Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (Limited Edition) – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1989
Director: Richard Friedman
Writers: Frederick R. Ulrich, Scott Schneid, Tony Michelman, Robert King
Cast: Derek Rydall, Jonathan Goldsmith, Rob Estes, Pauly Shore, Kimber Sissons, Gregory Scott Cummins, Tom Fridley, Kari Whitman, Morgan Fairchild, Ken Foree

Release Date: November 22nd, 2021 (UK), November 23rd, 2021 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 90 Minutes 35 Seconds (Original Theatrical Cut), 88 Minutes 36 Seconds (TV Cut), 96 Minutes 18 Seconds (Composite “Phan Cut”)
Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC (Original Theatrical Cut, Composite “Phan Cut”), 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC with standard definition inserts (TV Cut)
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: LPCM Mono English (All Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (All Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95 (USA) / £29.99 (UK)

"High school sweethearts Eric Matthews and Melody Austin are so in love, but their youthful romance is cut tragically short when Eric apparently dies in a fire that engulfs his family home. One year later and Melody is trying to move on with her life, taking up a job at the newly built Midwood Mall along with her friends. But the mall, which stands on the very site of Eric’s former home, has an uninvited guest – a shadowy, scarred figure which haunts its airducts and subterranean passageways, hellbent on exacting vengeance on the mall’s crooked developers." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Original Theatrical Cut), 3.5/5 (TV Cut), 4/5 (Composite “Phan Cut”)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "All restoration work was carried out at R3Store Studios in London. An original 35mm interpositive was scanned in 2K resolution at Technicolor, Hollywood. The film was graded and restored at R3Store Studios, London. The original stereo mix was remastered from the optical sound negatives.

Additional editing to produce the TV Cut and Composite "Phan" Cut (which combines footage from both the Theatrical and TV Cuts) was performed by Marc Morris. An SD video master was sourced to present the content unique to the TV Cut."

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (Original Theatrical Cut) comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 46.6 GB

Feature: 23.3 GB

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (TV Cut and Composite “Phan Cut”) comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.9 GB

Feature: 24.7 GB (Composite “Phan Cut”), 20.8 GB (TV Cut)

Arrow Video have done a great job cleaning up the sources for each version. Colors and flesh tones look correct, black levels fare well and the image looks organic. That said, though the image generally looks crisp, sometimes during darker sequences image clarity is not as strong. The original theatrical cut is the strongest of the three transfers, while the weakest is the moments that are exclusive to the TV cut.

Audio: 4.25/5

The original theatrical cut, the TV cut, and the composite "Phan Cut" each come with one audio option: a LPCM mono mix in English and removable English SDH subtitles. There are no issues with background hiss or distortion; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced; and the score sounds robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release are spread over two discs.

Extras on disc one include an image gallery (57 images - stills/home video art), domestic trailer (1 minute 41 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), International trailer (1 minute 59 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), five alternate and deleted scenes from the TV cut: Alternate Intro (3 minutes 21 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Party Time (1 minute 18 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Luck Picking (39 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), Air Duct (48 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles) and Alternate Ending (1 minute 11 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), an interview with musician Joe Escalante of The Vandals titled The Vandals go to the Mall (12 minutes 56 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), a making-of documentary featuring interviews with director Richard Friedman, screenwriters Scott Schneid and Tony Michelman, actors Derek Rydall and Gregory Scott Cummins, filmmaker Tony Kayden and special make-up effects creator Matthew Mungle titled Shop Til’ You Drop!: The Making of Phantom of the Mall (42 minutes 22 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with director Richard Friedman, moderated by filmmaker Michael Felsher, an audio commentary with producer Ewan Cant and film historian/author Amanda Reyes and an audio commentary with composer Stacy Widelitz and associate producer Robert J. Koster.

On the first disc, there is an Easter egg extra that can be found in the extras section. This extra is an alternate version of the film titled Eric's Secret "Subterranean Cut" (91 Minutes 17 Seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles).

Information about Eric's Secret "Subterranean" Cut.

"Congratulations, intrepid Blu-ray explore! 

You have unearthed Eric's Secret "Subterranean" Cut!

Whilst accessing materials for our restoration of Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge, we were delivered with an SD video master which contained a slightly different edit of the feature, in comparison with the Theatrical and TV Cuts. Whilst poor quality, we couldn't resist including this version here for the sake of completeness. Happy playing. Spot the Difference!"

Disc two contains two alternate versions of the film: the TV cut and a composite "Phan Cut".

Other extras include reversible cover art, a large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork, six postcard-sized lobby card reproductions and a sixty-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Ears Are Extra: An Appreciation of  Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge written by Charles R. Budnik, an essay titled The Millwood Mall and the End of an Era written by Amanda Reyes, Original Production Notes and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Though there have been numerous adaptations of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. It is safe to say that Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge, a modern day adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, is one of the more unique adaptations.

Content-wise, though, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge takes place in a modern setting. It actually retains all of The Phantom of the Opera’s core elements. The narrative revolves around a young man named Eric who was left disfigured after his family's home was burned down by unscrupulous developers who wanted the land to build a mall. Years later, after the mall has opened, he lives in the caverns beneath the mall, and from there he exacts his revenge.

This is the third film directed by Richard Friedman; the other two are Doom Asylum and Scared Stiff. And just like those two films, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge is a horror film that often employs humor. That said, when it comes to horror-related elements like kill scenes, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge will not disappoint.

The performances are best described as service. With no single performance outshining the others. The cast includes many familiar faces, including Morgan Fairchild (The Seduction) as the mayor, Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) as a security guard, Rob Estes (Silk Stalkings) as an inquisitive reporter, and Pauly Shore (Son-in-Law) doing what he does.

From a production standpoint, the premise is well-executed, the narrative is well-paced, and the finale does a good job of wrapping everything up. Also, the special effects are very effective, and the kill sequences are sufficiently gory. Ultimately, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge is an entertaining mix of horror and humor.

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge gets a fully loaded release from Arrow Video that comes with four versions of the film and a wealth of informative extra content, highly recommended. 

                                                               TV Cut Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer