The Horror Show
Green Room
by Jeremy Saulnier
I’d like to start off this review by saying RIP Anton Yelchin. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this talented young man recently passed away in a freak accident; another name added to the absurd 2016 Celebrity Death List. Yelchin was no stranger to the horror genre, appearing in films such as 2011’s Fright Night as well as Odd Thomas and Burying The Ex. It’s a sad thing to see someone so young, only four years younger than myself, pass away, and so I thank you, Anton Yelchin, wherever you may be, for sharing your talent with the world before you left us.
Yelchin’s most recent release is the underground horror flick from Jeremy Saulnier, Green Room. The film follows financially struggling members of the punk rock band “The Ain’t Rights” as they head out of town to play a gig. Unfortunately for them, the gig is barely a gig at all and so the guy who arranged it for them informs them of a show in need of a band in a nearby city. Once the band arrives they realize they’re playing at a hardcore skinhead club, but continue on with their planned performance anyway, in need of making a few extra bucks. Things go awry when one of the band members sees something he shouldn’t have, and what happens next is something plucked straight from their nightmares.
Green Room has a fantastic cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Mark Webber, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Eric Edelstein, and many more. Oh, silly me, I seem to have forgotten the most famous of them all: Patrick Stewart. I know, this is not the typical Patrick Stewart Film, but he was absolutely brilliant, of course, as he is in pretty much everything.
I feel like Green Room is a film that deserves much more promotion than what I’ve seen. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has either stumbled upon this film in pure happenstance or they haven’t even heard of it at all. I was seriously impressed, and it was an instant favorite of mine, with the perfect amount of realistic terror and gore.
The practical effects were done well and the acting was on point. The storyline never left me wanting and it kept me surprised, holding my attention throughout. Not only are we treated to a lavish course of bloody, vicious violence, but the movie’s accompanying soundtrack is absolutely fantastic! Featuring some of the greatest punk/thrash/metal placement in a film, the original motion picture soundtrack has all the music from the movie, including the outstanding score as well as music from the fictional band “The Ain’t Rights.”
If the violence, gore, and soundtrack doesn’t pull you in, well, I think we can all agree that Patrick Stewart as a Neo-Nazi gang leader is something that you need to see.
From the very beginning all the way up to the very last line, Green Room is a vicious thrill ride that’s about as Horror Metal Sounds as it gets. Do yourself a huge favor and watch this one, you’ll have zero regrets about it.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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