Film Review: Green Room

Don’t you just hate it when your latest gig turns out to be a front for a neo-Nazi organization? The Ain’t Rights, a punk rock group, hate when this happens, so much so that they respond by singing a cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” by the Dead Kennedys in revolt. It’s not this act that gets them into trouble with the skinheads, but being witnesses to a murder. A murder that, if they survive the Nazi onslaught, will be pinned on them.

“Green Room” has a ridiculous premise that is done ridiculously well! This comes as no surprise, as Jeremy Saulnier is responsible for this mad concoction of nihilistic brilliance! “Green Room” feels like a mixture of his last two films, “Murder Party” and “Blue Ruin,” with the premise sharing similarities to “Murder Party” (victims trapped in isolation) and the tone being close to that of the revenge thriller “Blue Ruin.” The dark comedy present in “Murder Party” is mostly absent, replaced by gnarly violence. The tense dread from “Blue Ruin” is put to use, but the slow burn of that film is instead traded out for breakneck pacing.

It’s not long until the Ain’t Rights descend upon the Nazi club, hidden in a shack in the woods. They had no idea that they were performing in front of Nazis, as the person that booked them the gig only told them to not discuss politics. Considering he screwed them over on their last gig, resulting in a payout of only six bucks apiece, they should’ve sensed something was awry. Still, when you’re a struggling band, you take what you can get.

A lesser director would’ve made the conflict arise solely from the crowd being Nazis. Jeremy Saulnier is not a lesser director and he understands that tension won’t just stabilize if the only issue is that the Ain’t Rights are trapped with Nazis. By having the tipping point being the discovery of a murder, this allows a mystery to engulf the plot, helping with the flow of events. When you’re not on the edge of your seat as the punk rockers are trying to survive, you’re questioning why the woman was murdered. You know from discussions amongst the Nazis that she was one of them, so it wasn’t a hate crime. Was she revolting? Is her friend, Amber (Imogen Poots), trustworthy?

Leading the neo-Nazis is Darcy, who is played by Patrick Stewart and is ingenious casting! Stewart is synonymous for his warm personality, which makes casting him as a villain brilliant. This isn’t the first time he’s played against type, but it’s arguably one of the more effective uses of him. We know from the second he appears on screen that he’s evil simply due to his association as the owner of the property. Yet, he retains that cool headedness of his in orchestrating the raid on the punk rock group that almost tricks us into siding with him. This works especially well during the hostage negotiation he engages the band with as it’s entirely believable that he could fool the band into meeting his demands.

Saulnier flips the switch on the interrogation scene, giving the advantage to the Ain’t Rights. Thinking with their heads, they steal the gun from the bodyguard, Big Justin (Eric Edelstein), with Reece (Joe Cole) ensnaring him in a cross armbreaker. Pat (Anton Yelchin) acts as the general, negotiating with Darcy. Meanwhile, Sam (Alia Shawkat) and Tiger (Callum Turner) try to come up with a plan of escape. The fact that these characters are smart, with their only mistakes coming from fear or youthful ignorance, goes a long way in making the suspense work. We care about these characters and don’t want to see them succumb to the white supremacists.

From here on out, the film is full-on mayhem. It’s Nazi punks vs. punk rock. To say the violence is brutal would be an understatement! One character has his arm severely snapped and lacerated, while others get mauled by an attack dog. I haven’t winced this much during a film since “The Evil Dead” remake. Saulnier doesn’t linger on the brutality, letting it whiz by. What causes the wincing isn’t seeing the blood or violence, but in witnessing the reactions that come from it.

“Green Room” is a relentless thriller that never lets up. Elements that seem cheesy on paper (such as Reece being a skilled fighter and Pat’s wargame strategy being based off of a previous paintball exhibition) work surprisingly well and any dialogue that comes across as tacky works because it befits the characters speaking it. Even the strategy of the white supremacists is sound: they don’t want to simply kill the Ain’t Rights, as that would be traceable. They want to pin the murder on them, therefore meaning they have to be meticulous in their dissection of them. One too many bullet wounds doesn’t make it seem as if the white supremacists were acting in self-defense. And when one of the Nazis goes against the plan and makes a foolish mistake, you know they’re testing fate as they’d rather face death than Darcy. Why else would one knowingly walk into a trap?

“Green Room” is Jeremy Saulnier’s third feature film and so far, he’s three for three. I can’t wait to see what he has in store next!

Final Rating: A