Lords of Chaos Review

"I am Øystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous and I was brought to this world to create suffering, chaos and death. This is my story and it will end badly."

Cast: Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Sky Ferreira, Anthony De La Torre, Johnathan Barnwell, Valter Skarsgård, Wilson Gonzalez
Ochsenknecht

Director Jonas Akerlund

Based on the book of the same name, Lords of Chaos centers around Euronymous, guitarist and founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem.

In 1987 Norway, a teenager known as Euronymous becomes obsessed with creating a whole new musical genre he calls true Norwegian black metal with his band, Mayhem. But as years go by and the band's popularity begins to rise, a power struggle ensues that leads to a very  brutal murder.

The very first time I ever heard of Mayhem was back in the 90's when my family received a copy of The Watchtower. Reading the details of the shocking events that occurred has stuck with me for more than 20 years, so when I found out that a movie was going to be made, I was very excited. However, no one could've predicted that this movie would invade every part of my life, including my dreams.

I knew and read many stories about the crimes that were committed  between Euronymous and Varg, but actually seeing these scenes unfold before your eyes is very unsettling. I didn't know if I could even get through the entire film, but I'm glad I did because it changed me so much.

I was very skeptical about the choices in actors that were chosen for Lords of Chaos, especially Rory Culkin, but I couldn't believe it. His transformation into Euronymous was uncanny, he brought him back to life.  I really loved him narrating the entire film. It was like Euronymous was telling his side of the story from beyond the grave. Witnessing his very brutal murder shook me down to my very soul that I ended up in tears and no matter how many times I have seen the movie, my feelings will always be the same.

I thought Jack Kilmer did an amazing job. His unbelievable portrayal of Pelle 'Dead' Ohlin is very heartbreaking to watch, especially the suffering and depression that he goes through that lead to his shocking suicide. It was definitely hard to sit through because you knew exactly what was going to happen.

Lords of Chaos is a very brutal, unsettling and heartbreaking film. Jonas Akerlund did a great job bringing it all together, especially the replications of the photos, that was amazing. Now, this movie is in no way completely accurate and I don't think we'll ever truly know what happened, except for the suicide, church burnings and the murders, which is public knowledge.

There was so much controversy with the making of Lords of Chaos that the black metal community was shunning it. I just don't get why, it's a movie that really needed to be told. I was very happy that Mayhem allowed some of their music to be used in the film. It just wouldn't make sense, right? Plus, I am beginning to listen to a lot of their music now and they have a new fan on their hands.

 Lords of Chaos is an excellent film that everyone should check out and if you want to learn more, I also recommend two fantastic documentaries... Pure Fucking Mayhem and Until the Light Takes Us to go along with this film. You won't be sorry.

And in Euronymous' final words, I leave you with this....

"I'm Euronymous, founder of Mayhem, the most infamous black metal band in the world. I had my own record store, I had my own record label, I created a whole new musical genre... True Norwegian Black Metal. And I created Mayhem. What the fuck have you done lately? Poser!"