Today’s movie is “Green Room”, the gruesome thriller written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, starring the late Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Macon Blair and Patrick Stewart. The film follows a punk band on a roaming tour, landing a gig deep in the Oregon woods at a Neo-Nazi bar and venue. After their set completes, the band is getting ready to leave when they witness a murder in the green room, beginning a standoff that turns quite deadly.

“Green Room” doesn’t pull any punches from start to finish. In fact, it spends the first two-thirds of the film upping the ante as the situation falls apart, sparing almost no one on either side. The whole cast does great, even with some head scratching story choices. Patrick Stewart and the rest of the white nationalists are extremely convincing, frighteningly so.

Prior to “Green Room” and “Blue Ruin”, Saulnier was working as a cinematographer for about six years. You can really feel his experience influencing both films. Everything from the locations to the set and props, the lighting and filters... all of it comes together really well, keeping a green base that allows other colors to pop. Layered on top of that is the right score to not just fit the scene, but also the mood. The aesthetic is consistent and engaging.

I think the film does lose steam two-thirds of the way in. I loved how Darcy (Patrick Stewart) handles the police at the beginning, but then I couldn’t understand why they kept shrinking their forces, even as they were taking losses. Nor did it feel right that Pat (Anton Yelchin) and Amber (Imogen Poots) didn’t get the hell out of there and find the police when they escaped. It looks great, but didn’t really make much sense.

Even with those concerns, I still massively enjoyed “Green Room”. It has an intense story, great acting, beautiful cinematography, and has just the right length. Anyone who is averse to violence or brutality should avoid this film. Barring that, I would recommend this film to anyone that enjoys thrillers or great filmmaking.

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (CERTIFIED)

Metacritic: 79

One Movie Punch: 8.0/10

Podcast: onemoviepunch.libsyn.com/episode-054-green-room-2015

“Green Room” is rated R and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Episode 054 - Green Room (2015)

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Joseph Dobzynski, Jr.

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