What do you get when you cross a manic Monday at the office and a virus that causes people to lose all inhibitions be they violent, sexual, or otherwise? You get Joe Lynch’s 2017 horror-action-comedy Mayhem and one of the strongest exclusive offerings on Shudder.
About Mayhem?
Mayhem follows Derek Cho, a corporate lawyer on his worst day at work ever, during an outbreak of the ID-7 or “Red Eye” virus. This virus causes the infected to engage in just the sort of things civil society frowns. All those things that make for great horror films. Derek finds himself, infected, locked in the building, and looking for revenge against the top-floor for his unjust firing. Along the way, Derek is joined by Melanie, a client with her own agenda against Towers and Smythe Consulting. The film already caused quite a stir when it premiered on Shudder, breaking existing streaming records. However, for those who haven’t seen it, Mayhem is an incredibly satisfying revenge film.
One of the best things about the film are the characters and performances. Leading the charge is The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun, starring as Derek. Yeun has shined on screen since his days as Glen on The Walking Dead, but Mayhem is a perfect film to establish his chops as the lead of a project. Yeun’s Derek is charming, funny, nerdy, and most importantly, a convincing action lead. Samara Weaving of The Babysitter gives Melanie a fiery punk energy that relishes in the chaos of the locked down office. Melanie’s arc is also the most emotionally relevant of the film, and Weaving absolutely sells it. Weaving and Yeun play well off of each other and with any luck they will continue to do so in future films.
But what about the bad guys of Mayhem?
Revenge films tend to be only as strong as their villains, however, and Mayhem does not disappoint. The office features several fantastic “bosses” that lend the film a video-game feel. The three major antagonists are absolutely magnetic. Dallas Robert’s “Lester ‘The Reaper’ McGill” is the most fascinating among them, particularly given the dispassion of the character. Caroline Chikezie imbues “Kara ‘The Siren’ Powell” with that energy of the worst boss you have ever had. Lastly, Steven Brand is a joy to watch as “John ‘The Boss’ Towers.” His 1980s corporate-packaging unraveling on the top floor as Derek climes the tower is a joy to behold.
Verdict on Mayhem?
Americans love a great tower movie, don’t they? Great tower films include Dredd, High-Rise, the legendary Die Hard and Mayhem should definitely be listed among them. The plot isn’t revolutionary, as these films are about break downs instead of building to something, but that’s not the joy of Mayhem. Joe Lynch’s direction is solid and stylish giving the chaos of the office building an almost primal appeal. The myriad of horrific indulgences that occur in the background alone are great to watch. Seeing the worst chaos at the office is a hallmark of a great worksploitation film, a genre that proves that any office can be improved with blood all over cubicle walls.
The sweet putrid stench of love lingers through the air which can only mean one thing…Valentine’s Day and its annoying little winged cherub mascot, Cupid, is fast approaching. Soon, partners will be spoiling one another with extravagant bouquets of roses, heartfelt Hallmark cards, obnoxiously large teddy bears, glistening diamond jewelry, and heart-shaped candies or boxes filled with assorted mediocre chocolates. You know? Normal things couples do. I tend to prefer my chocolate boxes filled with bleeding hearts, Ă la ‘My Bloody Valentine’ but, beggars can’t be choosers, right? All jokes aside, Valentine’s Day is special for many couples, however, there are also many others who find themselves celebrating this day without a significant other. Luckily, Shudder, along with drive-in king Joe Bob Briggs and co-host Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince) will graciously be keeping us lonely mutants’, and yes, all you horror fanatic couples’ company on Friday, February 10th as they return with The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine, premiering live at 9pm EST.
Love Spells Abound…
Back in 2021, Joe Bob and Darcy invited us to a gruesomely passionate night of spell-binding love witches and animatronic dinosaurs infused with teenage human brains during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You. Many, including myself, were introduced to the tantalizing 70’s inspired retro throwback ‘The Love Witch’and the graphically goofy cult classic ‘Tammy and the T-Rex’, providing the perfect viewing pleasure to mend any broken heart. While the two films for this year’s morbid love-induced special have yet to be announced, as a special treat, Briggs has announced for the first time on The Last Drive-In, he will be marrying one lucky couple during the live showing. We here at HauntedMTL are eagerly awaiting the return of the ghoulish duo so, as is tradition, we will be proudly hosting a watch party on Twitter during the broadcasting of The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and tag us @hauntedMTL as well as @shudder, @therealjoebob, and @kinky_horror to partake in this night of unholy love.
Follow @hauntedMTL for live tweets and replies!
What started off as a one-time special premiering on Shudder July 13, 2018, ‘The Last Drive- In’ was originally meant to be Brigg’s swan song; one last special before hanging up the bolo tie in retirement. However, due to so many mutants, excuse me…viewers tuning in and breaking the Shudder servers, it was only natural to announce an official full season of ‘The Last Drive-In‘, which would make its explosive debut March 19, 2019. Since then, Darcy and Briggs have spawned many exclusive holiday specials, have graciously donated to many charities within the community, and have accumulated 4 seasons of ‘The Last Drive-In’, with a fifth currently in production premiering on Shudder’s 2023 schedule sometime this year, let’s hope sooner rather than later.
An unexpected ceremony during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You (2021) special.
Horror Noire is a horror collection that includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.”
Horror Noire is a horror collection brought by the combined efforts of AMC+ and Shudder. The collection includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.” Horror Noire boasts Black directors and screenwriters, providing six unique stories.
As this collection explores six stories, I will skip the usual synopsis to assess the genres and ideas explored, albeit limited as needed. Expect to find supernatural horror, creature features, and psychological thrillers. Many short films deal with these genres while exploring Black issues, but this isn’t universal for the collection.
Each story remains unique, holding different strengths and weaknesses that highlight drastically different perspectives. Collections like VHS hold a similar premise to create their collection, but Horror Noire gives more creative freedom to its talent to be independent.
However, the best example of horror goes to Robin Givens’ “Daddy,” providing an existential horror tied directly to the characters involved.
Image from “Fugue State” directed by Rob Greenlea
What I Dislike
As mentioned, all have a particular style and idea. The downside of this approach always remains to keep the viewer interested long enough to find their favorite. If you find several underwhelming choices, this becomes a chore. But I imagine that is rare as the variety makes the options refreshing.
Personally, “Brand of Evil” had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short. On paper, it might have sounded like my favorite, which makes the lackluster execution a bigger letdown.
Zeth M. Martinez
Final Thoughts
Horror Noire gives power and control to Black creators, providing a formula for a unique collection against others in the space. While the various subjects and approaches mean you aren’t likely to love them all, there should be a short film for everyone. (3.5 / 5)
Episode six of Netflix’s Dahmer was not, honestly about our title character. Instead, it was about one of his victims, a man named Tony. We’ve actually seen Tony a few times during this series. We just didn’t know it was him.
And, well, he wasn’t exactly alive the first time we saw him.
Tony was born into a supportive, loving family. This is good because soon after he was born a viral infection took his hearing. He is black, deaf, and gay in the early 90’s.
Tony has a dream of becoming a model. And he certainly has the looks for it. He is beautiful, body and soul. He has lots of opportunities for romance, but it’s not what he’s looking for. He wants a real relationship.
Eventually Tony moves to Madison, trying to pursue his dream. He gets a job and starts getting modeling work.
Then, he meets Jeff Dahmer at a bar.
At first, we can almost believe that it’s going to be alright. Jeff seems happy. He’s taking care of himself. He’s not drinking as much. He even has his dad and stepmom over for dinner. It seems like his life is getting on track. Even better, he’s treating Tony right.
Then, of course, things go bad.
One thing that has always bothered me as a true crime fan is that we know so much about the killers, but not as much about the victims. Not so much if we don’t know who the killer is, of course. But the names that are part of our pop culture are those of the killers. Dahmer, Manson, Jones, Bundy, Holms. The names we don’t know are Roberta Parks, Beth LaBiancas, Leno LaBiancas, and Tony Hughes. And clearly, we should know them.
If Tony Hughes was half the shining, positive person that the show Dahmer made him out to be, I’m so sad that he isn’t with us anymore. We need so many more people like him. And many of Dahmer’s victims were likely just like him. After all, he was attracted to them for a reason.
This was a significant episode, and I understand why it’s the highest-rated episode of the series. I finished it with a heavy heart, saddened by the loss of a man who should still be with us today.Â
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