mherrin-43253
Mayhem:
Directed by Joe Lynch and written by Matias CarusoThis, this is the movie The Belko Experiment should have been. This movie is bloody and brutal. This movie is funny and moves like a bolt of lightning in 87 minutes. It is the exact perfect length. This movie is a lot of fun. It makes my subscription to Shudder worth it even more when they have wonderfully, exhilarating movies like this. This comes from Joe Lynch, the fun B movie director that turned the Wrong Turn series into what it became with Wrong Turn 2. He directed Salma Hayek's bad ass but heartfelt desperation in Everly. He has a handle on material like this. I can not wait to see what else he has in store or films I may have missed. He knows exactly what he wants to do. He fills the movie with vibrant color and creative kills feeding on the office related puns and jokes to weave in this story of redemption and finding life even through the muck and the bile.The acting is superb. Steven Yuen proves that he has the chops to be a terrific leading man. He has the intensity. He has the vulnerability and he has the comedic timing. I think this movie showed even more of what he has to offer than Okja or the Walking Dead. Samara Weaving is fun and clever. Add this to her excellent villianous turn in The Babysitter and she's another one I can't wait to see what she does. The characters are fine tuned to a higher pitch but it works within the confines of this story. They are total lunatics especially when the virus reaches a fever pitch. This was a fun, terrific movie. You would be hard pressed to find another horror comedy this solid, this stylish and this much of a damn good time. I give this movie a B.
Paul Magne Haakonsen
The story told in "Mayhem" was just a bit too over the top, and the entire plot sort of descended into ridiculousness.There were some alright scenes of violence here and there ,and also scenes of just downright bizarre hilarious events.The cast was good, although Steven Yeun will have a hard time of shedding his Glenn character mantle from "The Walking Dead". And while he was the main name billing "Mayhem", then he hardly rose up to the occasion and didn't put on a spotless or brilliant performance. So much for riding the success of your name from a previous project, huh?The plot and storyline was rather predictable, and the ending to the movie was a slap to the face."Mayhem" was an overall mediocre movie at best.
gogoschka-1
This is just an incredibly fun satire for genre fans, and I'm a bit surprised it didn't generate larger waves. It uses the old (but not yet tired) trope of an outbreak among people trapped in a building to put a hilariously violent spin on the kind of themes Mike Judge already explored to great comedic effect in 'Office Space' (1999): what happens when a repressed, disillusioned office clerk suddenly has the liberating epiphany that he doesn't give a fû*k anymore and decides he'll stick it to his boss no matter the consequences. Only that in this version, everyone around said clerk - from the lowest employee to the highest executive - throws their (few remaining) moral restraints over board at the same time as he does. Not through their own will, mind, but because everyone in the building is infected with a virus that makes people act out their most aggressive impulses. As you can imagine, the result of that is not peace, love and happiness - but rather... what's the word... Oh yes: bloody MAYHEM. Needless to say, I had a blast. 7 Stars out of 10.In case you're interested in more underrated low-budget films and fun B-movies, here's a list with some of my favorites: imdb.com/list/ls054808375/
westsideschl
The story's premise of an infectious strain that instantly causes loss of the conscious controls centers of the brain while also enhancing the primitive emotional centers while also giving you one red eye was too over-the-top ridiculous. The story's writers need a bit of math help as supposedly it spreads worldwide, but only 1000 cases confirmed (half in the US). Not much of a contagion. Anyway, the entire story takes place in one office building (infectious agent was in water cooler of course) where petty animosities suddenly become deadly as staff begin to pound on each other. Boring, so ff was my cure for this disease.
AD
