"Suburban Mayhem" is a brash, bold and wickedly funny black comedy/neo noir from Australia. Most of the comedy is generated by the main character’s exaggerated wickedness, which is deliberately overdone.

The film was made by Paul Goldman, and his background as a music video director is evident in the film. It includes many scenes that expertly combine rock music with MTV style quick cuts, and it’s shot like one long music video. Because of its fast pace, its amoral female lead character, its saturated background colors, and its cartoonish tone, it reminded me of "Tank Girl" (I’m one of the two people in the world that appreciated that film).

"Suburban Mayhem" features a delicious star-making performance by Emily Barclay as Katerina; a bad girl from a trailer trash background. She effortlessly gets her way, and takes great delight in controlling everyone around her and ruining their lives. She’s like a 19-year-old, coke sniffing, mini-skirt wearing Richard III, and the whole audience serves as her confidant.

Barclay’s character is in the running for ultimate femme fatale award along with the Linda Fiorentino character in "The Last Seduction," Christina Ricci’s Dede in "The Opposite of Sex," and Sharon Stone’s Catherine in "Basic Instinct."

Katrina shows her complete lack of sensitivity right away by accepting sexy text messages on her phone during her dad’s funeral. She laughs at the messages then effortlessly slides into her role as grieving daughter complete with fake tears.

We later find out that she orchestrated her father’s death in order to get his house. The story of his murder is told through flashbacks and fake media interviews with people who know Katerina, such as her aunt and manicurist. Katerina is an enigma with charisma to spare, and everyone seems to have an opinion of her.

All the men around Katrina are weak and she easily manipulates them, using her body and strong will. She is also a candidate for the world’s worst mother award. She thoughtlessly leaves her child with a friend for days, and then threatens the life of the woman who watched her for calling child welfare. She also borrows her boyfriend’s car for days without his permission because he doesn’t move it right away when she needs to leave.

Mick Harvey, the guitarist from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds delivers wonderfully moody songs that parallel the moods of the film. The only criticism of the film I have is that it often switched from very quiet dialog scenes, which were difficult to hear, to overly loud booming music sequences.

But despite this reservation, "Suburban Mayhem" is a spunky and invigorating roller coaster ride through the dark roads in the human psyche.