
Background
Background
What has fueled the screenplay to focus on an the abandoned halls, crumbling infrastructure, and ghostly silence of the Dixie-Five Mall as a chilling stage for the supernatural and psychological horror that unfolds?
Retail Apocalypse
In recent years, the decline of malls across America has become a tangible symbol of economic and cultural shifts, transforming once-thriving centers of community into eerie, desolate shells. These spaces, often captured in haunting urban exploration (urbex) videos and documentaries, evoke a sense of nostalgia and mystery that resonates deeply with audiences. The retail apocalypse serves as a poignant and visually striking backdrop for The Caretaker, amplifying its themes of decay, loss, and forgotten legacies.
The Dixie-Five Mall, with its crumbling walls, shattered glass, and water-damaged corridors, embodies this societal shift, serving as both a haunting setting and a metaphor for the decline of human ambition. The juxtaposition of its once-thriving past with its desolate present resonates with audiences drawn to the haunting nostalgia of the retail apocalypse.
Dixie-Square Mall
The story of the Dixie-Five Mall's failure is very loosely based on the Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. For decades after the Mall closed, various proposals to redevelop the property failed to materialize due to legal complications, leaving the structure to fall into a severe state of decay for over 30 years. Of course, there were no cults beneath the mall or battles between good and evil, but its history includes an interesting series of failed redevelopment efforts, even leading to the imprisonment of a contractor hired to revitalize the property.

