film concludes with a haunting post-credits scene featuring an unknown fourth Protector, delivering the chilling line: > “Have a nice day,” encapsulating the dark irony of their ordeal.
Last Updated: November 19, 2024 at 11:49
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