Mayhem

When it comes to French movies i have a bit of mixed feelings regdarding French cinema releases. There are some French films that are really good that caught my attention from start to finish such as the 2016 brillant drama film It´s Only The End Of The World from director Xavier Dolan, while there are some French films that are just ok but look too much similar to other French drama films. I have seen quite a lot of French drama films regarding the countryside, wine gardens, different cheese flavors and of course all the romance that comes along with this combination. But the one genre where i feel that France have done really well is actually in the horror genre and especially during the late 2000´s. For a couple of years straight there we had some really good horror releases such as the 2008 French horror film Martyrs or the 2007 disturbing French horror Inside. Both of these French horror films are a must see, even if you are not a big fan of foreign films you might actually enjoy at least one of them. But it was in the year of 2007 when director Xavier Gens released his directorial full feature debut film known as Frontiére(s). A quite interesting and different horror film from the ordinary releases where it takes place during a violent aftermath of a political election. A gang of Muslim Arab youths are split up while trying to pull of robbery. What they don´t know is the family that welcome them into their family-run inn are not as friendly as them may seem. Frontiére(s) may have some problems on a technical level with some shaky camera moves but the film does look good otherwise and the horror scenes are actually well made. A film worth picking up if you are interested in foreign horror films. Speaking of director Xavier Gens i saw the trailer of his latest film Mayhem late last year, The trailer looked great and it seemed to be a film in my taste. Is the film Mayhem a action feast for us who loves a lot of violence or is it just as bad as Ronan Keating´s third solo album Turn It On released in 2003?

After being released from prison and is able to start a new life, Sam ( Nassim Lyes ) moves to Thailand where he starts a family with his girlfriend Mia ( Loryn Nounay ). Mia dreams of having their own restaurant on a beach area and they hope to settle a deal for the land where they want the restaurant to be. Their request is denied because it would cost much more than they can afford, and Sam have no other option than try to get the money they need. Only one way to get money quickly and that is through drug smuggling. When the operation goes wrong the criminals kidnap his daughter and kill his girlfriend. Sam manage to survive with only one thing on his mind, he will get his daughter back.

Imagine if you combined the Liam Neesan classic Taken and combined it with the martial arts action classic The Raid while having the plot moved to Thailand, you pretty much have Mayhem served on a plate. There are of course big differences between these films but i think you might understand what kind of film Mayhem is and what kind of audience would appreciate it best. Let me put it this way, this is the kind of action film that doesn´t care about what´s trending on social media or how a film should look like in 2024. This is pure old school martial arts action just like we used to get in the 80´s and 90´s with some extremely violent martial arts scenes. Not as violent as The Raid but still violent enough to please fans of this genre. There is even a dramatic story bound into the plot and guess what, it´s actually not that bad at all. I think the dramatic tone is done well in Mayhem without being too melodramatic. I also think the story surrounding the main character Sam played by actor Nassim Lyes is a man a lot of fathers worldwide can recognize themselves in, especially if their daughter is a victim of a crime. What would you do if your daughter were kidnapped by human trafficking criminals and how far are you willing to go to bring her back? Not only do we find a classic revenge story in Mayhem but we also see the tragedy of human trafficking that´s happening everyday in Bangkok. Even if you only see certain scenes of young girls being sold it is still a horrible reminder of how girls are being sexually molested everyday. The biggest strength of Mayhem is without a doubt the action scenes, especially when the martial art scenes kicks in with extreme brutality. Lead actor Nassim Lyes is incredibly good physical shape and he knows how to fight, and that comes off well on the big screen. Anything negative that comes to my mind? Perhaps that some of the thai actors were not that good when it comes to delivering dramatic dialogue. Other than that i can´t say anything bad regarding Mayhem because this is a great martial arts action film that will especially be appreciated by fans of The Raid films. Director Xavier Gans does not only deliver his best looking film so far but he clearly shows that he knows how to make effective action films. What are you waiting for? Pick up a physical copy of Mayhem today and i promise you are going to have a good time.

Rating: DDD