I just watched Green Room, a low-budget indie film from this year. You may have heard of it, since it has a few stars in it and was very very well-reviewed. It's been on my to-watch list for a little bit.
A low-end punk band, The Ain't Rights, get stiffed on a job. Their replacement job is a rough one, playing for politically questionable hardcases (okay, they're white supremacists) in the middle of nowhere. The gig starts out rocky, but they manage to win over the crowd. Of course, then, something goes terribly wrong. It's tense and brutally effective, watching the band struggle to get out from under. I don't watch much horror, certainly not many current films. This is more of a siege thriller than a horror film, and while there's one (arguably gratuitous) piece of gore, it's mostly just enough blood to keep us grounded in the reality of the situation.
There's a lot of terror in the idea of a calm, implacable evil that cannot be reasoned with. The bad guys in this movie aren't particularly malicious, just cold-blooded criminals trying to eliminate witnesses. Their level-headed patience and endless resources feel not just unconquerable, but inescapable.
A word on the actors: Patrick Stewart is the main draw for this film, even if his American accent isn't perfect. I was expecting him to go to more chilling depths for his villain, though maybe the script didn't give him leeway to get bone-deep. I've never seen young Mr. Yelchin in anything before, though his portrayal seems perfectly fine, and I can see why people are mourning his loss. Of course, I also enjoyed seeing Alia Shawkat in this (as I would in anything) and enjoyed her non-sexualized role as just another musician.
There's a lot of terror in the idea of a calm, implacable evil that cannot be reasoned with. The bad guys in this movie aren't particularly malicious, just cold-blooded criminals trying to eliminate witnesses. Their level-headed patience and endless resources feel not just unconquerable, but inescapable.
A word on the actors: Patrick Stewart is the main draw for this film, even if his American accent isn't perfect. I was expecting him to go to more chilling depths for his villain, though maybe the script didn't give him leeway to get bone-deep. I've never seen young Mr. Yelchin in anything before, though his portrayal seems perfectly fine, and I can see why people are mourning his loss. Of course, I also enjoyed seeing Alia Shawkat in this (as I would in anything) and enjoyed her non-sexualized role as just another musician.
Finally, the director's previous film was called Blue Ruin (it sounds good, by the way). This is Green Room.
If we follow the ROY G BIV progression on the first words of each title, and the alphabetic progression of the last letter, his next film should be called Yellow Rule. I'm looking forward to it..
BLUE RuiN
GREEN RooM
If we follow the ROY G BIV progression on the first words of each title, and the alphabetic progression of the last letter, his next film should be called Yellow Rule. I'm looking forward to it..
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