NEW BLOOD: GREEN ROOM

GREEN ROOM
A24 2015 Color
95 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, David W. Thompson, Mark Webber, Macon Blair and Patrick Stewart star.
Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Rated R for strong language, violence, gore and drug use.

Green Room finally hit theaters this past weekend arriving on a wave of solid buzz. From the intense trailers and cool poster I was definitely interested from the get go. But watching the proceedings unfold left me a slight bit disappointed. Which might not be a bad thing. Let me explain. If you've seen the trailers and heard all the gossip the film is made out to be a sweaty palm inducing, goretastic horror flick. But it's actually more of a finely tuned thriller executed with realistic precision. It doesn't unfold like the standard genre film and doesn't fall into any clichés and by that alone it is an intriguing treat. The setup is simple enough a punk band playing a gig in what looks to be a sort of white supremacist club find themselves in peril after witnessing a brutal murder. They are than kept there by the brutal owner and his henchman who plan on murdering them before the night is through. What makes the film so satisfying in it's execution is how smart the characters are. When the two groups come head to head it never has the powerful zest you might have hoped for but makes up for it with sheer intelligence. The characters approach most scenarios in a proactive way most of which never have the best outcome. But it makes them likable and easy it to root for. The gore is executed seamlessly but doesn't bring anything new to the table and the film's intensity can be enjoyably overwhelming at times. It all culminates to a surprising and effective if slightly lackluster climax. My problem with the film really lied in my expectaions I honestly expected something more hardcore. And maybe in my 36th year of movie going I may have reached a point where just not as much shocks me anymore. That being said I do believe some of the charcters could have been etched out a bit more as well as their demises and the overall psychological terror could have been ratcheted up. That being said the film is solidly executed. It's well written, directed and features strong performances throughout especially from Imogen Poot and the brilliant, adorable Anton Yelchin who needs to be a big movie star already. A big deal has been made of Patrick Stewart in the press and he definitely has not played a character like this before but I don't feel it's developed enough to garner so much attention. All in all Green Room is a fun, taut, thrill ride that smartly plays against audience expectations and I strongly believe a film that will improve for me with more viewings with my adjusted expectations. Not because it wasn't as good as I expected it just wasn't the film I thought it was going to be. ****.25/5