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.
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Bcaldc106 May 2001This 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.
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megreene-712902 August 2023First of all, the new mall from the very beginning, looks very fake. It continues to go downhill from there.
I also want to add that it's not hard to find out the identity of the killer. We see the killer's eyes way before the killer is officially revealed.
The characters are very flat and everyone overplays their part. Rob Estes is fun to.watch as the psycho but he can be very hammy anytime he plays a villian.
It's not a bad concept but the special effects were horrid, the characters as written were very flat, and the acting was too over the top across the board. I did enjoy the banter between the killer and the heroine but that was it. -
The movie opens at an unbelievably false-looking cardboard model of a new mall. I could almost make out the tiny model figures next to the match-stick crane - just like they might have made on Blue Peter (you have to be a Brit to get that comment).
From there it was downhill - a burst dam, an escaped convict, a new mall, an overexcited singer, and the local sheriff's wife (who for some unknown reason was in the mall the day before it opened. Good job she turned out to be a doctor too though...), a large toxic methane leak from underneath the mall which somehow managed to be strongest right by the generator... good job that everyone had managed to escape by the time it all blew up, eh?
Towards the end of the film, it stopped raining. I assume this was a coincidence as it didn't have any relevance to the plot. Just happened to not be raining the day they filmed that scene.
Even given the amusement factor of the poor acting, diabolical effects and pathetic script - I still can't give it higher than 1/10. -
GlennFerrell26 June 2005The 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. -
yendesk20 September 1999From what I could gather, the mall had flooded and an escaped killer had kidnapped everybody. Then, as if things weren't ridiculous enough, there was leaking methane about to blow the place sky-high. Am I being cynical, or was the plot just a tiny bit implausible?
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raymond-massart30 November 2006Thousands of gallons of water were wasted in this preposterous movie which succeeded in leaving me as damp and dreary as the actors themselves Of course the aforementioned reference to wasted water is not true at all as most scenes were blown-up versions of miniature scale models whereby a couple of gallons probably were amply sufficient.There is a feeble attempt at creating some kind of tension at the very beginning of the movie but this soon ends when we quickly learn who the real villain is. From that moment on it's: wet, wet, wet. Not one of the actors was convincing (how could they have been with a non-existing script) and the only character I really admired was David Jason:he only got his shoes and socks wet and his early departure undoubtedly saved him from a near-death experience had he stayed on till the bitter end.
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Uriah4329 September 2022This film begins on an extremely stormy night with a homicidal maniac by the name of "Glen Savoy" (Rob Estes) breaking out of a maximum-security prison in Colorado and leaving three dead bodies in his wake. The scene then shifts to a law enforcement official named "Sheriff Chris Maratos" (Kai Wiesinger) being informed that, because of the heavy rains, the nearby dam may collapse and flood his entire town. Naturally, he immediately scrambles all available personnel to warn the local citizens but what he doesn't know is that Glen Savoy has already arrived in his town and has taken up residence in the new mall which is scheduled to be opened early in the morning. Not only that, but he has also taken several hostages--with one of them being Sheriff Maratos' wife "Dr. Sheri Maratos" (Shannon Sturges). Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a rather tame action film that suffered from its made-for-television format and the lack of any real suspense. Likewise, some of the scenes lacked the necessary realism as well. To be sure, Shannon Sturges performed adequately enough, but because of the two flaws I just mentioned, I honestly cannot rate this film any higher than I have. Slightly below average.
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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.
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This entertaining television movie kicks off with some news footage of flooding, presided over by a hideously over-acting young woman who's pretending to be a reporter. Meanwhile, a guy is apparently injured in an explosion, but kills the guys who take him to hospital in an ambulance and escapes to a shopping mall which is about to be opened. He meets a group of people and then a dam bursts, leaving them stranded in the flooding mall (cue lots of scenes of water swirling about everywhere).
The group is made up of the sheriff's wife, a security guard, the mall's architect, a sporty guy, and another woman who gets to scream loudly. After a mildly tense "who's the killer" scene, the murderer reveals himself to be a young guy who's just left college. Now I don't know about you, but this bloke just isn't that scary. Rob Estes' acting is pretty good, but he just doesn't have the physique or the intelligence to be an interesting bad guy. I mean all he does is shout at his hostages, beat people up, and shoot one person in the back with a harpoon gun. And the victim? It's none over than David Soul, making a rare post-Starsky and Hutch appearance, and a very brief one at that; he's given little more than 10 minutes screen time, so his presence amounts to a cameo. Still, it's good to see him back on our screens.
The rest of the cast is made up of mostly unknowns, apart from Estes, who's secured himself dubious 'fame' by appearing on Melrose Place (well, this is a television movie after all). One familiar face I did spot was that of Danny Webb, the man playing the SWAT chief. If he reminds you of somebody, it's because he appeared in ALIEN 3 as the sole survivor of the slaughter on the prison planet. The film is a joint US/German production, and surprisingly a largish portion of the cast sport British accents, including the typical black guy who - surprise, surprise - actually doesn't get killed. I was expecting him to snuff it almost straight away, or bite the bullet at the end of the film, but no, he makes it to the end, even if he does take a beating, and he also seems to be the most intelligent guy in the mall. Right on.
The setting, too, is a good one, just as Romero found out when he made his DAWN OF THE DEAD. I don't know why they don't make more action movies in shopping malls, I mean just think of all the possibilities: shops, escalators, ventilation shafts, multiple stories, lots of stairs and open areas for sniping and shoot-outs, loads of glass windows and doors to get smashed. In fact, if I had the opportunity to make a DIE HARD clone, a shopping mall would be my second choice for location, beaten only by a college. But that's another story.
There's lots of shouting, arguing, fight scenes, and moments in peril (mostly involving people nearly drowning) to keep things moving along nicely, although I could have done without the lame cut-to-outside scenes which occurred every five minutes or so and showed the police milling around uselessly outside. This just confirms my low expectations of SWAT teams in the films. In THE RELIC, they abseiled into a building and got eaten one after the other; in this film, they enter the building, then a wall collapses and they all have to retreat, heavily injured! It's ludicrous. It would have been cool if David Soul had teamed up with his old partner (they could have been brought out of retirement or something - sweaters and all) to hunt down the villain of the piece. Sadly he died the ignoble death of being shot in the back. Oh well, we can't have everything.
TERROR IN THE MALL is hugely generic; there's even a silly sub plot about exploding generators, which is basically an excuse to blow up everything at the end of the piece. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this, seeing as loads of other TV movies in the 'disaster' mould turn out to be hopeless. It's not brilliant or original by any means, but it's good fun and solid family entertainment. -
This film is so bad that my sister walked in the room and asked me if it was a spoof. I wasn't sure. I mean it can't be serious can it? I mean how many holes can a plot have? it most likely will make you laugh (cause its so dire) and cry (cause its so dire.) Its surprising to see how a reasonably competent actor as Daniel Webb (Alien 3, brookside) could A) be so poor B) act in this trashy, souless, tripe. Watch only if friends are present and lost of alchol are involved.
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I LOVED this movie! I'm a big fan of Rob Estes. He's sooo cute and did GREAT as 'Sgt. Chris "Sam" Lorenzo' on USA Network's original series Silk Stalkings. I'm still a BIG fan of silk. He's doing great on Melrose Place as 'Kyle McBride.' Keep up the good work, Rob! You're a GREAT actor. I really thought he played the role of Glenn perfect, but I didn't really like him playing bad guy. Anyway, this was one of the best action movies from FOX Original Movies!
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mbg4116 July 2007Rob Estes manages to rise above this ridiculous made for TV disaster movie. He is great as a psychopath, though he's even better in the TV movie "Close to Danger". The concept of this movie is pretty good and interesting. However, the delivery is just pathetic. There were a lot of goofs in the movie. Except for Rob Estes, the acting is not impressive at all. Especially from Shannon Sturges. I was laughing when she delivered some of her lines. The other actors basically do their job but they all could have done better. The special effects were pretty bad. The ending is predictable and the direction is formulaic. Still, Rob Estes is such a great actor. He manages to save this sinking ship and make it worth watching.
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wotanet28 January 2000This is a no-movie, without action, with bad actors and actresses, no script and a lot of beautiful scale models for destroy... no visual effects, is just a film for look the saturday morning when you can be sleeping... And after all the bad guy has an harpoon that can reload from no where!
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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.
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kmaloney765930 January 2005If you're looking for a great movie with great characters, you should definitely look into this one!!! I was flipping through channels and saw this on Lifetime - the title instantly captivated me. Then I noticed that one of my all time favorite actors was playing in it - Rob Estes!!! If you loved his performance in Sweet Temptation, this is definitely a movie you'll enjoy. The script is wonderfully written and the actors have skills that rival those on the red carpet. It's SO believable! If only they would make a Terror in the Mall 2. What I especially liked about the film was how when the character Suzanne Price (Angelina Ball) got soaked with water, she resembled my favorite pop music star, Michael Jackson! It was amazing. Also, I like that they incorporated interracial relationships by means of the characters David Geha and Suzanne. Simply beautiful! The only thing I would change is that I would make it so that the architect, Roger Karey, did not die so early. It was a tragic loss and brought tears to my eyes. It's obvious then that David Soul did his job well!! And let's not forget George Anton, playing security guard Tom! He delivered his part with ease and excellence. A true hero. All in all, The Terror in the Mall is a fine piece of cinematic work that should be seen and enjoyed by all who love movies. You won't be disappointed!
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redservo30 August 2004***************AVAST! THAR BE SPOILERS AHEAD!****************
The big secret??
What a piece of CRAP! All I can say, is that it's an absolute tragedy that Mystery Science Theater 3000 is no longer in first run. This would have been ideal fodder for Mike and the Bots. Otherwise, don't waste your time, unless you're under the influence. The plot - implausible w/ holes like swiss cheese. The acting - well, let's just say that Joey Tribiani would be an improvement to the cast. The special effects....neither special or effective. (And boy, they sure dried off fast after that elevator escape!) Once again...MST3K where are you?!?
3/10 for it's farce potential. (Guilty pleasure...the very cute bald guy w/ the very sexy accent!!) -
Sbute17 November 2005I watch a lot of made for TV movies. I don't like to go to the theaters because I suffer from theatrophobia (a fear of theaters). My tragic condition makes it impossible for me to enjoy most mainstream movies when they're fresh and new. So when a new TV movies comes on for me it's like going to a movie on opening night. Never was my excitement for a new TV movie as high as it was for the premiere of "Terror In The Mall". Not only did the premise of the movie have me excited, but myself being a huge fan of Rob Estes from his days on "Silk Stalkings" and "Melrose Place" as well as his award-worthy guest appearance on "Gilmore Girls" had me on the edge of my seat. Not only did this movie not disappoint, but it blew away my expectations. If somebody came to me and told me they were bringing "Terror In The Mall" to my local theater I just might see a psychologist to try and get over my tragic condition.
For more info on theatrophobia and how you can find help if you too suffer from this horrible condition please visit this site. http://www.changethatsrightnow.com/problem_detail.asp?SDID=691:1891
Thanks for reading and long live Rob Estes! -
Typical "made for Tv" movie and it shows. Plastic scenes, plastic acting and poor plot. One question - Would you build a large shopping mall right next to a big dam????