Lords of Chaos

Lords of Chaos dramatizes the rise of the Norwegian black metal scene in Oslo around the turn of the 1990s. At its centre is Øystein Aarseth, known as Euronymous, who founds the band Mayhem and pushes an extreme musical and personal vision outward. His circle expands with the arrival of Varg Vikernes, whose music project Burzum and hunger for standing in the scene draw him close to Euronymous. What begins as friendship between the two young musicians escalates into church burnings, violence and a murder that shakes the country.

Jonas Åkerlund directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Dennis Magnusson. The film sits seventh in Åkerlund's directing credits, after Spun, Horsemen, Small Apartments, two concert films, and before Polar and later music documentaries. Rory Culkin plays Euronymous, Emory Cohen plays Varg Vikernes, Jack Kilmer plays Pelle "Dead" Ohlin, and Sky Ferreira appears as Ann-Marit, with Valter Skarsgård and Anthony De La Torre among a credited cast of 42.

Released in September 2018, the film runs 118 minutes and blends drama, horror, music and thriller elements, a co-production between the United Kingdom, Norway, the United States and Sweden. It holds a 6.6 rating on IMDb from 22,000 votes and a 6.8 on TMDB from 578 votes, while critics rate it 6.7 from 73 reviews, placing it close to the audience scores.