Welcome one and all to the 30th post in my blog series, The 52 In 52. The concept is simple, each week I review a DVD or Blu Ray film that has sat on my shelf gathering dust. Last week I watched the highly entertaining Vox Lux, head on over and check that out before beginning this weeks post. You can also check out any of the other posts for this blog feature or anything else I write by following this link HERE.
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This week I will be talking about Lords Of Chaos. Based around real events, Lords Of Chaos was co written and directed by acclaimed music video director Jonas Akerlund and stars Rory Culkin as Euronymous, the leader of Norwegian black metal band, Mayhem. The story follows the formation of the band and highlights the early years and controversy of their one time leader singer Death (Jack Kilmer) committing suicide as well as the church burning and murders that followed. There has been some controversy surrounding the film and the production and a lot of the actual people involved with the events have voiced displeasure about the film.
There is a tag line that appears at the start of the film that says Lords Of Chaos is based on "Truth, Lies And What Really Happened" and after watching Lords Of Chaos I have to admit I agree with that sentiment. I really enjoyed Lords Of Chaos but, I felt that the film had issues. The story itself was a little uneven with regards to the tone. Whilst there were a lot of dark comedic tones throughout where Akerlund almost pokes fun at how ridiculous some of the scenarios were they were then laced with genuine moments of tragedy that felt a little out of place. The actual events are both unsettling and dark in places with suicide and murder both occurring and I feel that Lords Of Chaos makes light of it at times
The scenes of death in Lords Of Chaos are brutal and realistic to the point of stomach churning. There was one thing I noticed, despite being a film about a band there was a lack of music throughout. I did read that there was a few issues securing the rights to the music so that may have been the issue. There is a style and slickness to the way in which Lords Of Chaos was filmed that really shows how strong a director Akerlund is. The way in which it is filmed is gritty and gives the feel that it was filmed at the times of the event. There are times that the colour pallet in filled with colour and is vibrant which is unusual for a film that is, at times, very bleak and dark.
The central performances are what drives the film. Rory Culkin is engaging as Euronymous, mixing great comedic timing with a vulnerability that gives the character depth. I felt that Emory Cohen played Vargs Vikernes in a strange way. There is a little bit of pantomime and I feel that he plays the character in a way that he feels uncomfortable playing the role. I felt that alter Skarsgard was a little under used and his part of the story was under played until the end of the second act. Sky Ferreira is great throughout the film but, like Skarsgard, I felt that she was a little under utilised.
Overall Lords Of Chaos is a strange film. The original story is interesting and very dark in parts, with this film there is another outlook on the story, played almost like a dark comedy at parts. The strength lies in the casts ability to inhabit the roles, especially Rory Culkin. Jonas Akerlund shows his strength in making a slick and visually great film.
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