Lords of Chaos  ★★★★

LORDS of Chaos is a very difficult film to recommend.

It tells a fascinating and darkly humorous story and is exceptionally well made, but includes some strong violence and an incredibly disturbing suicide scene.

Based on the history of real-life Norwegian ‘black metal’ band Mayhem, this British/Scandinavian co-production treads a precarious line between subtle comedy and fierce drama.

Director and co-writer Jonas Akerlund creates a visual story-telling style that is part mockumentary and part straight narrative, making brilliant use of locations and design and featuring a trio of captivating central performances.

Mayhem was formed in 1984 by a young man named Oystein Aarseth who dubbed himself ‘Euronymous’ as part of an audacious marketing approach that including satanic paraphernalia and extreme lyrics.

Aarseth’s aim was to push the death metal angle to a point where he would be seen as the creator of a newer and even darker form of not just music but the lifestyle supporting it.

The band hired a singer known only as ‘Dead’ who took their live shows to a new level, cutting his arms and showering the front row audience with blood and tossing out pig heads.

But Dead was a disturbed individual who was never going to last long. In the film’s most shocking sequence he ends his lonely life by repeatedly cutting his wrists and then shooting himself in the head.

As a result the band becomes even more renowned. But the writing is on the wall when Euronymous’ music label signs Kristian, known as ‘Vard’, who takes it upon himself to create more controversy and directly provoke the establishment by actually burning down churches and urging their followers to even greater lengths.

Vard constantly challenges Euronymous’ vision and authenticity to the point where their conflict results in life-changing impacts on everyone involved.

Rory Culkin is exceptionally good as Euronymous capturing the strange dichotomy of a man who may or may not truly believe in what he is trying to sell to the world.

Emory Cohen makes a fiendishly disturbing Vard and Jack Kilmer makes a lasting impression in the relatively small role of Death.

Lords of Chaos is quite a feat of story-telling; just not for most people.