ADDITION: Vestron Region 'A' - Blu-ray - February 2018: Vestron Video's new (1.78:1) transfer is encoded in AVC at 1080p in 1.78:1. The film looks as good as it is ever going to look, given its low budget origins and source material. We finally get the film in widescreen as opposed to the previous DVD's FullScreen iteration. It compares favorably to other Wynorski features (Not of the Earth, The Lost Empire, Lucky Bastard, Return of the Swamp Thing).

Vestron use a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track (16-bit) and the film has plenty of effect sounds that come through with depth. Chuck Cirino (Sorceress aka "Temptress of the Dark") did the score and it has a lighter tone moving into chaotic drama when the situation calls for it. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A' Blu-ray disc.

Clocking in at just under a half-hour is the documentary, "BACK TO THE MALL" which features an impressive number of cast and crew reminiscing about their time working on this cult film. They all have a great sense of humour and clearly got along quite well. Lots of laughs are shared regarding the infamous "head-explosion" scene. Next up we have the feature, "CHOPPING 'CHOPPING MALL'" with editor LESLIE ROSENTHAL. Rosenthal discusses how she achieved such impressive shots on a small budget, and how her use of smash-cuts helped create the feeling of the furniture store being much larger than it actually was. Though only just under ten minutes, I could have listened to her for an hour. "TALKIN' BOUT THE KILLBOTS" is a fun featurette involving the robot creator himself, ROBERT SHORT. Short discusses the original idea for the robots, and how that idea progressed into what we see in the final product. It is interesting to hear about GOG being an influence. Next up is the bonus feature, SCORING "CHOPPING MALL" which is a lively interview with composer CHUCK CIRINO. Chuck clearly has a good sense of humour as he discusses the reasoning behind certain themes and sound cues. Couldn't help but laugh out loud when I heard him say that he wanted the robot's theme to resemble what you would hear if you could listen to a robot thinking. Too funny. Sadly, the next feature is not anywhere near as funny. "THE ROBOT SPEAKS!" is a frankly useless addition, though only over two minutes, it is just a robot being asked questions off screen as if it were at a press junket. It is a novel idea but there's nothing interesting or particularly funny about it. The next bonus is particularly fascinating. We get to hear about a lost scene (which probably would never have been filmed thanks to producer Corman's tight budgetary constraints) involving a horse. It sounds like it would have been a riot, had they shot it. Thankfully we get to see the scene in script form. "ARMY OF ONE" is a neat addition that you rarely see on a disc, Chopping Mall's self-proclaimed 'biggest fan', Carl Sampieri is interviewed and he shows off his collection of rare and one-of-a-kind memorabillia from the film. He owns the only working robot left from the production as well as many lobby cards and posters with the original title "Killbots." Vestron has also included a vintage featurette, "CHOPPING MALL: CREATING THE KILLBOTS" which delves into some previously covered ground, but is still a fantastic addition. Rounding out the extras is the film's original trailer.

Chopping Mall is a fun little cult film from the 80's. Producer Julie Corman and director Jim Wynorski were able to create a pretty impressive looking picture out of very little, budget-wise. Any fans of this cult classic would be very pleased with this transfer, not to mention the abundance of fun and informative extras. Vestron has done a wonderful job giving us the most we could hope for in a Blu-ray of "Chopping Mall."

 -Colin Zavitz