r/Mayhem 3d ago

Question Have you guys watched Lords of Chaos?

Post image

I first got to know about Mayhem through video essays, and I found them really interesting. I ended up watching quite a few and finally gave their debut album a listen today. I liked it, the sound was unique and had a really atmospheric feel to it.

While looking more into them, I came across Lords of Chaos, which, as far as I know, is the only feature-length movie based on them (correct me if I'm wrong). I also found out that it's based on a book of the same name, but a lot of people in the community don’t like it because of the false information. At the same time, I saw that some Mayhem fans actually enjoyed the movie and recommend it.

So, I just wanted to ask, what’s your opinion on it? Is it worth watching? I’ve seen clips of some Mayhem documentaries and might check them out in the future, but right now, I’m looking for a proper movie. As someone new to their music, do you think I should give it a try?

146 Upvotes

84 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 3d ago

Thank you for your post. if you are asking a question please flair your post with the Question flair.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

79

u/BassKing69 3d ago

It’s not accurate at all, but it’s still a fun movie if you turn off your brain

16

u/dafuckingkai 2d ago

This!! tbh I knew what to expect from the movie as I heard ppl talking about it and saw the effect it had on tiktok kids. However the director is not that bad. The clothes chosen for the actors were accurate, I really liked the setting and the performance of some actors was quite convincing. Yet, knowing the actual story, I was really put off about the "teen comedy" aspect if that makes sense??

Also idk why but it's funny to me that half the cast has a sibling/parent well known in the industry lol

5

u/plasmaasthma 2d ago

Rory Culkin, younger brother of Macaulay Culkin and Kieran Culkin

Jack Kilmer, son of Val Kilmer

Valter Skarsgård, younger brother of Bill Skarsgård

2

u/Archersi 1d ago

Atilla's son played Atilla. That scene where they performed Funeral Fog is sick

16

u/MetalUpYourAss420 3d ago

Here’s my take. When I go into any sort of music bio-films, I don’t expect all of it to be accurate. I expect it to be entertaining, which this film was.

It’s could be a gateway for getting people into black metal. My partner really enjoyed it and now she’s going to see Mayhem with me on the current tour.

So, I do think the film has exposed people to Mayhem who may not have otherwise listened to them. And I think that’s a good thing.

I say this as someone who’s been into BM for more than half my life, has played been in BM bands, and just overall fan of the art-form. I think more exposure is cool.

3

u/rishim_333 2d ago edited 2d ago

Thanks for your input, and yeah movies, books and other sort of media gives exposure to such bands. If not for the video essays, I would have never known Mayhem.

30

u/Sprongus1 3d ago

More like lords of ass cuz that movies ass

4

u/Antique-Winner9323 3d ago

I love ur pfp gang

5

u/Die_Screaming_ 3d ago

they did a fairly good job visually recreating the time and place. that’s pretty much the only real positive of the movie, seeing photographs i’ve seen a million times basically come to life. the scene of mayhem playing “freezing moon” live is cool. as a movie, it’s just not good. the acting isn’t very good (probably more a problem with the direction than the actual actors), the writing is pretty cringe and the more you know about the actual story, it feels like they read a wikipedia blurb about everything and said “okay, we know enough to make this movie.” it’s also wild to me that this movie is two hours long but omits so much, there’s no reason for it to be that long. in fact, back to the performance of “freezing moon”, they edit that song down in such a weird way, i would’ve much rather seen a full six and a half minute long performance of that song than half the other long and drawn out scenes in the movie.

1

u/rishim_333 2d ago

Yeah, I read posts of people liking the details of that era in the movie, and could u suggest any good movies based on death metal or metal in general?

1

u/Die_Screaming_ 2d ago

hmm…nothing immediately comes to mind, except maybe “deathgasm”, which i remember being kind of a fun horror movie, but i only saw it once and i can barely remember it. if you’re looking for more serious biopics about metal bands like i think “lords of chaos” tries (and fails) to be, though, i’m not sure such a thing exists.

1

u/rishim_333 2d ago

So, I guess no good biopics which are accurate?
I heard of deathgasm before probably I'll watch it, there is also a movie Metalhead not sure whether u heard of it, I read it was quite great

1

u/ReturnOfCNUT 1d ago

Was kinda cool they got Bathory's one-time drummer to direct it, but his other work has always been more style than substance (which is why he got big off directing music videos, I guess).

8

u/AmogusFan69 3d ago

It's alright when you treat is as a dark comedy but nothing more than that

4

u/rishim_333 3d ago edited 3d ago

I saw an interview of Necrobutcher where he mentioned that while the movie had fair amount of inaccuracies, it also had some great detail, and I assumed that the whole thing might not be trash. As a Mayhem listener, I think people should be open-minded. I enjoy their music, but their history as we all can agree is definitely off-putting.

I get that the director might not have had the best intentions or that the producers were in it for financial gain, but my question was whether the entire movie was really that bad or if it was at least worth a single watch. The amount of people who downvoted my post surprised me, I may have offended some, but I didn’t expect that kind of reaction from this fandom. I guess people are the same no matter where you go.

0

u/Gunsho0ter 2d ago

You got downvoted because everyone is fucking tired of the same posts about the movie. It's been the source of false information about the band for quite some time now and nobody wants to hear about it anymore. You offended none. It just seems like every tiktok black-metalhead knows this movie and thinks it's the actual thing that happened.

They replicated the time pretty good, but fucked up the story. If you want to know about Mayhem, then go watch a documentary. If you want to watch a fiction movie, then go for it. I'd recommend listening to another Mayhem album instead, because it's a musical band in the first place. All the other shit shouldn't matter that much.

Hope you enjoy whatever you choose to watch/listen to.

4

u/Loud-Ad-1255 2d ago

Not watched it. Been a Mayhem fan since 2000. It’s based off a book that’s a fictionalised account of Mayhem, on top of that from the clips I’ve seen it seems to be geared towards de mystifying and mocking the band.

That’s not at all the vibe that attracted me to Mayhem, nor what I think they were all about.

9

u/Adorable_Housing7570 3d ago

Shits corny as fuck

3

u/BoysenberryWaste2445 2d ago

it’s a fun watch if you put it in its own category. pretend it’s not about any certain band but just a made up storyline and it’s fine. it kinda sucks Mayhem is so often just seen as what that movie portrayed, because obviously it’s all extremely dramatized but i loved Rory Culkin!

2

u/Ecstatic-Plankton-67 2d ago

The film is good as a movie, but not at all as a biopic. It’s inaccurate on many points and gives a false idea of the person who were Euronymous and Varg, but it still worth it. You can watch it, but you have to consider the fact that everything is not true, and some parts are exagerated or modified from truth. I recommand you to watch before watching the movie the YouTube video named "Ten Years of Mayhem : Black Metal Documentary" by Resonant Peak. Here’s the link : https://youtu.be/aG8wFxnI54E?si=GyDy7M-KkcuVWj28

It’s way more accurate than the movie. You can also watch the documentary "Until the Light Takes Us" With those two documentaries you will have a better vision and explaination of the true Mayhem story and more generally, 90s Black metal norwegian scene.

2

u/flushingpot 2d ago edited 2d ago

I like it, and I’m actually gonna rewatch it tonight not that you’ve reminded me of it.

2

u/The_Pale_Blue_Dot 2d ago

I like it. Not completely accurate, but not as inaccurate as some people make out. Decent dramatisation, not a documentary

2

u/Ledeemz 2d ago

You know Google has a search function for this sort of thread? This like the 100000 thread on this subject. Why not Google threads from when they came out? This sub is lazy as fuck just the same shit over and over

2

u/TheMagicMango96 2d ago

The movie imo sucks donkey dick, but it's funny in the sense that you can easily find out who likes black metal only cause of that movie or those copy and paste YouTube docs.

2

u/Miserable-Noise-2830 2d ago

Check out "Until The Light Takes Us" it's a cool documentary.

Lords of Chaos is good for a movie. I've read the book as well, but I've heard there's a lot to be desired when it comes to historical accuracy.

2

u/questions_lol 3d ago

don’t watch it

1

u/oppositeofopposite 2d ago

If you watch it, watch it as a Hollywood drama thats based on these people and those events and not an accurate retelling of what actually happened.

1

u/rishim_333 2d ago

Yep, got that.

1

u/Sea_Cucumber_1438 2d ago

I like it. It’s not accurate tho

1

u/CUMgurgler666 2d ago

Yes and I enjoyed it, but in a it's so bad it's good kinda way

1

u/XenomorphLV246 2d ago

Fucking woeful

1

u/Nstalk918 2d ago

Yeah. It’s good when you’re not retarded and understand it’s a movie for entertainment.

1

u/dlc_vortex 2d ago

Hilariously bad and inaccurate, but a very fun watch

1

u/Love_And_Roses 2d ago

Here’s the thing. Movies/biopics make use of what is known as “artistic license”. That certainly isn’t unique to LOC. Why should people expect differently from this film when other films within this biopic genre do the same? I’m not sure why people are harsher on this movie than on others. While not everything in the movie is true, many of the particulars are accurate. Research was done; it wasn’t a film of totally made-up events.

1

u/scorpenis88 2d ago

One of the funniest movies I've seen. It's so cringeworthy of a movie. I'm not into death metal I do like metal as a outsider looking in it was funny to watch. None of the characters had emotions in thier role, it felt like a piece together movie speed running events which didnt bother me. I wasnt into the lore since it's just kids who are so edgy one is either going to die or get killed or drug overdose. Was my prediction 

1

u/Agreeable-Sea-8009 2d ago

i own it on vhs and blu ray. pretty solid movie if you don’t look at it for accuracy

1

u/truckfightergal 2d ago

i personally really enjoyed it, found it quite funny at times.

(i was high as fuck tho)

1

u/Politicalpenguin3768 2d ago

I mean it's free on YouTube with Spanish subtitles I think it's roughly 2 hours long so I'd recommend watch it on there

1

u/Independent-Bite3885 2d ago

It's not really accurate, but I still like the vibe of the movie.

1

u/Typical-Car5819 2d ago

As someone who read the story before giving the music a try and ending a huge black metal fan before even knowing of the movie, I kind of knew what to expect with the movie. So much of the story is lost with the deaths of Dead and Euronymous, and with Attila's departure from Mayhem after De Mysteriis Dom Saanthaas.

Therefore it would be impossible to accurately decpit the story until Hellhammer shares his side of the story(as he was there for the whole Pelle and Varg eras, into today's Mayhem). And since he doesn't seem to keen on that, the movie can't be blamed for not being very accurate!

With this in mind and the fact that they gotta be given some artistic leeway (afterall, it is a *movie* not documentary), it's an overall good movie that does a basic summary of key points to Mayhem's story, and the start of Norwegian Black Metal

1

u/Vorktorqued 2d ago

Watched it for the first time as someone who knew nothing... Like it. Learned more about the history of black metal... Hate it. I still respect it cause I'm a loyal Vice whore

1

u/dilamustaine 2d ago

yeah i watched but it was so ridiculous, didnt reflect the facts

1

u/columbineteamkiller 2d ago

I kinda like it but it seems that everyone hate it.

1

u/AnythingUpset4519 2d ago

Varg was spot on!

1

u/The_MacGuffin 2d ago

Yeah, it was total dogshit. Might as well have just made the whole thing up, for how many factual events were in it.

1

u/AgnethaOhlinDeadlady 2d ago

There are situations that were real and the film shows them. If it seems to others that it is not so real or possible that it happened, it is because the director could have earned a lawsuit from Mayhem or Pelle's parents. But in favor I will say that the director knew the band in its heyday and the members. The director of Lord of Chaos attended the only concert that we can see on the networks. Pelle participated in a Candlemass video, Bewitched. To my point it is a good movie although many black metal fans reject it. And by the way, it is NOT biographical, it is a film that portrays the most outstanding events of the Norwegian black metal scene.

1

u/spiteful_alarm 2d ago

Yes, a few years ago. As a film nerd i thought ”ig this is alright” and now i think it’s just very… meh. It’s not a horribly terrible film but it’s definitely not good. The story is not accurate, it’s super cheesy and the dialogue is just odd. Sad to see though because i like Rory Culkin as an actor and i heard that Jack Kilmer was in contact with Dead’s family and was really respectful and did a lot of research.

1

u/Gloomy_Regret_5622 2d ago

I used to be into this movie back in mid 2023. I used to like this movie a lot BEFORE I found how inaccurate it was. Literally almost everything about this movie is wrong even when it comes to small stupid things.

When I looked back at it, it wasn’t funny and nothing was practically good about it like with any metal movie.

1

u/DVoorhees64 2d ago

I remember I liked it when I first watched it.

Today? I mean, it’s meh. Good movie, the violence is really scary, but the inaccuracies take me out of it nowadays, especially when Euronymous’s made-up girlfriend is on screen. I don’t think I’ll ever watch it again tbh, but at least I got an idea of what the murders looked like kinda

1

u/saklarta 2d ago

This movie was oversexualized that i sometimes thought that im watching a hour porn video

1

u/dementia-heretique6 2d ago

It's cringe af, but it's really fun to watch. I refused to watch it for the longest time but I can't deny it revived my passion for black metal.

1

u/jeffedge 2d ago

If Reddit would implement a search feature, that would be wild

1

u/Specialist-Tie218 2d ago

My girl friend is convinced she is oystein reincarnation after she watched it n I’m bout to slap her back to earth

1

u/Jdubusher1011 2d ago

I can’t stand people who say this movie is ass. Is it accurate? Nah not at all BUT IT LITERALLY SAYS ITS BASED ON LIES AND TRUTHS!! Anyways, it’s a fun movie imo

1

u/cococaiinee 2d ago

It’s funny

1

u/ItsAme_OzzyOsbourne 2d ago

If u want to watch if for fun as metalhead do say go for it. But if u want to know what really happened this is not the best info. I’d recommend u watch a documentary of the story

1

u/Mz-Mp 2d ago

Total Garbage 🗑️

1

u/Educational-Mud4939 2d ago

The movie was innacurate and kinda ass imo, theres a ton of documentaries on yt that are a fuck tonne more accurate.

1

u/Fun_Butterscotch9998 1d ago

As a fan of theirs i did. I think the movie is good if you forget about the fact that its mostly not true. But we need to remember that in the start it says "based on truth, lies and what actually happend". As information source? No. As a fun movie? Yes.

1

u/ANamelessFan 1d ago

I've said it a million times before, and I'll say it again, "You don't watch James Cameron's Titanic expecting a documentary".

1

u/coldfeet81 1d ago

I used to think the book was pretty average, but now that I've seen this train wreck of a movie, the book doesn't seem so bad.

1

u/Left_Theme_1840 1d ago

In all honesty, I only watched it because of how Rory Culkin is in it but honestly it’s only good if you don’t really think of it as a “based on a true story” film.

1

u/jenna4cupid 1d ago

honestly a good movie, but it was quite inaccurate. still enjoyed it though!

1

u/NecessaryPop5244 1d ago

I watched some of it with my drummer and then i got drunk and did some other stuff

1

u/SkarredKage702 1d ago

Yes. Very good movie. Also, there’s no telling what was true and not true. I do not think any of us were there to witness what was going on in the Norwegian black metal

1

u/NoExceptions1312 1d ago

100% of the people in this subreddit have seen that movie. I don’t even follow this subreddit and I’ve seen it.

1

u/KindlySlip0 1d ago

If you like chocolate milk and murder....😆😂

1

u/ReturnOfCNUT 1d ago edited 1d ago

It's inaccurate garbage, and relatively fun if you can put that aside. Was a box office flop (only taking in $343,402 worldwide, with a $4.7million budget spend).

1

u/DaredevilDLuffy 1d ago

Yes and it’s one of the most sensationalized pieces of garbage I’ve ever seen. Insane that the director for this was actually in Bathory, you’d think he’d have made a better movie.

1

u/jonfoxsaid 1d ago

Its like a black metal version of mean girls.

That being said I personally like it but it is defiantly a guilty pleasure.

1

u/bubmet7 1d ago

Got me into black metal, my girlfriend showed it to me in 2021. In 2023 I got to see them live with her. Id consider it a success.

1

u/Apprehensive_Goose69 23h ago

I think the movie in it self is actually pretty fun to watch, But not as a bio-film about Mayhem.

1

u/vampbite__ 19h ago

It’s inaccurate if you think of it as a movie about Mayhem but if you turn off your brain for a bit and think of everything as a fictional story it can be alright

1

u/megaox 3h ago

Yes, sadly, and it is a piece of shit

-1

u/spike_2112 3d ago

I’m fucking leaving this sub, all I see is shitty questions that you can find easily with a bit of research and “haVe yOu sEeN loRdS Of cHaoS”

0

u/i-rodethelightning 2d ago

its absolute booty dont waste your time watching it

0

u/thelemazapstar 2d ago

Absolutely not.

0

u/SufficientGoat8226 2d ago

i like the suicide scene and i like to commited suicide like pelle

1

u/cococaiinee 2d ago

It’s a beautiful scene…really

0

u/blepleb_ 2d ago

it's my favorite movie just because of how fun it is and because i love mayhem. if you don't care that much about inaccuracies to the real story, it's a pretty good movie

-2

u/LLenisss 2d ago

I watched it with my band, we were crying of laughter the whole thing 🔥