Film

Lords of Chaos

Name: Lords of Chaos
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Music
Released: 2018
Cast: Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Sky Ferreira, Valter Skarsgård

Drama
Very dark

Lords of Chaos chronicles the rise of Norwegian black metal in the early 1990s through the eyes of Euronymous, a charismatic teenager determined to make his band Mayhem the most evil and extreme act in metal. It's a grimy, visceral character study that treats its subjects seriously—not as cartoon villains, but as young men whose artistic ambition and mutual toxicity collided catastrophically. For fans of music documentaries, dark coming-of-age stories, and true crime told through drama rather than exposition.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you are drawn to scene chronicles about young men chasing an idea so hard it curdles, and you don't mind watching the friendships rot in close-up.

Skip it if you want a tidy story with sympathetic heroes, since its interest in provocation and bloodshed is cold, sometimes numbing, and rarely eased by warmth.

What it asks of you: Just under two hours of slow, bleak build-up, long stretches of posturing before the mood lurches hard toward brutality; it wants your steady attention throughout.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

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Alpha2018

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Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Lords of Chaos

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Metalhead2013

Both films treat metal fandom as a genuine emotional and philosophical commitment for their protagonists, not a costume or phase. Both show how music becomes a way to process darkness.

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A Prophet2009

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But French cinema pacing. Not conventionally exciting, and the political dimensions may feel abstract if you're just after thrills.

The Green Inferno2014

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We Need to Talk About Kevin2011

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Come and See1985

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But Almost unbearably dark. It's a historical document of atrocity, not entertainment. Only watch if you're prepared to sit with genuine horror.

Nightcrawler2014

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Gomorrah2008

Italian crime drama set in Naples, following multiple characters caught in the Camorra underworld. Authentic, unglamorous, and structured like a novel. Shows how systems destroy individuals, not just how individuals behave badly.

But Ensemble cast and non-linear narrative mean it takes work to follow. Subtitled, and the regional politics may feel distant.

Dancer in the Dark2000

Both explore how artistic vision and obsession can isolate someone, and how beauty and darkness are often inseparable. Both feature protagonists who see the world through an aesthetic lens that protects and dooms them.

Lars von Trier's Dogme film starring Björk as a factory worker who lives for musical fantasy. A young woman's internal world collides brutally with reality. Formally audacious and heartbreaking, the songs are cathartic release and devastating irony.

But Wilfully depressing and stylistically jarring. The ending will wreck you. Not a film that lets you off easy.