Mayhem Review

In a time when superhero movies are the trend and other unique movies get brushed under the rug, this one stands out as one of the most enjoyable movies I've watched in years, having watched it two times in less than 24 hours.

Story- Derek just goes through the motions at work, doing what he needs to get done legally, as a lawyer. He acknowledges his faults, but makes up for it by being a good guy. A precedent was set by a case where a virus titled ID-7 made a guy rage out and kill one of his coworkers, but wasn't held liable due to the virus overtaking his functioning. The bad news is, the building where Derek works in has been infiltrated by the virus, so the entire building is put on lockdown. Derek was just fired, so with the virus he wants to have a word with the bosses to make sure they know who's responsible. And destroy them too. This movie has a weird mix of inspirations to me: Sorry to Bother You, 28 Days/Weeks Later (only in the type of virus), The Raid Redemption/Dredd, Mandy, The Belko Experiment, and a few others. I think that it works well together, because pretty much all except one of those movies is great, and this movie was fantastic. I loved the comedy in the movie because it seemed to be very similar to how I write scripts, in the comedy and the action. I would classify it as just a fun, bloody enjoyable time. I don't think the gore should deter people, because it never gets to the point of Evil Dead levels of dismemberment and literal buckets of blood. The subtext of the film is interesting, and I think it says a lot about the type of culture we live in today.

Cinematography/Props/Editing- The cinematography was very interesting in this one. At times you could tell a little bit of a gap between cinematography on a movie like this vs say a movie of Blade Runner 2049. There was a certain simplicity, but then in other instances, there were some fantastic moments captured. Overall though, I would say I did enjoy it. The editing goes back to the style of editing used on Edgar Wright like films- very frantic, fast paced, and fun. In terms of the props, there is one somewhat convenient stash (I don't want to specify too much because it does play a part in the movie) but they were all things that you could find in an office building. One of the guards has such a weird plethora of weapons, however I think he's independent from the building so I guess his eccentricities makes sense.

Acting- Steven Brand plays a coked up maniac, and much like Chris Hemsworth in Bad Times at the El Royale, seemed just a bit too cartoony, although I want to reiterate I think that was intentional. He surely made me despise him, so he did his job well. Steven Yeun always plays such a likable guy. There's a reason he was the fan favorite besides Daryl on The Walking Dead, not the main character Rick. It's funny, because his character in this movie knows that he's descended into douchebag territory, however he still has redemptive qualities, like in the beginning sticking up for a verbally abused secretary. He plays off the psychosis well, like a more finely tuned and better acted Nicolas Cage in Mom and Dad, and just overall seems like a cool guy to hang out with. Literally every time I see Samara Weaving, I can't not think she is Margot Robbie's unrelated little sister. She looks so much like her, and two lines she delivers in this movie could straight up be delivered by Harley Quinn. Even her laugh sounds similar. Those things aside though, I've loved her in everything she's been in. My first exposure to her was in the movie Three Billboards, which she had perfect comedic timing, then in Ash vs the Evil Dead for an episode, and then The Babysitter, a surprisingly good and over the top comedy on Netflix. I hope she continues to get starring roles along with Yeun as well.

Directing- So I looked up Joe Lynch's filmography, and he's only directed some very minor things, so I classify this as being his first "true" directing credit. With that being said, I wholeheartedly loved it. You can clearly tell what directors he takes inspiration from, and while some may see it as just a frankenstein copy of directing styles, I view it as a nod or an homage to them. He captures the snappiness of Edgar Wright, the comedy timing of James Gunn, and the gore of a number of directors like Tarantino. This movie had a real charm to it, and I attribute it to Lynch.

Soundtrack/Audio- There was nothing inherently bad about the soundtrack, however you can definitely tell that this was a budget movie from that. It's interesting, because I feel had it been a slightly higher budget film, that the music could've went from ok to great. One of Weaving's character traits is that she seems innocent but she's into heavy metal music (donning a Black Dahlia Murder band tank top) and mentioning (early) Anthrax, and in some of the heavier action scenes it would've been fun to see songs from these bands integrated into that. The sound effects however seemed to be accurate and synced up well, from the snap of a pair of scissors to the shattering of glass.

Final Verdict- A. This movie is a blast to watch, and it's relatively cheap to buy so I say take the plunge because it's absolutely worth it.

#StevenYeun #SamaraWeaving #Comedy #Revenge #Horror #Action