Year of Release: 2017
Director: Joe Lynch
Starring: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie, Kerry Fox, Dallas Roberts, Mark Frost, Claire Dellamar, André Eriksen, Nikola Kent, Lucy Chappell
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"Mayhem" is Joe Lynch's follow up to "Everly", a "Colombiana" style film which featured Salma Hayek as the lead actress. The film focuses on the story of Derek Cho, a young man who has been diligently working at a massive consulting firm. He comes across a client by the name of Melanie Cross, who is desperately trying to retain ownership of her home, and Derek explains her options and how she can do so. When the tension escalates he asks security to escort her out. He realizes that a mess of a legal case has been pinned on him by his boss, Kara Powell, someone he considerably dislikes. The tension also escalates there and they decide to take the situation to the next level, the CEO of the company, John Towers. Derek is targeted as the fall guy for that messy situation, and is fired by Human Resources chief, Lester McGill. As he is about to be escorted out from the building, the building itself is placed under quarantine, as the virus ID-7 (a red eye virus which makes people fall prey to their darker instincts, including murder) has been detected inside. While a neutralizing agent has ben released in the building, it will take approximately eight hours for the virus to be decimated. Stuck inside the building, Derek decides to protest and get his job back, however he is taken to the basement to be beaten up by Towers' security team. Derek gets beaten, his friend Derek gets killed, and he eventually finds himself locked up with Melanie, who didn't make out of the building before the quarantine procedures. They eventually decide to work together, and start solving both their problems and eliminate anything that stands in their way, starting with Kara Powell.
This film feels oddly prescient of the times we're currently living. At a time when most organizations are reaping more financial rewards at the cost of laying off more and more people, the events this film illustrates seem ironically relevant. The director smartly positions this film as a B-movie vehicle, though at times one can't help but think what someone like David Cronenberg could have done with this material in the 1980s. What this means is that we get barely defined characters, but these archetypes, including Derek's fall guy who is in reality a hard worker who had to climb the ladder with perseverance and talent, Melanie the client who is facing eviction, the villainous managerial staff, all of them are so finely embodied by these actors, one can't help but appreciate the over the top events that are taking place. The film is pretty straightforward on its premise, and very low on pretension: hard worker gets blamed and fired, client is desperate and is pushed aside, management is unscrupulous and greedy, and a rage catalyst virus is spread across the building. Those ingredients start a series of non stop action tableaus that are bloody, and at times, even quite funny. The director and his creative team get their point across quite well, namely that the greed DNA isn't easily extinguishable, but that ultimately everyone gets their comeuppance. The cast is uniformly solid, with Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Dallas Roberts, and the unexpected (for this film) Kerry Fox, giving credible and ferocious performances. The production team is solid, with the highlight going to Mina Buric's production design, building the corporate offices into something believable and relatable, and also Steve Moore's score. It may not be for everyone, but it's an entertaining film nonetheless.
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