Green Room

“What’s your desert-island band?”

A premise that initially looks like a straight slasher quickly descends into a story full of twists and turns, cuts and bruises, and evolves to be an unapologetic survival thriller. Green Room tells the story of an up-and-coming punk rock band travelling around the Pacific Northwest in hopes to find a decent gig until their journey takes them in a secluded bar run by neo-Nazis, where things start to go awry.

There’s an unsettling atmosphere riddled throughout this film that can conjure up an uncomfortable anxiety whilst simultaneously pulling you deeper into the trenches of its story. This is a credit to Jeremy Saulnier’s sharp direction, controlling each moment with care, subtlety and high octane thrills to deliver a perfect genre film that continuously subverts expectations.

The duct-tape allowing Green Room to stick together, however, is the ensemble. Without the likes of Anton Yelchin, who steers the narrative forward with a beautifully nuanced performance, and his band members Joe Cole, Maria Shawkat and Callum Turner providing strong support, it wouldn’t be the same full-throttled ride. But lest we forget, and much to my bewilderment when I first watched this film, is the incredible appearance of Sir Patrick Stewart. His grounded and subdued performance as head of the neo-Nazis only enhances his sinister intentions. To think that we live in a world where Picard leads a band of alt-right members looking to cover their trace, using whatever means necessary, is only the best of surprises.

Aside from deftly handled direction and a compelling cast, this film packs a serious punch. The adrenaline fluctuates from ultimate highs, giving us bristling action pieces and horrifying thrills, to immediate lows, delivering intimate monologues and rich emotions. If you’re searching for 90-minutes of exhilaration; look no further than Green Room.

Check out our full take on Green Room here!