When two movies with the same premise come out in the same year (be they dueling asteroid movies or Winston Churchill biopics), it's tempting to think of them as cancelling each other out. Pick one. Skip the other. Both Mayhem and The Belko Experiment center on employees viciously murdering each other while trapped in office buildings; both bring big ideas to the blood-splattered table. Mayhem director Joe Lynch and writer Matias Caruso unleash an inhibitions-neutralizing virus on a shady corporate law firm, sparking a wickedly grim commentary about what everyday people often trade for prestige and security. Mayhem isn't as gory as Belko, but the protagonists' unsavory and unpredictable behavior sharpens the film's satiric edge. Steven Yuen and Samara Weaving make for one of this year's most complicated leading duos. As they fight their way up the drooling jackal pile, you may wonder if there's anyone left to root for.
Welcome to Kicking the Seat!
Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).
The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar Noé, Rachel Brosnahan, Amy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.
Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.