The mall isn’t just a place to shop. In fact, in movies, shopping is often the last thing on a character’s mind. The mall has been both a place for adventure (Terminator 2, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Paul Blart: Mall Cop), ridicule (Dawn of the Dead), and coming-of-age (Fast Times at Ridgemont High).
It has also been a sanctuary (Night of the Comet, Dawn of the Dead), a second home (Mallrats), and a place to steal money rather than make it or spend it (Bad Santa). The mall appears to be all things to all people. For storytellers the possibilities are almost endless.
The best movies set in a mall
Ken Foree (far left), the main protagonist of George A. Romero’s 1978 film “Dawn of the Dead,” crouches behind a trash can during filming in Monroeville Mall. (From the George A. Romero Collection at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Library System, Archives & Special Collections.)
In the below list, we check out films that have used the mall in varying ways, some spending much of their running time inside these places of commerce, others boasting significant scenes in the mall.
The mall has frequently played a part in a number of films over the years. This shopping mecca where everything a consumer’s heart desires is located under one roof has been the setting for everything from character-centred comedy-drama to lavish action set-pieces to weird science-fiction horror.
The story begins with…
10. Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Dir. Amy Heckerling (USA, 1982)
Real life mall: Sherman Oaks Galleria, Ventura Boulevard, Los Angeles
This coming-of-age drama from the 1980s saw director Amy Heckerling join forces with writer Cameron Crowe. The kids frequent the local mall where the production crew used the old Sherman Oaks Galleria (also seen in Chopping Mall and Commando) to shoot the scenes.
9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Dir. James Cameron (USA, 1991)
Real life mall: Santa Monica Place Mall, Broadway, Los Angeles
One of the most iconic mall-based scenes sees Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator rampaging through shops trying to save the life of John Connor who is being hunted by the more advanced T-1000 robot.
8. Jackie Brown
Dir. Quentin Tarantino (USA, 1997)
Jackie Brown inside the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California.
Real life mall: Del Amo Fashion Center, Torrance
Famously, the mall was used as a location forQuentin Tarantino’sJackie Brown. The film creates a fictional department store called “Billingsley” for its interiors which was actually a Macy’s with a fake sign covering up its own.
7. Police Story
Dir. Jackie Chan (Hong Kong, 1985)
Real life mall: Wing On Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui east, Hong Kong
If Terminator 2 had a great mall-based action sequence then Jackie Chan beats it in this terrific action film from the Hong Kong legend. The shopping complex is a perfect stage for Chan’s real-time stunts.
6. Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Dir. Stephen Herek (USA, 1989)
Real life mall: Phoenix Metrocenter, Phoenix
The time-travelling teenagers bring the world’s greatest and most influential historical figures to present day and let them experience the mall. Beethoven has fun in a musical instrument shop while Billy the Kid and Socrates get up to mischief.
5. Chopping Mall
Dir. Jim Wynorski (USA, 1986)
Real life mall: Santa Monica Place Mall, Broadway, Los Angeles
In typical 1980s “slasher” styling, a group of teenagers on the prowl for the next hedonistic fix decide to have a party at a local mall. They pick the worst possible night as the shopping complex is overrun by killer robots.
4. Night Of The Comet
Dir. Thom Eberhardt (USA, 1984)
Real life mall: Sherman Oaks Galleria, Ventura Boulevard, Los Angeles
This crazy sci-fi-horror-comedy-romance-zombie-apocalypse film sees a comet turn people to dust and others to zombies. Having survived the initial destruction and the odd zombie attack, a couple of sisters, despite the apocalypse, head for the mall for a little cashless shopping.
3. Bad Santa
Dir. Terry Zwigoff (USA, 2003)
Real life mall: Del Amo Fashion Center, Torrance
Billy Bob Thornton is brilliantly acerbic and bad-tempered in this comical film about an alcoholic Santa impersonator who uses his act to rob the mall’s he works for.
2. Mallrats
Dir. Smith (USA, 1995)
Real life mall: Eden Prairie Center, Minnesota
Kevin Smith’s follow-up to indie hit Clerks moves the twenty-something angst from the local convenience store to the wider expanse of the local mall. Jason Lee and Jeremy London lead a cast that also features the director in his reoccurring role as Silent Bob.
1. Dawn Of The Dead
Dir. George A. Romero, (Italy/USA, 1979)
Real life mall: Monroeville Mall, Pittsburgh
George A. Romero again uses the zombie genre to comment on the state of society, this time setting the film in a sparkling new shopping mall. Only the mall is empty aside from the roaming zombies that inhabit its hallways.
Does the monotonous repetition of their movement, the vacuous gaze on their face, the lack of direction yet unending journey to find a fix that may not be there, remind you of anything (or anyone)?
If you enjoyed our look at the best films set in the mall, you might also like:
10 Iconic Real Life Malls In Movies
Jackie Brown inside the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California.
From John Connor escaping the T-1000 at Santa Monica Place to Doc Brown performing time travel in the parking lot of Puente Hills Mall, we check out 10 real life malls that have played memorable roles in movies.
