Shopping
June 3rd, 2009
Horror Remix Presents… SHOPPING
2 Hours of Shopping Mall Slashers!
Wednesday, July 8th 10PM
3 TEXAS SHOWS!
Alamo Drafthouse
Austin (Lake Creek)
Alamo Drafthouse
Houston (West Oaks)
Studio Movie Grill
Addison, TX (North Dallas)
George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) was the first film to draw parallels between the American consumer and modern zombie. The plot of zombies invading a shopping mall delivers a subversive attack on American consumer capitalism. 30 years later, Dawn is still just as relevant and regarded as a masterpiece. However, what more can be written or said regarding the importance of Dawn? There are already essays and websites written by much smarter people than me. So, I’ll focus this article on what I know best: teens being brutally murdered at the mall.
The shopping mall does make for a great setting in the slasher genre. A claustrophobic building scenario (later perfected by Die Hard), plus tons of resources for hiding places, escape routes, and tools for creative kills.
Plus, the shopping mall and horror genre make great companions. Both pander to teenagers with disposable income and are notorious for peddling cheap commodities. Each of the 3 films featured in Shopping Remix make some veiled attempts to be satire, invoking consumerism, security, technology and progress. However, the half-hearted rhetoric is squeezed in to make the films more than they really are. Bottom line, the “trapped-in-the-mall” scenario is ripe for slicing and dicing teens in the 80s (similar to “lost-in-the-woods” in the 70s). Let’s leave the groundbreaking allegory to the rest, because slashers at the mall are the best!
The Initiation (1984)
A sorority’s initiation ritual forces pledges to break into a mall and stay overnight. The Initiation is a highly underrated film and the best of the mall slashers. The characters are well written and the ending has a nice payoff. Unfortunately, the “mall” they are trapped in is NOT a mall at all. It’s actually the Dallas World Trade Center. This can be somewhat distracting as you wonder, “Where’s the Orange Julius? Where’s the Chest King or Miller’s Outpost?” But no big deal, just a little odd…
Notable Actor: Daphne Zuniga (The Dorm That Dripped Blood, Melrose Place)
Hide and Go Shriek (1988)
Teenagers play a game of hide and seek overnight in a furniture store. Hide and Go Shriek will best be remembered for how incredibly horny the teenagers are. These people can’t keep their hands off each other. The over-the-top acting is the film’s best asset and we get one of the most realistic severed heads in horror history. Damn, it’s nasty…
Notable Actor: Sean Kanan (The Karate Kid, Part III)
Chopping Mall (1986)
A group of mall co-workers stay after closing for an all night party. Chopping Mall is a classic crowd-pleaser. A very rare sci-fi slasher peppered with 80s goofiness. As good as that sounds, you won’t be disappointed. And if you’ve already seen it, it’s even better with Chopping virgins and some beer.
Notable Actor: Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet)
So, bring your friends and GET THERE EARLY! I’m hoping for big summer crowds and I don’t want the true fans to get shut out. So, please arrive 9:30pm at the latest!!! Finally, don’t forget, lots of fun extras, shorts and your puppet MCs, Cheesecake and Thunderclap.
SO BAD… IT’S GOOD!
