Honestly, if you go into the Lords of Chaos film expecting a strictly factual documentary, you’re going to have a bad time. It’s a movie. It’s a dramatization. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund—who, to be fair, actually played in the Swedish metal band Bathory back in the day—the 2018 film attempts to chronicle the rise and violent fall of Norway’s early black metal scene. Specifically, the chaos surrounding Mayhem.
It’s messy.
The film focuses on Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth and Kristian "Varg" Vikernes. You’ve probably seen the photos. The corpsepaint. The burning churches. The grainy, black-and-white aesthetic that defined a whole genre. But the movie does something different: it tries to strip away the "evil" mystique and replace it with something much more pathetic. It portrays these guys as bored teenagers who got way too deep into a role they couldn't actually play. Some people hate that. Others think it’s the only honest way to look at the situation.
The Problem With "Based on Truth and Lies"
The Lords of Chaos film starts with a title card claiming it is based on "truth and lies." That’s a massive disclaimer. It’s basically Åkerlund telling the black metal community, "I know you’re going to complain about the details, so I’m just going to admit right now that I’m taking liberties."
The movie pulls heavily from the 1998 book of the same name by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind. That book is controversial in its own right. Many of the people involved in the scene, like Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud), have spent decades calling it "crap." So, when you have a movie based on a book that the subjects hate, you’re already on shaky ground.
Who was Euronymous, really?
Rory Culkin plays Euronymous. He’s the "architect" of the scene. In the film, he’s shown as a guy who talks a big game about death and Satanism but is actually kind of a sensitive poser when things get real. He’s the one who finds the body of the band’s singer, Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin), after his suicide. Instead of calling the cops immediately, he rearranges the scene and takes photos for a future album cover.
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That part? That actually happened.
But the movie leans hard into the idea that Euronymous was just a businessman who wanted to sell records. It paints him as a victim of the very monster he created. Is that true? It depends on who you ask. If you talk to Varg Vikernes—though he’s a deeply unreliable source for many reasons—he’ll tell you Euronymous was a weak, manipulative coward. If you talk to the guys who stayed in the scene, they might say he was a visionary who just got caught in a power struggle.
The Rivalry That Ended in Blood
The heart of the Lords of Chaos film is the relationship between Euronymous and Varg. Emory Cohen plays Varg, and he plays him as a socially awkward, desperate-to-impress kid who eventually becomes a radicalized extremist. The power shift is the most fascinating part of the movie. Euronymous starts as the leader, the boss of the "Black Circle" at his record shop, Helvete. Varg starts as the outsider who just wants to be part of the club.
Then the church burnings start.
The film shows Varg taking Euronymous’s rhetoric literally. While Euronymous is talking about "spreading fear," Varg is actually out there with a canister of gasoline. It’s a classic case of the student surpassing the master in the worst possible way. By the time they reach the inevitable confrontation in August 1993, the tension is suffocating.
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Varg stabbed Euronymous 23 times.
The movie depicts this scene with grueling, uncomfortable detail. It’s not "cool" or "metal." It’s awkward, fumbling, and pathetic. They slip on the floor. It takes a long time. It looks like a murder, not a legendary battle. This is where Åkerlund’s background as a music video director shines—he knows how to make you look away, even when you want to see what happens.
What about the music?
For a movie about a music scene, the music is almost secondary. You hear Mayhem’s riffs, sure. But the Lords of Chaos film is more interested in the psychology of the people than the technicality of the tremolo picking. This annoyed a lot of fans. They wanted a movie about the art. What they got was a movie about a group of kids in Oslo who didn't know how to handle fame, isolation, and mental illness.
Fact vs. Fiction: What the Movie Changed
If you’re a stickler for history, the Lords of Chaos film will probably give you a headache. There are some significant departures from what we know to be true.
- The character of Ann-Marit: She’s Euronymous’s girlfriend in the movie. In reality? She didn't exist. She’s a composite character meant to give Euronymous a "human" side and someone to lose. The real scene was a total "boys' club," and adding a romantic subplot felt like a Hollywood move to some purists.
- The timeline of the burnings: The movie condenses years of events into what feels like a few months. It makes the escalation feel more rapid than it actually was.
- Varg’s personality: The movie portrays Varg as a bit of a dork before he turns "evil." Varg himself has released several videos (from his now-deleted YouTube channel) complaining that Cohen’s portrayal was inaccurate and that he never even met Euronymous in the way the film describes.
- Bård "Faust" Eithun: The film shows Faust (played by Jack Kilmer) killing a man in a park. This did happen. Faust was convicted of the 1992 murder of Magne Andreassen. It’s one of the darkest parts of the story, and the movie doesn't shy away from the senselessness of it.
Why the Metal Community Hates It (And Why Some Love It)
The backlash was immediate. Before the film even came out, people were calling for a boycott. Darkthrone’s Fenriz was famously vocal about not wanting anything to do with it. He even posted on social media telling the filmmakers not to use his image or name.
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Why the hate?
Because black metal, for many, is a sacred thing. It’s about rebellion against the mainstream. To have a "Hollywood" movie—even an indie one—tell the story feels like the ultimate sell-out. There’s also the issue of the victims. The families of the people who died or were hurt by these events are still around. Seeing their trauma turned into a stylized drama for a global audience is a tough pill to swallow.
On the flip side, some critics praised the Lords of Chaos film for humanizing the figures. It’s easy to look at a grainy photo of a guy in spikes and think he’s a demon. It’s much harder to watch a kid cry because he’s scared or see him struggle to maintain his "tough" persona. The film deglamorizes the violence. It makes the "True Norwegian Black Metal" tag look more like a tragic delusion than a badge of honor.
The Legacy of the Film in 2026
Years after its release, the Lords of Chaos film has settled into a weird niche. It hasn't replaced the documentaries like Until the Light Takes Us, which most fans still prefer. However, it has become the entry point for a lot of younger people who didn't grow up in the 90s. It’s a "gateway drug" to the history of the scene.
It also sparked a massive conversation about "true crime" ethics in music. Is it okay to make a movie about a murderer who is still alive and profiting (at least in terms of notoriety) from his crimes? Varg Vikernes is a free man today. He has seen the movie. He has commented on it. That creates a strange feedback loop where the art is feeding the ego of the person it’s trying to critique.
Actionable Steps for Exploring the Real Story
If you’ve watched the Lords of Chaos film and want to separate the movie magic from the actual history, don’t stop at the credits. The real story is much more complex and, frankly, much more depressing.
- Watch the Documentaries: Start with Until the Light Takes Us (2008). It features actual interviews with Fenriz and Varg. It gives you the "vibe" of the scene without the Hollywood polish. Also, check out the BBC’s Death Metal Murders.
- Read the Original Source (With Caution): Pick up the book Lords of Chaos by Moynihan and Søderlind. Keep in mind that many of the musicians involved claim it’s sensationalized. It’s a good reference point for the "mythology" created at the time.
- Listen to the Evolution of Mayhem: Don’t just listen to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Listen to Deathcrush and then listen to their later stuff like Grand Declaration of War. You can hear the shift from raw aggression to avant-garde experimentation.
- Research the Historical Context: Norway in the early 90s wasn't just a random backdrop. Understanding the social-democratic nature of the country helps explain why these kids felt so "stifled" that they resorted to burning down historical landmarks. It was a rebellion against a very specific kind of peace and boredom.
- Look into the Trial Records: If you want the cold, hard facts of the murder of Euronymous, the Norwegian court documents (many of which are summarized in English online) provide a much more clinical and accurate account of the 23 stab wounds and the "self-defense" claim that Varg tried to use.
The Lords of Chaos film is a piece of entertainment. It’s a dark, violent, and sometimes surprisingly funny look at a group of people who lost their way. Just don't take it as gospel. In the world of black metal, nothing is ever that simple.