Appetite For Destruction
LORDS OF CHAOS I Proof that the devil has all the best movies. And the worst tunes…
Making a movie like this is a miracle,” says Jonas Åkerlund, the Swedish director behind 2002 meth dramedy Spun, plus a never-ending list of music videos for the likes of U2, Metallica, Prodigy, Madonna and Lady Gaga. “I first had the idea in early 2000,” he adds, “and the LA reps said, ‘There’s the door.’”
Lords Of Chaos does sound niche
– a biopic of Oslo-based black metal band Mayhem, and the rash of church burnings that rocked Norway in the early ’90s. But there’s more to Åkerlund’s movie than power chords, guttural growls and Satanic rites, as evidenced by the ecstatic response at film festivals.
“I always wanted to make a drama that translates way beyond black metal,” he explains. “It’s really about the relationship between these two young boys. Anyone can identify with that.”
The boys in question are founder member Euronymous (Rory Culkin) and new vocalist Varg (Emory Cohen), jostling for alpha-male status by trying to out-evil one another. It’s Varg who hits upon the idea of torching 12th Century chapels, and things rapidly escalate until murder is on the menu.
“We visited real locations for some exteriors and interiors,” says Åkerlund
of the arson antics, “and then built miniatures. But you can’t go too small because it looks fake. If the real church was 40 metres, the miniatures were 20 metres.” Didn’t it prove costly for a movie shot in 18 days? “Blade Runner [2049] was shooting so we got the wood from their old sets. They burnt quick.”
At its blackened heart, Lords Of Chaos is a tale of loneliness and mental health issues. It’s shocking when it needs to be, but also moving and funny. “How can you make a movie about this scene that isn’t funny?” Åkerlund smirks. “If we had a chance to crack a joke, we’d do it – Spinal Tap is still the best rock ’n’ roll movie ever. But I also wanted to be real. These young children were deadly serious. It’s only if you step out of the bubble that it’s kinda funny.”