When Hollywood tries to interpret metal, it usually comes back with mixed results. But I'm incredibly curious about the Lords of Chaos movie, because it's being made by renowned music video director and former Bathory drummer Jonas Akerlund.
The film stars Rory Culkin as Euronymous, Anthony De La Torre as Hellhammer, Emory Cohen as Varg and Sky Ferreira as Ann-Marit. Jack Kilmer (Val Kilmer's son) plays Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin, Valter Skarsgard plays Faust. Sam Coleman plays the role of Metalion, Jonathan Barnwell as Necrobutcher, Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht as Blackthorn, Lucian Charles Collier as Occultus, Andrew Lavelle as Fenriz, and James Edwin as Manheim. The movie is based on the book of the same name, which covers the beginnings of the Norwegian black metal scene.
Over the holiday break, a teaser trailer has surfaced. The movie will open in theaters February 8 and be available on demand on February 22. Update: A second teaser has been released.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/0DfYeMdtmyw][/youtube]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX0z2HIxxF4][/youtube]
A new poster has also been unveiled:
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Aukerland takes much pride in the movie:
"I went deeper with this film than any of my other movies. I approached my other films like I did my music videos or commercials, like jobs. But 'Lords Of Chaos' I wrote myself, and it's a close, personal story. I know these people. All my best friends are still in the metal scene. Per was a friend. We were all shocked when he committed suicide. When the news of the church burnings came out, in 1993, I was already living in Los Angeles, but we all knew who was behind them. It took the police a lot longer to find out. I've been trying to get this movie made for a very long time — I've been pitching it around Hollywood for years."
Asked why it took so long to get made, he responded:
"Well, I always knew this was a hard sell. It still is, to be honest. It's asking a lot from an audience. It's a very dark story but I find it hard to have a story about music and young kids without adding humor. So it's really funny but it's definitely not a comedy. It has some horror elements — I tried to make the murder scenes as authentic and as close to real life as I could, reading the police reports for details — but it's definitely not a horror movie. The tone of the movie is all over the place, but when you see it, it comes together. In the end, I think of it more of a relationship drama. It's really about the story, almost a love story, between these characters."
Reaction in the black metal community has been less than positive. Darkthrone's Fenriz is vehemently against the film being made, and Mayhem's bassist Necrobutcher said in 2015 that he would do anything to stop the film being made. Last year, Necrobutcher noted"They contacted everybody behind our backs, our crew members, all kinds of people associated with us in a very sneaky way," and said he wouldn't sign off on any of their music being used in the film.
#lordsofchaosthemoive
@lordsofchaosthemoive pic.twitter.com/MOpxgTMegJ— Jonas Åkerlund (@Akerlund_Jonas) January 19, 2018
[via Blabbermouth]
