Review of Green Room (2016) by Jesse O — 16 Jul 2016

I'm kinda sad I didn't tweet about this at the time, but I felt that other people that knew the guy would, and did, a better job at playing tribute to the guy, but Anton Yelchin's passing really fucking sucks.

I think, at the time, it hit me hard, not only because I thought he was a really talented and likable actor, but it also hit me hard because he is only one year younger than I am and it always depresses me when I find stuff like that out.

Not because it reminds me of my own mortality, though I'd be lying if I said that wasn't part of it, but also because 27 is simply much too young. Just much too young. I'm gonna miss seeing the guy as an actor, but the real loss was suffered by his family and his friends that knew and loved him.

Just felt like I had to mention a few words, it wouldn't have been appropriate to just go into the review. With that said, I thought this film was fucking great. That's it, end of review. Of course that's not the review, but if it was, it'd be perfect and it'd fit in with the hardcore punk approach of writing super short songs.

If I'm being completely honest, this might actually be one of my favorite movies of this year. It's really that fucking good. It's so unbelievably brutal and tense, intelligently written with an excellent performance from Patrick Stewart.

Let's talk about Mr. Stewart for a second. This guy is so fucking great in this goddamn movie. I've always liked Stewart, I think he's a cool dude, but, as an actor, I've always had the perception as being one of those hammy, Shakespearean types.

And I don't know why I had that perception. But he's so awesomely subdued in this movie. He's not your typical villain in that he rarely ever raises his voice, but his actions are very cold and calculated.

The way he plans out the flushing out of the punk band from the dressing room with self-defense in mind, as opposed to revealing the true and nefarious nature of his club speaks to the type of person Stewart's character is.

And I thought that was really cool to see, Darcy is not your typical horror villain and the film is all the better for it. And, really, the film also serves as great genre wish fulfillment. I mean, Darcy owns a punk club for white supremacists.

I'm not gonna go on a big rant on white supremacists and the idiocy behind having such ideals, but these people make the world a considerably worse place. So, because of that, it's an easy film to get into, because you wanna see this scrappy little punk band completely take out the entirety of this white supremacist gang for the betterment of the world.

Essentially, Anton Yenchin's character, bassist for the band, sees something that he shouldn't have, a murder, and therefore his band finds themselves holed inside a room and trying to find a way to, at first, negotiate their ways out and, later, fighting their way out.

Realistically speaking, this isn't a movie that has a lot of twists and turns, it's a straightforward movie about this punk's band for survival. Because of that, I don't wanna say the film is predictable, because it's not, at least in the actions of the band as they're trying to fight their way out of the club, but there's no real surprises to speak off, as it relates to narrative.

Not that I have much of a problem with that. I'm supposed to take the film as it is and not as what I want it to be, it was just something I felt should've been pointed out. Like I mentioned earlier, the film is absolutely brutal.

There are some kills in the film that would make people who aren't squeamish squeamish. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you don't see movies this side of the world be so brutal and actually get away with an R-rating.

Of course, I'm not saying that this is like films from the new wave of French horror, like High Tension, Martyrs, Frontier(s) or Inside, but it's about as close as an American film has ever gotten.

But that's not the reason this gets such a great score. It really is an expertly constructed film. From the look, to the soundtrack, to the cinematography, to the writing and the acting, everything about this film really is on point.

It's not a perfect movie, of course, but I'm sure that Jeremy Saulnier, writer and director of this film and the also excellent Blue Ruin, has to be completely satisfied with the end result. It's unapologetic genre film and it definitely entertains, in its own sick and twisted way, yes, but it entertains.

So, yea, I thought this was a great movie. I'd highly recommend it, for sure.