Warning: this article contains potential spoilers for those who aren’t up to date with The Walking Dead.
We know him best as Glen, a beacon of decency and optimism in the bleak, ravaged wasteland of The Walking Dead.
However, Stephen Yeun has ventured far beyond the zombie infested wilderness of Atlanta, since *that* devastating exit scene – seriously, is anybody else still kind of in shock from Lucille’s first grissly appearance?
Not content with slaughtering the undead, Stephen is now completely slaying the acting world, starring in well received films such as Okja and now, he’s made a splendidly gory return to the world of horror, with the blood soaked mega-hit, Mayhem.
Mayhem looks, and apparently is, amazing – taking place within an oppressively corporate law office, Derek Cho (Yeun) is having the day from hell when an employee frames him, leading to his unfair dismissal.
However, things go from bad to worse when a terrifying rage virus spreads throughout the office complex and Derek finds himself quarantined alongside his colleagues – I can certainly see some parallels to the working dead…
The white collar workers are driven to act out their ‘worst impulses’ in a gruesome fight for survival which will seriously put your Monday morning dishwasher arguments into perspective.
You can watch the trailer for yourself below:
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At the time of writing, Mayhem currently boasts a phenomenal 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is already enjoying the sort of positive response most horror films can only envision in their wildest nightmares.
Mayhem has been screened at various horror film festivals and audiences have found it to be infectiously good – as well as being satisfyingly scary, there’s also a clever, comic element to the film which critics have enjoyed.
According to film critic Joe Leydon from Variety, Mayhem can be described as ‘Equal parts corporate satire and violent melodrama’:
Cleverly redefining the term ‘damage control, Mayhem mixes savage satire of ruthless capitalism run amok with the bloody carnage normally associated with movies about rampaging undead hordes.
Call it ‘Margin Call Goes to Hell,’ and you’d be pretty close to the mark.
Stephen has also received well-deserved recognition for his acting skills, with Haleigh Foutch from Collider offering the following glowing praise:
Mayhem‘s a whole lot of fun, even as a corporate culture satire, and Yeun revels in the role, serving an excellent reminder why he should be topping casting lists as a Hollywood leading man.
One thousand per cent yes to this.
Mayhem is written by Matias Caruso and directed by horror fanatic Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2: Dead End).
Starring alongside Stephen is Samara Weaving (Missouri), and Steven Brand (Teen Wolf).
It’s not yet been revealed when this indie flick will be infecting British cinemas (boo), however, when it does arrive, it looks like it’ll be well worth the wait.
Every project Stephen Yeun touches turns out to be excellent and this looks to be a particularly exciting venture.
Now, if The Walking Dead could just bring Glen back – as a non-walker preferably – my weekend will be made.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.