Streaming
Services: Shudder
Movie
Name/Year: Mayhem
(2017)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Length: 86 minutes
Rating: NR
Production/Distribution: Circle of Confusion, Royal
Viking Entertainment, ABS-CBN Film Productions, Falcon Films, Film1, New Select,
Première TV Distribution, RLJ Entertainment, Source 1 Media, Studio Hamburg
Enterprises (SHE)
Director: Joe Lynch
Writer: Matias Caruso
Actors: Steven Yeun, Samara
Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie, Kerry Fox, Dallas Roberts, Mark
Frost, Claire Dellamar, André Eriksen, Nikola Kent, Lucy Chappell, Olja
Hrustic, Bojan Peric, Annamaria Serda, Jovana Prosenik, Nina Senicar, Irfan
Mensur, Branko Jerinic, Zoran Miljkovic, Danica Radulovic, Eilian Wyn, Brendan
Stokey, Ljubomir Todorovic, Monika Romic, Vladimir Aleksic, Scott Alexander
Young
Blurb
from IMDb: A
virus spreads through an office complex causing white collar workers to act out
their worst impulses.
Selina’s
Point of View:
Now that’s what I’m
talking about!
Joe Lynch (
Knights
of Badassdom, Chillerama, Point Blank) and Matias Caruso (
Witch, The Dollmaker,
Side Effects) took an idea that sounded a little zombie-like and turned it
around so that there was just about no comparison. What I witnessed was super
fresh and fun and phenomenal. I was 100% into it. I had to watch it a second
time because I forgot to take notes.
There’s something
about these shorter films that can be found on Shudder. The editors cut it down
so tight that there’s no bullshit, no filler, no down time. You start the film
and wind up on the edge of your seat for the entire thing. The last one I can
think of was
Host (2020), which was shorter than this one and just as
perfect.
After reading the
description, I was hoping for something over-the-top bloody and I got exactly
what I wanted. I also expected some serious chuckles – I got that, too.
It was an
action-packed ride of awesome, the whole time.
Now, let’s talk main
actors.
I’m one of those
people that saw Steven Yeun (
Okja, Sorry to Bother You, Minari) as my
reason to watch
The Walking Dead (2010- ). Sure, part of it was because
his character had the most relatable and interesting evolution arc. The rest of
it, however, was because Yeun just has an incredible, but approachable, personality
to him. Watching him act transports me into his world every time. He makes it
feel real – whatever he’s playing.
Then there’s
Samara Weaving (
Ready or Not, The Babysitter, Ash vs Evil Dead). I can’t
say enough about Weaving. She’s the scream queen the newer generations need.
Like Yeun, she has a charisma to her that can’t be ignored – and it works
particularly well in horrors and thrillers.
I’m guessing the
first director that gave Weaving a horror job did it because of her scream. I
understand that this sounds super creepy taken out of context, but she has a unique
scream that I could identify her by. Seriously, I could be pick her out of
line-up by it. It’s her signature. It’s pitchy and feels more realistic than a
lot of screams you see from other actors in the kind of parts she plays.
I can’t find a single fault in
Mayhem. They may be there, but for me –
this movie goes hard and it is definitely what I was looking for out of my
Shudder Spree.
Cat’s
Point of View:
Eureka! We have a
winner! I can’t tell you how excited I am that Mayhem lived up to my
expectations for it – and then some.
Let’s get down to
business.
Years ago, my
friends and I explored a story where the characters lost all of their
inhibitions – for good or ill. It was quite the treat to see something along
the same lines brought to the screen, and by powerhouse actors such as Steven
Yeun and Samara Weaving. I have been yearning to see Yeun kick ass in something
ever since he exited
The Walking Dead back in 2016. Weaving, on the other
hand, has proven herself to be one of the new great scream queens of modern
cinema.
I tend to watch a
lot in the action genre. I love the thrill and adrenaline rush of it – watching
the flow of fight choreography. It’s even better when there’s a solid story to
go along with the combat, car chases, and the like. Mayhem is a very apt
description for what takes place in this film, though it’s clear that the
free-for-all had an excellent mind behind its direction. Some of the on-screen
face-offs are silly, and others are outright diabolical. I was on the edge of
my seat as the main characters fought their way through the office tower.
The corporate rat
race is not a place that fosters peace of mind. Sometimes it feels like the
workplace machine is just sucking the very life out of you. I can only imagine
that some professions make it seem like pieces of your soul get carved away a
little at a time, as well. Perhaps I’m still just a little bitter about the way
things played out in the last job that I had in the corporate hamster wheel.
All the same, I can identify with so much from movies like this one.
I know I’m not
alone in feeling that somewhere deep down we all wish we could flip the finger
to the upper echelon of the corporate grind. This film was rather cathartic in
harmlessly playing that sort of fantasy out in this vicarious screen
experience. (Seriously, kids don’t try this at home.)
By far, this is
my favorite movie within our Shudder Spree so far – and I feel like it will be
hard to top this. Of course, I intend to approach each film with an open mind.
I’m just saying.
You can bet I’ll
be steering anyone I can towards this title. This splatter-fest would be ideal
for someone who wants something good and bloody for the Halloween season
without the side-effect of second-guessing the things that go bump in the
night.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – 85%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – 64%
Metascore – 62/100
Metacritic
User Score – 7.2/10
IMDB
Score – 6.4/10
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
Trust
the Dice Parental Advisory Rating: R
Movie
Trailer: