Green Room
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
Elephant in the room: Anton Yelchin was a very talented young actor who recently passed away in a freak accident. I can honestly say I’ve never seen him in a role that I didn’t enjoy in some way. Well, okay, maybe not the Fright Night remake, but I think that was more the fault of the director and writer than him. Here he does amazing work, perhaps the best I’ve ever seen him do, and he will be missed.
Now if that’s not enough of a reason for you to see Green Room, how about the fact that it is damn good? It is a minimalistic story, the pace moves along briskly, the violence seems very real and not overly Hollywoodized, and it is also very brutal and bloody, so the gorehounds should be happy. That said, this film isn’t really a horror movie, despite some people calling it that. Yes, horrible things happen in it, some truly awful, dreadful things, but then horrible things happen in Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and it would be a stretch to call that a horror movie, too. For me, it felt like a down and dirty action flick from the late 70s. Not quite exploitation (it was far too good for that), but at least a kissing cousin of grindhouse cinema. But if you need it to be a “horror movie” to pique your interest and get you to see it, then fine, it’s a horror movie. Whatever it takes, you really need to see this one. As for the story…
Green Room is about a young punk rock band looking for gigs just for gas money so they can make it to their next show. They make the mistake of taking a job at a neo-Nazi bar, and then witnessing something they never should have seen. The Nazis can’t let them leave, and the band knows it, so they barricade themselves into the room bands and acts use to get ready before a show, the green room. What follows is a tense standoff, a bit of a chess game of move and countermove as our punks try to escape the Nazis with their lives intact.
What makes this movie stand out is the tension – once things kick off, it is palatable and unrelenting until the end. The violence is bloody and savage, and the order in which bad things happen to people will keep you guessing. Surprise, surprise, not everyone will be leaving this green room alive. The acting is top notch by all involved, that includes the late Mr. Yelchin, but big kudos must got out veteran Patrick Stewart who pulls off one low key but impressive turn as the head Nazi. Really, I can’t think of one thing about this movie that I didn’t like.
On to the extras and goodies Lionsgate has put on this new Blu-ray release: there is an audio commentary with writer/director Jeremy Saulnier, a making-of featurette that runs 10 minutes, and a trailer. That’s it. So yeah, it’s not exactly stuff with extras, but neither is it barebones.
Green Room is a hell of a violent, action packed, bloody, funny and well-made film. It moves fast, never lets up, and is full of suspense, tension, and great acting. I really enjoyed it, and can easily and highly recommend it.
