Mayhem (2017)

I didn't even know about the existence of Mayhem until January when Brittani of Rambling Film reviewed it. I haven't seen The Belko Experiment which she mentioned so I didn't know what to expect but I gave it a try anyway, mainly because there's Steven Yeun. Also, it sounded fun.

Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) is a lawyer who wants to sit at the adults' table. But that won't happen as he's framed for something he didn't do and he's fired. Forced to leave the building, he learns that it is under quarantine for a dangerous virus that makes the infected lose their inhibitions. It will take 8 hours to neutralize the virus so Derek teams up with Melanie (Samara Weaving), a former client who was trying to get more time on a loan, and takes advantage of this situation to try to get to the executives on the top floor.

The plot is very simple and rather cartoonish, it's far from being realistic, it has many plot holes and doesn't have a lot of development. There are The subplots also need a lot of work and the whole lawyer/business talk or whatever is going on doesn't make a lot of sense.

But you know what? Mayhem doesn't try, not even for a second, to be a serious, complex movie. It might be a chaotic mess in terms of writing, but there's enough going on to hold your attention and keep you engaged until the end. Everything in this film is played for laughs and it works. 

RLJE Films

The best aspect of the film is easily the cast. Steven Yeun does a great job as Derek, the charismatic, ambitious young lawyer seeking for blood, literally, and he reminded me why I used to love watching The Walking Dead so much. Samara Weaving too does a good job as Melanie. Also, they have a nice chemistry. Among the villains, Steven Brand stands out as Derek's boss.

At last, if you like gore and blood, you'll very likely enjoy Mayhem. There's plenty of those. As for the action, it isn't anything great, it's pretty much just chaos and violence, but it works for this half-satire half-Die Hard movie.