Green Room is a well-directed independent film that is definitely not for the faint-hearted. At the beginning, the film follows a punk rock band that is literally living gas tank to gas tank on a cross-country tour and eventually end up somewhere they really should not be. Desperate for any paying gig, the band of young misfits arrive at a run-down compound located deep in the Oregon woods where they perform in front of a large gathering of white supremacists. The group find themselves trapped inside the back green room after a young female is discovered murdered. The movie becomes a slow burn thriller in which we really do not know what happened and what exactly the gang of white supremacists are doing at the compound. Then, it rapidly descents into hell for the band members after the arrival of the gang’s leader played by Patrick Stewart who tries to clean up the mess and elude the police. As probably the greatest asset to the film, the acting from Stewart is top-notch; his brilliantly creepy performance as an unrepentant psychopath is so markedly different from what we are used to in Star Trek. Evolving into a classic midnight special, the standoff elevates into an extreme level of violence and gore. Although the scenes of violence can be gratuitous, the movie maintains clever dialogue and outstanding acting. The band’s default leader played by Anton Yelchin develops from being subdued and indecisive to becoming a no-holds-barred fighter adamant on escaping alive along with a young woman portrayed by the sublime Imogen Poots. I would recommend Green Room only to those willing to go on a wild roller coaster of thrills and are not squeamish.
KEITH on Reels 