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.

Great setup, which has a punk band taking what turns out to be a very bad gig (jeez that's an understatement) and ending up fighting for their lives against neo-Nazis. Early on the cinematography is quite good, and it segues to a feeling of claustrophobia that enhances the drama. It felt like it could have led to something more, however, and ended up as a standard drama. Patrick Stewart is suitably menacing even when all the character motivations don't seem to add up, and was a nice addition to the cast. I loved how they showed that the attack dog was simply loyal to its owner, which was probably my favorite moment in the film. It's not a bad watch and engaging throughout, just not something particularly inspiring.

How in the world does this have a 7? This was an hour and a half of drivel. Can't believe I stayed awake for the whole miserable thing.

When it comes to any kind of movie confined to a small space, there has to be something interesting and foreboding about that space. With the advent of modern technology it is getting harder and harder for the "middle of nowhere" horror setting to be realistic anymore. So when you see something like Green Room, it gives you an appreciation of just how harrowing it can be when we think our technology can save us, but can't.

Green Room combines some of our worst fears into one horrifying platter. Middle of nowhere setting? Check. Ominous weather? Check. Evil people waiting to end your life? Can't get any worse than gun wielding Nazis with ravenous dogs. Compelling and realistic bad guy? Huge check. The violence is also compelling and brutal as well, leaving one in abject horror over the sight of someone with a knife in their head or when dogs start ripping someone apart. At no point during the film did the tension feel forced or ever let up. The stakes were appropriately raised when needed, and that is when we got Patrick Stewart in all his glory.

Normally, we don't see Stewart in this kind of role. He has been a bad guy before but nothing like this. While he may be a 70-year old man, when he enters the room you know he is in control. The way the younger, muscled up Nazis say virtually nothing in retort to his commands and hang on his every word exhibits his power among the collective. It was a nice and welcome touch to the proceedings.

I can't say enough good things about the film, for it is taut and tightly wound in a way that keeps you invested in the film. Even when the third act goes a little off the rails, it is not to the detriment of the feature. Give it a shot, it is terrifying but way better than most of the horror films out there.

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.