Green Room
(2015) 95 Min.
Rated: R (Mutilation, Gore)
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart
Links: IMDB | Wikipedia
Rating: ★★★★☆
A punk band is held captive in a room after they witness a murder at a Neo-Nazi venue.
Synopsis:
A band called Ain’t Rights is having a tough time on their tiny tour. Down on their luck and desperate for money, a radio host in Oregon connects them with a gig outside Portland. He warns the group that the club is with ultri-right Neo-Nazis, but the group is desperate and takes it.
They open with a cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” by the Dead Kennedys. This angers the crowd, but soon the crowd calms down when the group plays their own music.
After their show Pat (Yelchin) goes to the green room to get a phone and sees that a girl has been stabbed in the head and is dead on the floor. Amber (Poots), the girl’s friend, asks him to call the police. He attempts to do so, but the bouncer, Gabe, takes away everyone’s phones and they are all locked inside.
Darcy (Stewart), the club owner, decides to eliminate witnesses, the police are also fooled with a cover story of a small fight between two guys, instead of the real stabbing.
Meanwhile, the group in the room manage to get the gun away from Big Justin. Darcy tries to ask for the gun, but when Pat puts out his hand, they cut up his arm and he drops the gun. The group tapes up his arm. Big Justin tries to attack them, and he gets disembowled by Amber.
The group break through the floor but discover a closed up drug lab. They try to get out through the main door, but an attack dog is let loose and it kills one of the band members. Another member trying to escape through a window is stabbed to death outside. The attack dog is driven away by mic feedback noise. Everyone remaining regroups in the room. They are confronted by a skinhead who was the dead girl’s boyfriend. Amber explains how the girl wanted to leave the Neo-Nazi group and that is the reason she was killed.
The skinhead agrees to fight with him and they head out, but he’s instantly shot to death. The rest of the group is killed except for Pat and Amber.
They manage to kill two more skinheads sent into the building to kill them by ambushing them.
Gabe surrenders to them and tells them where Darcy is. By this time Darcy is staging a scene with the dead bodies to make their deaths appear to be accidental.
Pat and Amber kill Darcy and the dog trainer and then wait for the police.
Review:
This movie is very gripping and an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Though the idea of a down on their luck band going to a dangerous Neo Nazi club seems a little far fetched, the events unfold in a quick and engaging manner. One bad move and they witness a murder and are sentenced to death.
The acting is particularly compelling considering this is one of Anton Yelchin’s final roles. He is so amiable and likeable despite the harsh conditions his character faces. It’s a shame we won’t see more of his talent and abilities as an actor.
Patrick Stewart plays a particularly dastardly character in Darcy. A calculating puppeteer who in the face of danger seems to be a coward. He’ll gladly send in young disciples to do his bidding rather than risk his own neck. Such a great role for a great actor.
Macon Blair plays one of the bouncers and he probably is one of the most human of the neo-nazi group.
All-in-all this is a taut thriller that is highly recommended. Interesting in that it takes place in one night and almost all in one room. Gore-hounds will enjoy the ultra-juicy violence inflicted upon the characters of this film.
