Mayhem (2017) ***
Mayhem (2017) has an incredibly far-fetched high-concept premise but it's a fun slice of hyper-violent escapism. As the ID-7 "Red Eye" virus—which removes people's inhibitions and moral integrity—spreads through the office complex where lawyer Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) works, it causes the employees to act out their darkest impulses, including murder.
Anyone infected by ID-7 is absolved from any acts they commit while under the virus' influence. The office has been put under quarantine by the CDC and a neutralizing agent has been released into the building, which will take eight hours to obliterate ID-7. This also happens to be the day that Derek was wrongfully fired from TSC and refused to sign the severance package he was offered. Teaming up with Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving), a client who was rejected a loan extension on her house, they fight their way amidst the chaos to the top floor to enact revenge on the corporation's partners and hopefully right some wrongs.
Mayhem is an absurd little movie that doesn't necessarily offer any surprises (the character arcs are pretty predictable) but it's a bloody, funny time killer, which smartly sets up the action quickly, has a runtime under 90 minutes, and makes good use of its stars and its budget. The score by Steve Moore (a favorite musician of mine) is a bit relegated to the background, but it's one of his better ones. It's also amusing to watch this during the COVID-19 pandemic and it's definitely the best film by director Joe Lynch that I've seen so far.
Anyone infected by ID-7 is absolved from any acts they commit while under the virus' influence. The office has been put under quarantine by the CDC and a neutralizing agent has been released into the building, which will take eight hours to obliterate ID-7. This also happens to be the day that Derek was wrongfully fired from TSC and refused to sign the severance package he was offered. Teaming up with Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving), a client who was rejected a loan extension on her house, they fight their way amidst the chaos to the top floor to enact revenge on the corporation's partners and hopefully right some wrongs.
Mayhem is an absurd little movie that doesn't necessarily offer any surprises (the character arcs are pretty predictable) but it's a bloody, funny time killer, which smartly sets up the action quickly, has a runtime under 90 minutes, and makes good use of its stars and its budget. The score by Steve Moore (a favorite musician of mine) is a bit relegated to the background, but it's one of his better ones. It's also amusing to watch this during the COVID-19 pandemic and it's definitely the best film by director Joe Lynch that I've seen so far.
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