Green Room

I watched this movie because I so enjoyed Jeremy Saulnier's "Blue Ruin" in which I thought all the characters were 'real' people and the action believable. If you want a brief respite from Hollywood's high-dollar, high-tech gloss then you will probably enjoy this depiction of a nitty gritty, down and dirty, all out, no holds barred fight for survival. Set aside a couple of hours and give this movie a watch. The acting was good, particularly from Patrick Stewart whose appearance in this Indie effort lent it some Hollywood 'depth'. The movie would have been just fine without him, but it was good to see him playing a cool part in a low budget show. Okay, there were a couple of 'oh-I-wish-I'd-had-my-eyes-closed-when-that-happened' moments but nothing too far out. As in "Blue Ruin", all the characters had a 'real people' feel. Highly recommended - by me anyway. On my 0 to 9 scale an 8.

I admit when I read the description I passed on this movie more than once. But last night I figured I would give it a try. I am glad I did. This movie is not a horror by no means but it is a suspense. It will keep you trying to figure out the ending. When you watch as many movies as I have it is hard to come across one the is not predictable. This movie was a rare treat in that aspect. I guess the saying never judge a book by the cover is true.

I have seen some crazy violent films from cannibal holocaust to a Serbian film but no other film that comes to mind executes violence as un settling as this. For me I mean this in a positive way for others the violence could be the very thing to turn them off to it and possibly ruin the movie. May this be a forewarning for some and a recommendation for those who might be interested.

To start with the usual things to look at as far as acting and writing I would say this film does an excellent job. The acting from all is believable and extremely convincing. The writing is good with some humor and plenty of good dialogue. What the film masters completely is tension. Jeremy has truly shown his talent as a director with this one. The tension and situations that spawn violence are all very believable and realistic only adding to the tension and overall tone. Speaking of tone they set it incredibly well with one of the first acts of violence which will stick with me for a long long time.

Funny thing about this movie is that it's considered a thriller. What I mean by funny is that as a thriller (which it really is) it is more chilling and horrifying than most if not all the other horror movies I've seen recently. There are jump scares but they're done properly. This isn't a scary due to monsters and ghouls though, it's scary because of how realistic and effective the violence is to where it really sticks with you.

As you probably already know this is a film best going in knowing little to nothing to get the full experience, personally I went in knowing more than I should have, however, it didn't matter. I was on the edge of my seat with sweaty palms due to how tense and unpredictable it is. There is a lot to talk about with this film but a lot of it cant be discussed without spoilers so all I can say is see it yourself. If you can't handle violence then I am strongly telling you to avoid this film. On the other hand this is among the best films I've seen this year no doubt. As a display of well executed violence and tension this film will definitely make a name for itself. I hope this is useful thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the movie.

Pat (Anton Yelchin), Sam (Alia Shawkat), Reece, and Tiger are members of a struggling punk band on the road. They steal gas, work for scraps, and concentrate on playing live. They arrive at a remote bar outside of Portland. It's soon obvious that it's a neo-Nazi hangout. After a contentious set, Pat returns to the green room to retrieve Sam's phone. He sees a murdered girl and tries to call the cops. The band and the dead girl's friend Amber (Imogen Poots) overpower their guard. Senior leader Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart) is called in.

This is a fairly simple horror premise. There are some solid young actors in this. The biggest coup is getting Patrick Stewart to play the big bad. He's a Shakespearian actor throwing his full weight into the role. The young characters are not necessarily the brightest bulb in the lot but that's perfectly fine. Everybody is making mistakes in this chaos. One character does die sooner than I expected and that took some of the air out of the movie for me.

Don't let ANYONE spoil you ANYTHING about the film.

Don't see the trailer when it comes out.

Avoid clips and any promo materials they may release in the future.

Go in knowing as little as possible.

Just know that watching Green Room is like getting a shot of adrenaline that doesn't let up until the very end.

It's fantastic, tense, and entertaining.

Take my word for it.

But also...

Don't get too caught up in the hype.

See the film when it comes out.

You'll be glad you did.

P.S. Jeremy Saulnier is definitely someone to look out for.