I can just imagine the pitch for this film. "It's like the movie "The Raid," where the hero is trying to get to the top of the building, to defeat the big bad. Except this one is set in a corporate building, filled with lawyers and office suits, plus they are all infected with a virus that makes people let go of their inhibitions. As you would expect, physical attacks against fellow co-workers are often displayed here; some sex scenes too, but primarily there are lots and lots of aggressive bloody violence.
The premise would be oh so shocking and terrifying like a horror movie, but the sheer pulpy thrashy nature of the direction by Joe Lynch, makes this more like a dark comedic romp through office madness. Or should I say office mayhem? bah-dum-dum. That's more or less the main reason to see this movie, for the insanity of it all, and wow where there some crazy scenes that just didn't hold back much. You could also go in for the story, but the plot is pretty straight forward and not that intricate. So don't put too much logic on the premise, because you should go into this movie just for the chance to see a scene where somebody would get stabbed by office tools. It all doesn't have to make much sense here. Anarchy! Anarchy!
Another thing that makes this an enjoyable movie is the fact that the actors seems to really be having fun going all out with what they get to do here. Steven Yeun as Derek Cho is like the surrogate character of somebody finally fighting back against the place of employment that takes him for granted. It's hard not to root for the guy. On the flip side, actors like Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie, or Dallas Roberts, also gets to go all out, hamming it up, in playing the people in charge that Derek has to deal with. Samara Weaving is also here as Melanie Cross, and she gets to do badass things as well. Unfortunately Weaving really seems to just be here simply to do badass things, and not that much more. Some of the random conversations she has with Steven Yeun do at least provide some nice character moments at least.
While it's easy to dismiss "Mayhem" as a generally forgetful thriller that goes over the top with it's premise and characters, it's entertainment factor can't be denied. If you're the correct target audience for this movie, then you should find it to be quite the crowd-pleaser.
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