Lords of Chaos

Play trailer

2:16

Lords of Chaos

R

Released Feb 8, 2019

1h 52m

Comedy

Drama

Music

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

In 1987 Oslo, 17-year-old Euronymous becomes fixated on creating "true Norwegian black metal" with his band Mayhem. He mounts shocking publicity stunts to put the band's name on the map, but the lines between show and reality begin to blur.

Critics Consensus

Lords of Chaos presents a grimly compelling dramatization of a real-life music scene whose aggressively nihilistic aesthetic spilled over into fatal acts of violence.

Read Critics Reviews

Luca Cimarusti

Chicago Reader

It only makes sense that one of the strangest stories in rock 'n' roll history has come back to life as one of the strangest movies you'll ever see.

Mar 11, 2020

Full Review

Mark Kermode

Kermode & Mayo's Film Review

It's odd [and] not entirely successful.

Apr 3, 2019

Full Review

Tara Brady

Irish Times

Working from a screenplay co-written with Dennis Magnusson, Åkerlund accentuates the squabbling, misogynist club-house mentality of what became the "Black Circle".

Rated: 4/5

Mar 30, 2019

Full Review

Dolores Quintana

Dolores Quintana

I think Åkerlund was the right person to direct this film. His sense of style, evident in Polar, is used incredibly well in LORDS OF CHAOS. His understanding of human behavior also is spot on.

Dec 28, 2022

Full Review

Emma Wolfe

SpookyAstronauts

A dark story about egos, self-image, destruction, and of course a very interesting story.

Rated: 8/10

Dec 17, 2020

Full Review

Tom Beasley

VultureHound

Åkerlund is able to helm pure horror, deadpan comedy and the sweaty, oppressive feel of a metal gig with equal aplomb.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 15, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jeremiah D.

DEADS DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/23/25

Full Review

Nick O

Despite the fact that the early 90’s Norwegian Black Metal phenomenon was maybe the craziest/stupidest thing to ever happen in Rock N Roll and regardless of how exaggerated the stories are, this is one hell of a heavy metal horror comedy!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/10/25

Full Review

Jason W

Great visually with some nice shots. Way too long though as I was waiting for it to end. Rory Culkin was good. Couldn't take the Varg/Christian character seriously at all, unless he was supposed to be a little grumpy nerd. Didn't care for the animal stuff. Wish it was more about the music instead of the silly kids trying to be scary metal guys, but I guess that's how it was intended to be.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/02/25

Full Review

Oaklee D

I couldn't help but feel like as a Mayhem biopic they could have fleshed it out a little bit more, this film has alot of gore and that's cool but my issue lies with the cast itself. Why not hire Norwegian actors to play Norwegian characters? Instead we are left with a very American cast that takes me out of the moment. This film was ok but could of been much better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/25

Full Review

Hana B

I saw this movie a few years back and I really enjoyed it since I really like this type of music. I saw many interviews with actual members of this band and most of them said that this movie isn’t accurate and many things were shown differently and far from reality. Even though most of it isn’t true, it’s still based on true story. The band, Mayhem, really did existed, and yes, they did horrible things like the movie shows, but it is really fascinating. Main character, Euronymous was a really bad person, but movie makes him look like the good guy and i didn’t like that. In my opinion, even though the movie isn’t accurate, the actors did a really good job impersonating all of the band members. I also loved the movie visually, the scenes were filmed perfectly. Not bad, but not my favourite ;)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/13/24

Full Review

Karina P

I loved this movie. It was sad, but extremely interesting. Rory Culkin is amazing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/11/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Jonas Akerlund

Director

Rory Culkin

Euronymous

Emory Cohen

Varg

Sky Ferreira

Ann-Marit

Jack Kilmer

Dead

Valter Skarsgård

Faust

Inside Llewyn Davis

92%

74%

Inside Llewyn Davis

Watchlist

Kneecap

96%

95%

Kneecap

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Kneecap

Wild Rose

92%

87%

Wild Rose

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Wild Rose

Almost Famous

91%

92%

Almost Famous

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Almost Famous

The Forty-Year-Old Version

99%

72%

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Forty-Year-Old Version

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Lords of Chaos: Trailer 1

2:16

Lords of Chaos: Teaser Trailer 1

0:25

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In 1987 Oslo, 17-year-old Euronymous becomes fixated on creating "true Norwegian black metal" with his band Mayhem. He mounts shocking publicity stunts to put the band's name on the map, but the lines between show and reality begin to blur.

Director: Jonas Akerlund
Producer: Jack Arbuthnott, Jim Czarnecki, Kwesi Dickson, Danny Gabai, Erik Gordon, Kai-Lu Hsiung, Ko Mori, Fredrik Zander
Screenwriter: Jonas Akerlund, Dennis Magnusson
Distributor: Gunpowder & Sky
Production Co: Chimney, RSA FIlms, 4 1/2, Insurgent Media, Scott Free Productions, Eleven Arts
Rating: R (Grisly Images|Disturbing Behavior|Strong Sexuality|Nudity|Pervasive Language|Strong Brutal Violence)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 22, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $253.2K
Runtime: 1h 52m

Most Popular at Home Now