Mayhem is the latest from director Joe Lynch, a long-time horror fan perhaps best-known for the fanboy/girl dream-come-true Knights of Badassdom, the underrated Salma Hayek actioner Everly (which mostly takes place on one floor of an apartment building- talk about saving one's budget on locations!) and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.
Some may also know Lynch for hosting the "Body Count" segment on G4's Attack of the Show! and his appearances in the horror docs His Name is Jason and The Psycho Legacy, as well as his co-starring role on the horror-themed sitcom Holliston, which he executive produces along with co-star and fellow director Adam Green, of the Hatchet series fame. (Wright also crops up in the second installment of that franchise.)
Mayhem features several horror favorites, including Steven Yeun and Dallas Roberts of The Walking Dead (who played Glenn and Milton, respectively), up-and-coming horror fixture Samara Weaving (Ash vs. The Evil Dead, last year's popular Netflix offering The Babysitter), Steven Brand (MTV's Teen Wolf), Caroline Chikezie (TV's Supernatural, The Shannara Chronicles) and Kerry Fox (Shallow Grave, Intruders).
It tells the tale of a virus that causes people to lose all inhibitions and basically ignore that voice inside their heads that tells them not to do something. Ironically, there's an outbreak of the very same virus within the law offices of the company that represented a man who had it and went ballistic and killed a co-worker and got off scot-free, thanks to the efforts of said lawyers.
As the virus' effects are short-lived, the building is quarantined while it runs its course, but unfortunately, everyone working there is trapped inside for the time being- and they all know that it's an opportunity to literally get away with murder- or anything else, for that matter. Cue the titular mayhem.
If this sounds a bit like another movie from last year, The Belko Experiment, that's because it is, but given that the movies came out around the same time, I do think it was a coincidence. Also, to be fair, the premises are different, even if the outcome is essentially the same: workers trapped in a building turn on each other until only a few are left standing.
As such, the two films would make for a decent double-feature, if you don't mind the similarities. It's worth noting that the outcomes are decidedly different, as well as the set-ups, so it's not completely like you'd be watching the same movie twice or anything. Also, both are pretty fun, especially this one. (Belko plays things a bit straighter, where Mayhem keeps its tongue firmly in cheek pretty much the entire movie, even during the darker moments.)
As one might expect from that title, there's plenty of gore and action, but it's not a total gore-fest, for those who don't like that sort of thing. You can basically see the goriest moments coming, so if violence isn't your cup of blood, then it's pretty easy to look away at the key moments.
Then again, I can't imagine anyone watching this who wasn't looking for a gory good time, so there you go. If you don't like extreme violence, keep in mind it's all played broadly and near-satirically, so it's more Monty Python than Martyrs or whatever, for whatever that's worth.
The cast is also pretty solid, with Yeun showing he has the chops to be a dependable leading man, even while playing someone (a lawyer) that maybe isn't inherently likable at the time. Likewise, Weaving continues to cement her status as an anything-goes horror leading lady that embraces the genre with gusto, including the sexier moments. (See also The Babysitter.)
Mayhem isn't anything horror fans haven't seen before, really, but it's a fun ride, with some interesting touches here and there, like the paintings scattered throughout the movie and the brief animated bit explaining the virus at the beginning of the movie. I also liked the slowed-down intro, where we see an example of the virus in action in another work environment.
Wright may not entirely bring anything new to the table, but he gets genre flicks and knows how to deliver the goods to the non-discerning viewer. I'd love to see what might happen if he got a hold of a genuinely quality script, as he's got some talent as a director- but even if he doesn't, he's reliable enough to recommend this film for fans of this kind of stuff. At the very least, Mayhem does indeed live up to its title, so there's that.
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