VOD Review: Mayhem (2017)

"An oddly timely movie."

If the idea of Glenn from The Walking Dead and the hottest Babysitter ever (review HERE) running around an office, killing vapid, assholish business types in a variety of nasty, bloody ways doesn't pique your interest, then we're not really sure what will.

Mayhem is like a hybrid of The Belko Experiment (review HERE) and Office Space, bringing overt violence and black humor together to make a statement about how corporate America is killing the little guy, and then allowing that little guy to get the kind of payback that will no doubt strike a chord with anyone who has been wronged in the same way.

Timely, indeed.

The Red Eye Virus is making its rounds across the country, causing those it infects to lose their inhibitions, and act impulsively. That can mean that they turn hyper sexual, but mostly it means that when someone who is infected gets pissed off, they attack others around them, which usually results in someone being killed in a nasty way.

LIKE THIS GUY. DID HE RALLY DESERVE A PEN TO THE NECK?

Derek Cho is an up-and-cummer at the Towers and Smythe law firm, but he's having a bad day. Not only has his shark-like co-worker set him up to be fired, but the building has just been put on lockdown, due to and outbreak of the Red Eye Virus. And then there's Melanie, a sexy girl who has come to the firm to plead her case, only to have Derek turn her away. She's pissed, he's pissed, and they're both infected with a virus that makes them want to kill.

WHAT A CUTE COUPLE.

Together, Derek and Melanie decide to take their complaints to the top floor of the building, where management is waiting out the viral outbreak, and kill them all, because they're all assholes and they have it coming. And because Derek and Melanie are infected, they basically get a free legal pass to kill whomever they want to.

Mayhem ensues.

KILLING IT. LITERALLY.

Mayhem is a fun, bloody little movie that might not be as funny as we'd have liked it to be, but delivers the goods in such an entertaining way that we can forgive it for its shortcomings.

The cool thing about Mayhem is that it feels like a very timely movie. It seems like everywhere you turn these days, the powers that be are sticking it to the little man, mainly in the form of Washington taxing them more while paying less benefits; doing its best to kill Net Neutrality; and otherwise dividing the country to keep everyone focused on everything besides the fact that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

Mayhem allows its hard done by, average Joe characters to rebel against the system that is holding them down, and maliciously so, and it does so in a bloody cavalcade of, well, mayhem.

Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving are what make the movie work so well, as the two have a great chemistry together. If we're being honest, it's really Weaving who shines brightest here; she's a star on the rise who chews the scenery in everything she's in lately, and she's and absolute treat to watch work.

NOT SURE WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO WITH THAT HAMMER, BUT WE'RE DOWN.

If Mayhem is anything, it's a gloriously violent and bloody movie.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

This one is really light on the sex. There's a bit of nudity, but if you blink, you'll most likely miss it.

SHE'S SEXY EVEN WHEN SHE'S A BLOODY MESS.

We're giving this movie a B+ because of Samara Weaving and Steven Yeun. The former is a wicked actress who is quick becoming one of our faves around here, and it's nice to see the latter in something other than The Walking Dead. Together, they make for a really likable duo in this one, and even though the movie as a whole could have been a bit tighter, they made it work.

B+

Mayhem is available now on VOD, and will hit Blu-ray on December 26th.

Samara Weaving is one of our faves starting now.