MALLRATS AT 25

From sophomore slump to prophetic cult classic, KEVIN SMITH tells Total Film the rollercoaster story behind his pop-culture-lovin’ second feature, Mallrats. Plus, the beloved writer/director shares his lockdown viewing picks.

- SIMON BLAND

Back in 1995, Mallrats was absolutely classified as a sophomore slump - and should have been,” admits director Kevin Smith, revisiting his out-of-time second feature on its 25th birthday. “Ironically enough, the movie has aged incredibly well - to the point where nobody remembers its failures but the director himself. He carries it with him like a cross - or herpes.”

Back in the early ’90s, Smith was riding high on a wave of unexpected success following the release of his hit debut feature Clerks - a rough-and-ready convenience-store comedy that helped herald in a whole new era of indie cinema. It was during his whirlwind period that Smith first conceived of the idea for its follow-up, a movie that celebrated all the colourful corners of pop culture that he loved from his youth - from comics to movies and everything in between. On paper, Mallrats looked set to be a guaranteed crowd-pleaser but on release, audiences had different ideas.