Mayhem covers a lot of the same ground that The Belko Experiment (which came out right before) did. Both films take place inside an office building on lockdown and feature employees that begin offing their co-workers. The difference this time is that it is a virus that causes everyone to turn on the guy in the next cubicle and not an overly aggressive psychological experiment. Another difference is that the office building in Mayhem is a law firm, so there’s a bit of the old anti-lawyer sentiment in there as well.
Both films are a commentary on the “Dog Eat Dog” mentality of corporate America. You know, except that the backstabbing co-workers will really stab you in the back. Neither one of them truly milk their premises for all they are worth, but they at the very least remain diverting entertainment.
While The Belko Experiment hued closer to Saw, this is more like 28 Days Later. The infected office workers get a “Red Eye” virus that causes one eyeball to turn red. It also causes their id to go out of control, which leads to the victim either going kill-crazy or becoming a sex maniac. Unfortunately for us, 98% of them are of the kill-crazy variety. I guess if director Joe Lynch went all-in on the sex crazed angle, we might’ve had a movie that was like They Came from Within Meets Disclosure. As much as I’d like to have seen THAT version, I have to review what we ultimately wound up with… but oh boy, what could’ve been!
Anyway, a lowly employee (The Walking Dead star Steve Yeun) is fired via some cut-throat office tactics. As he is about to be escorted out by security, there is a viral outbreak of Red Eye, and the government quarantines the building. He then flies into a killer rage and teams up with a client (Samara Weaving) who also seeks revenge on the suits in the boardroom, and together they make a truce to take down the bigwigs who made their lives miserable.
There is an interesting ticking clock scenario at play as the virus’ effects only lasts eight hours (appropriately enough, the same length of a work day). Not only that, but Yeun’s character was instrumental in finding a loophole to get a Red-Eye-infected client off who was accused of murder (because it was the virus’ fault, not his). Since there is a legal precedent set, that means any infected person can’t be held accountable for their actions. It’s a clever way to get around having the audience root for its main character to become a workplace mass murderer.
While the film works for the first half or so, it quickly becomes repetitive once it starts down the homestretch. The scenes in which Yeun needs to acquire a series of key cards to gain access to the top floor feel like quests from a video game, and the superiors he has to outwit feel like end level bosses. Another problem is that even when he’s infected with id-destroying rage viruses, Yeun just seems too nice of a guy to believe as a cold-blooded killer. I know the point is that he’s the little guy who’s been pushed too far, but even after he’s been pushed, he doesn’t quite pull off the transformation.
Luckily, Weaving is a lot of fun to watch as his partner in crime. In fact, you’ll probably wish she was the sole heroine and not just the tagalong female lead/random romantic interest. She perks up the movie, even when it’s spinning the wheels and once again shows she is one of the most engaging actresses of our day. She definitely deserved a promotion if you ask me.
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