Director James Wan is the horror hitmaker of this generation. His enthusiasm and interpretation of horror features are above par and with films like Saw, Malignant, and The Conjuring he has helped elevate the genre to new heights. Be it torture movies or haunting themes, fans trust Wan to give them jump scares every time. The audience familiar with his work also understands that he loves fun horror, for example, the viral video of the titular doll dancing in his latest feature M3GAN. In a recent conversation with Slash Film the filmmaker spoke of his love for the genre and showcased an interest in remaking cult classics like Chopping Mall but with his own unique touch.
Made in 1986, Chopping Mall is a techno-horror slasher film directed by Jim Wynorski from a script he co-wrote with Steve Mitchell. It follows eight teenagers who are trapped in a shopping mall that has an interesting security system. It has three high-tech robots programmed to disable and apprehend thieves using tasers and tranquilizer guns. However, as expected the robots go awry and start killing any human they encounter. The plot makes takes hilarious twists and turns as the robots electrocute a janitor and begin chasing a group of mall employees who were having a party inside a furniture store.
The movie stars Kelli Maroney, Tony O’Dell, John Terlesky, Russell Todd, Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Barbara Crampton and didn’t take well with the audience when released theatrically. However, upon its home release over the years, it has found a cult following. Speaking of his love for fun horror movies Wan said, “I have many horror films that I think are just fun that I love, and I’m pretty sure the horror community shares them with me.” He further added:
“I love movies like Chopping Mall. I love Night of the Creeps. These, to me, are just sort of fun horror films that I would love to be able to dive into one day, or do them but with the way that I make my films.”
While Wan expresses his interest as wishful thinking fans of the cult classic — and of the director — would love to see a remake with his touch. We can expect it to rely more on technological mayhem than the original version. For now, you can check out M3GAN, which is directed by Gerard Johnstone from a screenplay by Akela Cooper and a story by Cooper and Wan.
You can check out the trailer of Chopping Mall below
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