Writer-director, and sometimes actor, Joe Lynch has long been a fan favourite among horror aficionados, often unfairly cast in the shadow of his hetero life-mate (and podcast co-host on The Movie Crypt) Adam Green. In spite of Lynch’s personality, demonstrable talent and sense of humour, he’s yet to be gifted his big, look-at-me movie moment. Until now.
Mayhem, a sprawling, mental, and super-gory “worksploitation” (Lynch’s term) movie written by first-timer Matias Caruso, finally marks him out as one of the best and brightest filmmakers of the current crop. Pitching Samara Weaving and Steven Yeun against an office block of psychos, the violence comes hard and fast with tongue always firmly in cheek.
Lynch may not have scripted this one, but his fingerprints are all over Mayhem, from a stunning monochrome opening sequence sprinkled with flashes of deep-red to an improvised discussion about favourite bands that perfectly encapsulates a lazy millennial’s reaction to the ensuing chaos all around. Put simply, this is one of the must-watch horror movies of 2017.
A virus spreads through an office complex causing white collar workers to act out their worst impulses
Directed by Joe Lynch, from a script by Matias Caruso (making his feature debut), Mayhem stars Samara Weaving (The Babysitter, Ash Vs Evil Dead) and The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun as an odd couple forced to fight back against an entire office full of blood-crazed lunatics. Check out our (gushing) review of the flick here.
Wicked Horror caught up with Lynch at Frightfest 2017 in London to discuss a burgeoning new sub-genre known as “worksploitation”, comparisons to The Belko Experiment and whether his movie accurately reflects our escalatingly crazy world.
Interview conducted by: Joey Keogh
Camera: Richard Waters
Editing: Richard Waters
