Mall

A philosophical college student who views modern society as soulless and inauthentic. He narrates the mall’s inhabitants with imagined backstories and pursues a complicated crush on Adelle, a pursuit that complicates his view of real connection. His drug-influenced daze and existential lines punctuate the film’s mood.

Jeff’s friend who exerts a calm, calculating presence. She resists Jeff’s affections, then wields power over others (notably Danny) to demonstrate how control can be exercised within the group. Her actions reveal moral ambiguity and a willingness to manipulate circumstances.

A bored housewife obsessed with her attractiveness who uses men to validate her image. She meets Jeff in a bar and invites him to a motel, treating sex as casual performance. Donna’s detachment and concern with stories illustrate how appearance and desire drive behavior.

A married businessman who engages in casual sex and ends up handcuffed and molested by Adelle, forced to repeat a degrading line. His arrest by a cop and his later plea to be taken home show his vulnerability under a world of power plays.

An addict who torches his trailer and storms the mall, killing Barry and several cops as part of a desperate bid for escape or revenge. Wounded, he heads toward the forest, a symbol of aimless flight from a life he can’t bear. He challenges Jeff’s moral boundaries by asking him to kill him.

A salesman who hates his job but remains in it, and the father of Mal. He is killed during Mal’s mall rampage, illustrating the movie’s theme of violence intruding into everyday roles. Barry’s death markers the collapse of familiar authority in the story.

An immigrant security guard who widens his life to become obsessed with his job, which anchors his identity. He pursues Mal with a rifle, representing the instinct to restore order in a world that seems out of control.

Beckett shares ecstasy with Jeff and tries to steer him away from his crush on Adelle. He joins Shel in vandalizing the mall and participates in the transgressive dynamic around Danny, embodying the thrill-seeking impulse of the group.

Shel friends with Beckett and participates in the mall’s mischief, peering at others and documenting the chaos. She epitomizes the voyeuristic appetite that runs through the group and contributes to the film’s sense of moral indifference.

A police officer who hassles Jeff and arrests Danny for a peep show, then becomes part of the larger pursuit as the mall erupts in violence. His actions set the chain of events in motion and reflect the film’s tense authority figure.