Glenn lives again in twisted zombie satire ‘Mayhem’

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Samara Weaving and Steven Yeun in “Mayhem.”
| RLJE ENTERTAINMENT

How great is this.

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” and felt a little bit shortchanged by Glenn’s somewhat arbitrary departure.

In “Mayhem,” Yeun plays Derek, a bright and ambitious and morally ambiguous attorney with an all-powerful and of course corrupt firm.

Just as Derek’s sociopath of a boss (Caroline Chikezie) is framing Derek for malfeasance and Derek is trying to prove his innocence, an infectious disease infiltrates the firm, turning employees into mad, bloodthirsty zombies.

Which means Glenn, I mean Derek, has one last chance to take out those walkers. And oh do we get some brutally wonderful moments of vengeance.

(Steven Brand is invaluable as the firm’s amoral but undeniably charismatic CEO, who somehow presents a convincing case for himself until the bitter end.)

Australian actress Samara Weaving (niece of Hugo Weaving, lookalike for Margot Robbie) is a scene-stealer as Derek’s rival-turned-partner-turned … well, let’s leave it at that. Weaving is a natural. She scores some of the biggest laughs in the movie.

★★★1⁄2

RLJE Films presents a film directed by Joe Lynch and written by Matias Caruso. Rated R (for bloody violence, pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use). Running time: 86 minutes. Opens Friday at AMC Woodridge and on demand.

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