YMMV / Lords of Chaos

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Since the story itself was approached by Euronymous's family, it could be argued the film is trying to paint Euronymous as someone who didn't know what he was getting himself into, making him more of someone desperate of approval and wanting to prove himself as the darkest person in black metal. The film presents this argument when showing Euronymous being traumatized after finding Dead's body and his fucked up decisions being more as him hiding the fact he lost his friend.
  • The film itself seems to look more deep into whether or not the events of the Norway scene were caused because of Euronymous and Varg's power struggle or if most of the people they were friends with were legit sociopaths.
  • Did Varg kill Euronymous out of paranoia due to the rumors or did he kill him out of anger and betrayal that Euro wasn't who he looked up too.
• Critical Dissonance: Audiences find it within the realms of So Okay, It's Average to really good, while black metal purists scream bloody murder and how Euronymous and Dead are rolling in their graves.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: Many of the characters appear to have...something going on upstairs, at least. Euronymous acts tough and commanding but is shown to be suffering from some PTSD following Dead's suicide. Varg's awkwardness around others, inability to feel compassion or friendship, and literal-mindedness about being "evil" could be taken as him being on the autism spectrum. Faust claims he is interested in stabbing someone to death, and exhibits no remorse following Magne's murder, which could indicate sociopathy. As these characters are based on real people, this is never brought up in-universe and it is left to the viewer to judge whether mental divergence plays a role in any character's actions; the only exception is Dead, who is both shown and stated to be suffering from depression and PTSD.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Jack Kilmer as Dead, who even detractors agree that he nails Dead's dark, depressed, and unsettling personality and were more impressed at how accurate Kilmer went to become Pelle, such as doing the known traits he was known for such as smelling "the stench of death" or even burying his clothes outside.
• Ho Yay: Seemed to come into play with Varg and Euronymous, in particular how Euro's girlfriend asked why does he care so much for Varg and certain other scenes where Varg is show emotionally upset at Euronymous "not being his friend". This is made apparent throughout the films when Varg and Euronymous always seem to go at it in tense arguments that can be seen as a couple arguing.
• It Was His Sled: This film is a dramatisation of real events, and contains one suicide and two murders. People who are interested in a film about the Norwegian Black Metal scene will probably know who dies and who kills.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Sigur Rós fans will admit to go see the film just to hear their score, especially considering Jonsi and friends have proven themselves to make horrifying music ala Von era stuff.
  • Detractors to those who despise the movie will admit to just seeing Emory Cohen as Varg just to piss off Vikernes for how he hated the idea of a Jewish actor playing him.
• Narm: The trailer showed a bit of this with over the top acting, Rory Culkin as Euronymous being dramatic beyond belief, and for some, the ending with Dead's dad speaking via voice mail with a shot of his suicide note is borderline hilarious.
  • Narm Charm: The film itself can be seen as light hearted jabs at the black metal scene, and many moments are obviously made to be this, especially with the dark moments such as Euronymous's murder.
• Nightmare Fuel: Enough to warrant its own Nightmare Fuel page.
• One-Scene Wonder: Arion Csihar plays his father Attila Csihar in the movie. Despite being in one scene , he nails the appearance of his dear old father, along with his hammy performance. The film also captures Attila's "out of loop" attitude when Varg goes on about blowing up Nidaros Cathedral in conjunction with the album.
  • Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht as Blackthorn, mainly due to being a sort of Big-Lipped Alligator Moment who is always next to Varg and nobody seems to acknowledge him.
• Questionable Casting: Many black metal purists have been critical over the casting, especially with Rory Culkin as Euronymous and most of the cast Not Even Bothering with the Accent.
• Tear Jerker: Pelle's suicide, especially after you hear his father leave a voicemail asking him to come to their summer home and even acknowledging how he got into university. It's made worse with Euronymous's response to take photos of the corpse and then shrug off the fact he killed himself. And then it's revealed halfway that yes, Euronymous was heart broken by Dead's suicide and broke down crying upon finding his body. It's made clear that in the end, Euronymous missed Pelle, despite earlier in the movie saying he "doesn't have friends".
  • Magne Andreassen's murder by Faust's hands. Made worse because Magne thought Faust was a confused homosexual metalhead and even told Faust he was once like him too before Faust brutally murders him.
  • Euronymous's murder, never once has an Alas, Poor Villain moment felt so heartbreaking, and it's made clear Varg, The Sociopath himself feels betrayal at knowing his once friend was "going to kill him" when it was made clear Euronymous was speaking out of anger.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The film itself could have focused on Mayhem's influence in the Norway scene, but it solely focuses on Mayhem. The same could be said with the film showing Euronymous's family dealing with their son's antics (in particular with his little sister), but not much is shown.