Lords of Chaos (2019)

Review

118min

Genre:     Fact-based, Drama, Music

Director:  Jonas Åkerlund

Cast:       Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Valter Skarsgård…and more

Writers:   Dennis Magnusson, Jonas Åkerlund, Didrik Søderlind…and more

-Synopsis-

Norway in the late 1980s and early 90s, when a group of young outcast form a hugely influential black metal band to vent their anarchist frustrations, but as their increasingly sinister predilections escalate and their satanic notoriety increases, all roads must lead to tragedy—in this biographical tale of Norwegian black metal pioneers ‘Mayhem’ and their charismatic founder.

When you think of the all too familiar music biopic, Norwegian black metal is hardly the first music scene that comes to mind, or indeed any kind of metal, much less from the heart of safe unassuming Scandinavia. Yet armed with a morbid true story, while combining propaganda and hearsay with reality, legendary music video director and former Swedish black metal drummer Jonas Åkerlund tells the tale of callous young fantasists who made their dastardly delusions a reality—as he chronicles the birth of a musical sub-genre from hell . . . with the darkest music biopic in living memory.

Rory Culkin stars as middle-class youngster and opportunistic Satanist Øystein ‘Euronymous’ Aarseth, godfather of Norwegian black metal who forms seminal band ‘Mayhem’ and finds success in the late 80’s with drummer Jan Axel ‘Hellhammer’ Blomberg (Anthony De La Torre) and suicidal frontman Pelle ‘Dead’ Ohlin (Jack Kilmer), before tragedy inevitably strikes. Now a local metal mogul with a record label and shop to go with the band, Euronymous nurtures the dark local scene with Bård ‘Faust’ Eithun (Valter Skarsgård) and recruits aspiring metaler Kristian ‘Varg’ Vikernes (Emory Cohen), an arsonist with an even blacker heart, setting in motion a series of escalating crimes fuelled by paranoia and competitiveness, and graduating from church burnings to murder—putting Norwegian black metal on the world map and placing them all on a morbid path to personal tragedy.

Being Scandinavian, a visionary figure in the music industry, and a founding member of ‘Bathory’—a seminal Swedish black metal band which influenced Mayhem and its founder Euronymous—there could hardly be a more suitable director for this story than Jonas Åkerlund. Yet that won’t stop black metal devotees objecting to his choices and the very existence of this drama, as is their nature, and to be fair there’s enough for them to complain about; from the use of English dialogue and mostly American actors who bear little resemblance to their characters, to a depiction of the Norwegian black metal scene which although dark and disturbing, is occasionally comical and exposes the childlessness and ineptitude of its figures—which nevertheless led to tragedy.

‘Lord of Chaos’ is undoubtedly a dark film, at times even gruesome and featuring stab-happy depictions of suicide, mutilation and murder—but in no way is this truly a horror film. Instead we get a morbid and bloody biographical character drama with a fluctuating tone—occasionally even light and farcical—unfolding with a reasonably quick pace as you might expect from a cut obsessed director like Åkerlund, but leaving enough space to build intricate character dynamics and an ominous atmosphere.

It’s hard to gauge where exactly Åkerlund stands in terms of his subjects here, on the one hand humanising them but on the other never treating them as victims. ‘Lord of Chaos’ ultimately presents the audience with a group of deeply troubled misfits driven by anarchic, pagan, nationalistic and cruel tendencies, and with a semi-artistic outlet for it all, who manifested their macabre delusions to become notoriety seeking criminals—made all the worse by Norway’s bizarrely liberal and permissive justice and penal systems.

If you can get past the film’s sticking points of being partially shot in Norway, set in English and featuring a mostly American principal cast—a prudent decision in attracting a larger audience—then you’ll have to concede that the actors do a sterling job in bringing this unsettling story to life, in compelling and entertaining fashion. Yes this was always going to be a condensed and stylised dramatisation of the early Norwegian black metal scene, but the two leads ably bring to life a paranoia-fuelled clash of personalities and motivations . . . and deadly misunderstanding. The result places the youngest of the Culkin acting dynasty atop the current family totem pole, and puts another intense feather in the cap of Emory Cohen’s eclectic rising career.

For anyone expecting a heavy metal set horror film though, ‘Lords of Chaos’ may prove a disappointment, and on the other side of the coin as an unconventional music biopic it might prove too brutal, confronting and morally ambiguous. Most importantly the film skimps on motivation, failing to bridge the gap between what seems like the bluster of a dark cult-like fantasist lifestyle, and the heinous actions it actually manifested—opting to avoid delving deep into the psychology and backgrounds of the few instigators who brought the two together.

Yet despite a fluctuating tone which often betrays the seriousness and substance of the subject matter, and the exploitative quality which comes with a stylised and condensed depiction, ‘Lords of Chaos’ can’t help but leave a mighty mark on the audience. The film’s tagline of being “based on truth and lies” may be apt, but if you’re not invested in the black metal scene or don’t take yourself too seriously, you’ll hardly care about that balance.

While it may not be as extraordinary or shocking as the true story on which it’s based, Åkerlund’s effort challenges traditional biopic convention to deliver a provocative but engrossing tale of suicide, sex, arson, murder, paganism, Satanism, nationalism, fascism— exploitation and opportunism, misunderstanding and betrayal . . . in other words true Norwegian black metal.

The Bottom Line…

Jonas Åkerlund’s dark and confronting metal biopic may strike a perplexing tone and prove morally ambiguous, but this disturbing true story of delusion and betrayal shines a spotlight on an underground scene thus far untouched by the mainstream, weaving together a morbidly captivating tale of misanthropic misfits and their deadly deeds, and giving the world a taste of true Norwegian black metal . . . whether they can handle it or not.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Metalhead (2013)

Young rural Icelander ‘Hera’ has never come to terms with an early life tragedy, growing up resentful and channeling her anguish into an obsession with Scandinavian black metal, but as her behaviour becomes more troublesome, she becomes torn between her worrying and increasingly estranged parents, and her dreams of making it as a metal musician.

Directed by Ragnar Bragason and starring Thora Bjorg Helga, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson and Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir among others.

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