Green Room
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Screenwriter: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein, Macon Blair, Kai Lennox
Rated: R (for strong brutal graphic violence, gory images, language, and some drug content)
I’ve been racking my brain for weeks, trying to determine the best way to classify Green Room. Is it a horror movie? Maybe. Is it a thriller? Yes, but that’s still not enough to classify it as a full-on thriller. Green Room is an amalgamation of two genres that, when brought together, produce a result so fucked up and brilliantly executed that even the most seasoned veteran of horror-film viewing will walk away disturbed.
The Ain’t Rights are a punk band traversing the country. Their tour is unsuccessful, to the point where they are left to siphon gas from someone’s car just to make it an interview (which they won’t be able to promote anywhere, as the band have no social media presence). The band are offered a gig on their way back home. Maybe this will turn things around.
After traveling to the Oregon backwoods, the band arrive at the venue. The atmosphere is cold and standoffish. You can tell that they don’t belong there, before they’ve even stepped foot inside the venue. The band play their set, only to be told by the stage manager that they’ve been moved to another green room. One of the members forgets their phone (the catalyst of the film). Someone goes to retrieve it. Four guys are standing around a body lying on the floor, a knife embedded in its skull. We weren’t supposed to see that.
The band are trapped backstage, with no possible way out. The club owner (portrayed by a haunting Patrick Stewart) shows up. A plan is being put into action. We soon discover that not only were the band not supposed to see that green room mishap, but no one in that club wants them to leave alive.
From this point on, I’m not going to say anything more about the plot. There is a major element in the description of the club and the owner that makes this entire situation even more haunting and closer to a horror film, but I’m not going to give it away. I’d rather it be a very shocking surprise.
Green Room is a ridiculously diabolical work of film, praying on the fears of both the characters and the audience. Word to the wise: if your band is looking for a horror movie night, skip The Exorcist. Watch Green Room instead.
Green Room will begin its wide release on April 29. For more ticket and showtime information, please visit www.fandango.com
This has been another Shameless Promotion.