Podcast: Louis Peitzman on ‘Phantom of the Mall’

While we here at Certified Forgotten love all our guests equally, there is something special about having a fellow (former) horror weenie on the show. So for this week's episode, we're excited to be joined by freelance writer Louis Peitzman to discuss Broadway musicals, late-blooming horror fandom, and Phantom of the Mall, Richard Friedman's cult classic take on Gaston Leroux's literary classic.

After the tragic death of her boyfriend Eric (Derek Rydall), college-bound Melody (Kari Whitman) picks up a few shifts in her town’s new mall to help pay for her education. But reports of Eric’s death may have been greatly overrated: someone is haunting the backrooms and ducts of the new construction, picking off anyone who had a hand in the death of Eric’s family (as well as the occasional security guard). Now Melody must team up with local photographer Peter (Rob Estes) to unmask the phantom of the mall once and for all.

In this short excerpt from the podcast, Peitzman shares why Phantom of the Mall harkens back to his own childhood spent in Los Angeles:

It was a weird curiosity object for me. I had to seek it out, and I saw it and thought it was very fun and very confusing as to how it exists. And I am also an LA kid and grew up with going to malls in LOA, so anything that's involving the Galleria - which is the site of many important films, also Chopping Mall - I feel like that's always important.

The Phantom of the Mall episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast with Mike Mendez is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.