Punk-Horror-Thriller “Green Room” is unbearably tense, gruesomely violent, and incredibly entertaining
I'll try to keep this review short, because Green Room is the kind of movie you'd want to know as little as possible before seeing on the big screen.
Here is all you need to know about the film's premise: Small-time punk rock band, The Ain't Rights reluctantly agrees to do a gig at a shady club with a patronage consisting of skinheads and white supremacists. The band witnesses something they shouldn't have in the green room of the club. Ultra-violence and horrific thrills ensue.
One of the most exciting indie directors working today, Jeremy Saulnier hurtled into independent cinema notoriety in 2013 with his critically acclaimed lighting-in-a-bottle lo-fi revenge thriller, Blue Ruin. Now he's back with one of the most entertaining action/horror/thriller films you'll see this year. With a (relatively) bigger budget than his previous cult hit - only 5 million dollars - Saulnier gets to hone in on his excitingly kinetic cinematic style in Green Room.
In an interview with podcast Filmspotting, Saulnier explains that he was "trying to explore a relatively thin plot that results in an amazing rich experience cinematically", and boy did he succeed. The plot of Green Room is indeed paper thin, but the film more than makes up for it with a fantastic cast that is fully game. Partick Stewart is excellent as the chillingly calm villain, and Blue Ruin-star Macon Blair is affecting as his reluctant henchman. Anton Yelchin and Alia "Maeby" Shawkat lead the effectively authentic cast that make up the punk rock band The Ain't Rights, but it is Imogen Poots as the unpredictable wild card Amber who takes home the title of MVP in this slaughterhouse film.
Saulnier is a total renegade when it comes to upending storytelling conventions, and Green Room breaks so many rules that it shouldn’t actually work the way it does. The film evokes the spirit of 80s grindhouse flicks , and by presenting itself as your typical slasher film, Green Room slyly plays into our expectations of that genre, only to cleverly subvert them at every turn; giving us the finger all while delivering on the thrills it promised.
Punk-Horror-Thriller Green Room is unbearably tense, gruesomely violent, and an incredibly entertaining cinematic experience.
I've already said too much. Go see it.
4 OUT OF 5 ZISSOUS
For Perth moviegoers, Green Room will be screening exclusively at LUNA LEEDERVILLE from Thursday 12 May to Sunday 22 May
