6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A virus spreads through an office complex causing white collar workers to act out their worst impulses.
Starring: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand, Caroline Chikezie, Kerry FoxHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 20% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Steven Yeun is no stranger to blood, guts, and gore. The popular Walking Dead alum spent part of that show's very first episode caked in zombie viscera and was frequently thereafter subjected to a regular deluge thereof, not that that makes him special next to his co-stars who were often slathered in the same. Still, one could even say he has an eye for it. With that said, it's no surprise to see Yeun in a movie like Mayhem, Director Joe Lynch's (Everly) gory Horror-Comedy about a lawyer working his way to the top, literally and metaphorically, battling the obstacles standing in his way. When chaos breaks out in the building, his push to the top floor is driven by uncontrollable madness but also an innate determination to unseat those whose injustices keep the working men and women down in the name of more cash in their bank accounts.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
Per information provided to Blu-ray.com, Mayhem was digitally shot at a resolution of 4K, finished at 2K, and subsequently upscaled back to
4K
for this UHD release. RLJE's upscaled
UHD has little of interest on offer, then, particularly considering the absence of HDR color enhancement which further reduces any incentive to
purchase this release over the
1080p Blu-ray. Without HDR and coming to 4K from a 2K digital intermediate,
there's unsurprisingly little difference between the two releases. Whether watching the film on UHD or comparing it with the Blu-ray at a
scene-by-scene and/or frame-by-frame
basis, one can spot extremely fine improvements to sharpness and detail revelation, particularly in close-up, but comparing scenes and stills without
the benefit of knowing which input is hosting which disc would leave most guessing as to which one's on the screen. Take a Derek close-up at the
11:48 mark.
Peer intently and purposefully and spot minuscule improvements to the clarity of pores on the nose or the facial hair on the upper lip. Look at another
close-up of the company's IT guy at the 1:06:51 mark. The UHD offers a slight improvement to facial definition and a very slightly richer clarity and
sheen. The UHD's improved compression also helps manage some of the encode imperfections seen on the Blu-ray. Banding is not eliminated from the
UHD disc but it appears gradually lessened across some backgrounds and almost nonexistent where it was at its lightest on the Blu-ray. In short, the
UHD fine tunes the Blu-ray, with the emphasis on "fine" rather than "tune." The UHD is incrementally better than the Blu-ray at its best and nearly
identical at worst.
Mayhem's UHD disc contains the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack found on the Blu-ray. And it's is all kinds of intense and invigorating. It's complimentary to the movie's comical carnage, the nearly incessant beats seemingly leading warped minds and capable bodies to bloodthirsty slaughter. There's rarely a dull moment. The track is fluid and never shy about making full use of every speaker available to it, flinging discrete effects here and there, marching stage-traversing elements seamlessly through various portions of the listening area, and finding a well-rounded balance between music, chaotic sound effects, and dialogue. Bass is prominent throughout, solidifying the more weighty crashes and clashes and slams as blunt instruments are used to bludgeon various people, as scissors stab through a hand into a table, as a nail gun zips its lethal projectiles across a room and into a sword or inches off the floor and millimeters from a face. Combat and chaos are the film's sonic signatures, and the track relentlessly immerses the listener into the mayhem. Light support atmospherics give impressive shape to those few minutes of respite, and dialogue presented at relatively normal levels during brief moments of downtime or tense, blood-soaked negotiations between characters never strays from the center, loses clarity, or flubs prioritization. The track is madness and madly fun.
Mayhem's UHD disc release contains a couple of featurettes and a technical audio commentary track, all of which can also be found on the
bundled Blu-ray. No DVD or digital copies are included. The
release does ship with an embossed slipcover.
Mayhem has a few plot twists and turns up its sleeve but the picture is mostly a straightforward blood gusher without much purpose to its name, despite clear efforts to the contrary. Everything is set up with chaos in mind, and the story feels like an excuse to play with bloody workplace fantasy rather than shape a compelling narrative against contemporary corporate hierarchy. Yeun is good in the lead and capably carries the film, even when the script lacks the clarity and polish it really needs to be a more effective message delivery system. RLJE's UHD offers a very slight improvement to clarity and sharpness over the Blu-ray but is otherwise practically an identical entity. At time of writing, the UHD costs literally less than a dollar more than the Blu-ray. For that, the incremental improvements to texture and clarity are worth it, but considering that the UHD also forgoes HDR, contains no exclusive soundtrack, and brings no new supplements, it would be unwise spend more than a buck on this "upgraded" version.
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