Mayhem (2017)

Written and Edited By Grave Reviews Staff

Film Information

Director: Joe Lynch
Producer: Parisa Caviani, Mehrdad Elie, et. al.
Screenwriter: Matias Caruso
Date Released: November 10, 2017

Cast:
Steven Yuen as Derek Cho
Samara Weaving as Melanie Cross
Steven Brand as John Towers ‘The Boss’
Caroline Chikezie as The Siren
Kerry Fox as Irene Smythe
Dallas Roberts as The Reaper

Rating = 2/5 Graves

***May contain some spoilers***

Synopsis

Derek (Steven Yuen), an overworked employee of a consulting firm is set up by another employee and as a result gets fired by the firm. On the same day that Derek is fired, the office building that he works in is quarantined due to an infectious disease called the red eye virus. The virus causes the person infected to act out his or her wildest desires by eliminating their “id” and “ego” which would otherwise prevent such actions from occurring. Derek with the help of another person acts out his desires and seeks revenge on those who fired and betrayed him.

The Gore Factor

Mayhem has plenty of blood splatter incorporated in the film. Derek and his newly acquainted friend kills anyone who is in their way. Given the nature of the film, as the viewer, often the climactic gore scenes could have been more detailed. In that way, Mayhem acted as a tease in some ways and will leave your thirst for blood dissatisfied.

The Grave Review

Mayhem (2017) presented a straightforward story line about an overworked employee, who sought revenge on his cruel colleagues and employer. The plot, itself, was mindless and somewhat elementary. One flaw of the story was that Derek (Steven Yuen) somehow never struggled to surpass and kill every employee he came in contact with. At no point during the film did they ever allude to the fact that Derek had specialized or any fighting skills unless we count Yuen’s days working on the set of The Walking Dead. An element of struggle and challenge never seemed to be present itself in the story line and as a result, made the conclusion of Mayhem predictable.

The clear focus of the film was the sheer violence and outrageous actions of Derek and his acquaintance on the company members. But as noted above, even the blood scenes were not as appealing as they could have been. Nevertheless, Mayhem is worth a one time watch but may leave you a little dissatisfied.

On a personal note, it was nice to see life after The Walking Dead for Steven Yuen and we hope to see him in other films to come.

For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Mayhem (2017) two graves out of five graves.

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You may also like our review of the film, Wolfcop.