Pânico no Shopping

If this movie happens to be on tv on a boring night: WATCH IT, coz it's so incredibly ridiculous and fake that you'll have a laugh watching it.

If "Terror in the Mall" was one of the truly great masterpieces of cinema art produced by Hollywood in the last twenty-five years then the story would have been exciting, the acting wonderful, and the characters unique, all of which would have combined to make this movie a prime example of film art at its best. Everything about this movie would have suggested that it is a masterpiece, from the first scene in the prison to the last exciting scene when the antagonist is making his escape in the helicopter. Moreover, heroics would have abounded as the police and corrections officers join forces to apprehend a very dangerous escaped convict. And the special effects would have been like the icing on a very wonderful cake. This film would have been nominated for awards in every category, and the only reason why it would not have won is because the critics wouldn't have appreciated the true greatness of this movie. This movie would have been marvelously directed and offered dramatic performances that would have been Shakespearean in their quality and scope. We all would have applauded and said: "Bravo!" to the producers of this movie and "Hip-Hip-Hooray!" for taking the time to make such a wonderfully engaging piece of entertainment. But, alas, this is a mere fantasy, for this movie is truly bad. It's not worth the time enumerating all the things wrong with this movie, but suffice it to say that after watching this movie, one should turn on the news and watch what's going on in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and then decide for yourself whether a movie about shenanigans in flooded shopping mall is the kind of entertainment you want to watch.

The most this movie has going for it is the cheese-factor. Cheese can be fun, of course, but this verges on intolerable.

Of course a mall in a flood-plain would have a grand opening the day after the big flood. Of course a sport/adventure store would be the ONLY store setting up the night before (enter the assumed "hunky hero," until the twist). Of course a snotty singer would be rehearsing in an empty mall (enter "the bitch"). Of course there would only be one security guard in a multi-million dollar, brand new mall (enter "the bumbling idiot"). And of course a killer would just happen to escape at the same time (enter "the evil doer" turning out to be...). Never mind the crooked architect who has a big secret that will help with the big finale!

It's a brilliant formula for cheese. Not all the acting is horrible, and the movie is good for a laugh. There is no suspense as it is highly predictable. Flashes to the dam, a new mall, and a prison escape? We all know where all of this will end up. Just catch it on Lifetime and don't waste any money if you REALLY want to see this.

This movie was a victim of mediocre writing and bad directing. Rob Estes was just fine in the role of an escaped killer. He was more than capable in the action scenes and managed to rise above the material. The film, though, was filled with cliches and some sub-standard supporting performances. The direction was jerky and clipped. This could have been an excellent action movie with an improved script. While still a watchable film, it was all Estes and not much else.

At first before I see this movie I was really excited about it but when I saw it all my hopes were washed away by the flood *stupid dam*. Anyway, the reporter at the beginning of the movie made me laugh because she cannot act! It so obvious that she's reading something or trying to memorize something. The special effects are horrible! It is so obvious when the dam breaks that the little houses are just toys. When the mall blew up and the people jumped off the roof, the roof glass didn't even break into pieces. Thank goodness it was just a movie for television. If they released this on theatres, that's a big laugh. This is like Scary Movie that's meant to be funny. I like the twist part when they made this guy look like the killer whom you thought pretending to be the architect of the mall but really is the architect of the mall. That one got me. The acting is so great...BAD!!! but the killer guy (I'll give him credit for it, he's okay) For the rest of the cast...don't quit your day job.