Mayhem is a 2017 American action comedy horror film directed by Joe Lynch and written by Matias Caruso.

It is not lethal, but infects neural pathways, removing all inhibition and moral integrity, resulting in people acting out their darkest impulses, which may include murder.

A man named Nevil Reed commits the first known case of murder driven by ID-7, but he is not deemed liable due to the virus' influence.

Derek Cho, a lawyer at Towers and Smythe Consulting (TSC), found the loophole that won Reed's case, earning him a corner office.

Derek began his job full of optimism, but quickly lost his moral compass climbing the corporate ladder, even neglecting his family.

Human resource chief Lester "The Reaper" McGill offers a hefty severance package in return for Derek claiming responsibility.

Realizing that they will not be liable for their actions, Derek and Melanie grab weapons, intending to hold the people on the top floor responsible for their respective bad situations, but they require The Reaper's and Kara's key cards to get there.

[9][10] Joe Lynch explained in an interview the decision came down to cost, saying "we had to find a place that would give us the most amount of days to shoot.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Mayhem delivers stylish violence by the bloody bucketful—and grounds all the titular chaos in sharp humor and surprisingly effective real-world economic angst".

[13] Joe Leydon of Variety called it "A smartly constructed and sardonically funny indie with attitude that somehow manages the tricky feat of being exuberantly over the top even as it remains consistently on target.

"[14] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Joe Lynch's fantastically creative, subversive and Tarantino-esque Mayhem stands alone as an entertainingly bloody and dark and twisted social satire—but it's even more satisfying for those of us who loved Steven Yeun's Glenn on The Walking Dead.