A band straying into a secluded part of the Pacific Northwest, stumbles on to a horrific act of violence. Because they are the only witnesses, they become the targets of a terrifying gang of white power skinheads who want to make sure all the evidence is eliminated.
As with much contemporary horror by a certain cresting generation of directors, there’s a back-to-basics ’80s sensibility to “Green Room” that goes harder on practical gore and slow-building scares than on severe digital spectacle. Saulnier, however, skews away from the cool John Carpenter pastiche of Adam Wingard and Ti West, taking inspiration instead from a messier strain of what the British term “video nasties.” No icy synthesizers are to be found on a soundtrack cluttered instead with head-drilling punk and metal from the likes of Hochstedder and Syphilitic Lust.
Dead By Dawn 2016 Film # 1
The festival this year opened with an absolute cracker, a film that mixes two of my favourite things, horror and punk rock, to great effect. Jeremy Saulnier's follow up to Blue Ruin is violent, chaotic and claustrophobic, it also has a terrific energy running through it and surprising amount of blackly comic laughs that come just at the right times and don't distract from the horror.
The film follows a young, idealistic hardcore punk band called the Ain't Rights as they are coming to the end of a north western tour. They've played every dive bar that will have them just to try and make a buck but still have to steal gas for their clapped out old tour van just to make it to the next show. When they get to the last town on the tour only to find out that the gig has been cancelled and they won't be getting paid, the promoter tries to make it up to them by offering them a gig in another town that will pay well. The only problem is the gig is in backwoods club in the middle of nowhere that's used as a hub for a violent group of heroin dealing neo-nazi's, what could possibly go wrong?
This is a tension filled survival horror movie that's full of heart, it's brilliantly scripted and and features a cast who all deliver terrific performances. The likes of Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole and Callum Turner are all great as the easy to root for young punks and it's really soul destroying when you realise they all won't make it to the end but for me the standout was Patrick Stewart who plays the owner of the club, a calm but intimidating presence and a truly evil human being who seems to have complete control on those around him. It was also good to see Saulnier's Blue Ruin star Macon Blair appear in another fairly meaty role as the shaven headed manager of the club.
Overall, I've been waiting to see this film for a while now and in no way was I disappointed, it's suspenseful and the sense of dread during the second half of the movie is unbearable at times. There's also plenty of nasty, brutal effects on show that had me diverting my eyes on a few occasions. Another outstanding genre effort from Saulnier and this comes highly recommended.
