VOD Releases: Mayhem (2017) - Reviewed

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It's The Office meets Dredd with Joe Lynch's new film Mayhem, starring Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving. Prepare for one hell of a ride, Mayhem is a riotous coke-fueled adrenaline rush that is equally funny as it is bloody murderous, with stand-out performances from both Yeun and Weaving.

Derek Cho (Yeun) is framed and wrongfully terminated from his job at a corporate law firm on the same day that an airborne virus breaks out in the building. The virus unlocks your inhibitions, leading to a very violent work environment. Trapped in the quarantined building, he teams up with Melanie Cross (Weaving), who also has a vendetta with the company, to fight for justice and their lives. As previously mentioned above, it combines elements of The Office and Dredd. It could even be said that it is literally the movie Dredd, just set in an office building with a 28 Days zombie-style infection. It also draws similarities to The Raid and Belko Experiment. The first act is a tad slow as they introduce the characters and set everything up, but once it gets rolling it never stops.



Yeun dramatically steps away from his role as Glenn on The Walking Dead and shows that he deserves to play the lead. Yes, it could be said that this is safe and similar territory for him, but he quite possibly takes on more action in here than he did during his time on the hit AMC television series. Let's hope that this is just the beginning of a healthy film career for him. While Yeun is great in this, Weaving absolutely owns this movie. She has to be the breakthrough star of 2017 after this and The Babysitter, with an additional appearance to come in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She slays every bit of dialogue and each look that she gives and is every bit funny as she is sexy and violent. Together, they make the perfect team, the Bonnie and Clyde of workplace violence.

Director Joe Lynch doesn't hold back in this picture when it comes to the extent of graphic brutality. Horror fiends should love the amount of blood that is expended on screen. Some of it may have been done via VFX, but it doesn't detract from the overall production one bit.

Hands down one of my favorite films of the year, Mayhem is beautifully violent and is the perfect balance of blood and humor. It makes you want to go to work.

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