Mayhem is a 2017 American action horror comedy film that was directed by Joe Lynch. The film was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2017 and The Sales art and poster was released at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017.
The film features Steven Yeun as Derek Cho as he works in your typical office environment. There is a viral infection that makes its way through the corporate law office on the day that attorney Derek Saunders is framed by a co-worker and wrongfully fired. This particular infection is capable of making people act out on their wildest impulses. As Saunders is trapped in the quarantined building, he is forced to savagely fight tooth and nail for not only his job, but his life.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating of 81% based on the 43 critics that submitted reviews, with an average score of 7.2/10. The overall critical consensus reads that “Mayhem delivers stylish violence by the bloody bucketful — and grounds all the titular chaos in sharp humor and surprisingly effective real-world economic angst.” The 11 critics who’ve submitted to Metacritic have given the film an average score of 61 out of 100, and overall indicated “generally favorable reviews”. Mayhem was released in select US cinemas, VOD and DigitalHD on Demand on November 10, 2017, and on 4K UltraHD, Blu-ray and DVD today through RLJE Films.
The Film Itself (4.5/5):
The back of the case for Mayhem describes the film as being Office Space meeting The Purge. I’m more inclined to believe that this movie was more along the lines of The Belko Experiment meeting Resident Evil to a certain degree. The concept of the story is one that does a great job at grabbing your attention right from the get go and holds it completely through to the end. There are a significant amount of bloody scenes as the various characters are acting out upon their wildest impulses that did a great job at keeping me on the edge of my seat.
Picture Quality (3/5):
Watching through Mayhem on 4K UHD, my wife and I immediately felt as if there really was a need for the upscaled resolution – especially since this release doesn’t include any use of HDR. While the overall picture quality as clean, clear and we were able to see everything; there really isn’t anything that shines about the 4K UHD release. Not to mention, the fact that they opted to not include HDR makes you wonder if it is even really worth putting it out on the format. The film was fully shot in 4K with its VFX rendered in 2K, ultimately ending up with a 2K digital intermediate.
Audio Quality (4.5/5):
Packaged with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, Mayhem does everything within its power to offer an all out immersive experience with the chaos as it unfolds on your television screen. Placing the audience right into the middle of all of the action as Cho tries to survive the insanity caused by this infection really made for a fun experience. While the audio track isn’t nearly as immersive as it could have been, especially considering the format, the use of the surround speakers was nicely done, as well as the punch from the bass of the subwoofer.
The Packaging (3/5):
Mayhem comes packaged in your standard two-disc 4K UHD amaray case. Within that case is the standard 4K UHD copy of the film as well as the standard Blu-ray copy of the film. Each of the discs feature a different piece of artwork that’s relative to the film and different from that of the case art. Unfortunately, there are no digital copy redemption pamphlets included with this film. However, a slipcover has been made available during the initial print run of this movie.
Special Features (4/5):
Surprisingly enough, Mayhem is unlike most other 4K UHD releases in that it includes the same special features from the Blu-ray on the included 4K UHD disc. The features that have been provided offer an even deeper look into not only the work that went into making the film itself, but offers a nicely done expansion into the story. Included with this release is:
- Creating Mayhem: The Making Of The Film
- The Collected Works Of Derek Cho
- Technical Commentary With Director Joe Lynch, Director Of Photography Steve Gainer & Editor Josh Ethier
Technical Specs:
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
Runtime
Original Film: 88 minutes
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I’m really grateful for the opportunity to sit down and check out Mayhem, especially on 4K UHD. The film itself was a really awesome experience as the infection spreads throughout the office and Derek Cho does absolutely whatever is necessary to survive until the end. The overall visual quality was clean and visually understandable, despite the 4K UHD not including the use of HDR whatsoever. The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track did a really nice job at carrying the film and its experience throughout as it places its viewers in the middle of everything. There’s only a few special features that have been provided, but they do offer a much deeper look into the film as well as the work that went into making it. If you’re considering grabbing this film for your collection, I would definitely recommend it. That recommendation does come with one piece of advice, and that is that you should not pick up Mayhem on 4K due to its lack of HDR. If you’re picking it up, grab it on Blu-ray. Mayhem is officially available as of today.
Note: This Blu-ray was sent to us for review. This has not affected our judgement or editorial process in any way. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this process.