Stunning exercise in survival horror

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2016)

At the time of writing this review, it's been just over a month since the shocking and tragic news of gifted Russian-born actor Anton Yelchin's death in a freak car accident. He left behind a trail of films in his wake, and a few more to come (including his role as Chekov in Justin Lin's Star Trek Beyond), and it's quite astounding just how prolific an actor he was during his short career. One of his final films, released not long before his death, is also one of his best. Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier's follow-up to his critically- acclaimed Blue Ruin (2013) is a stunning exercise in survival horror.
It begins with the Ain't Rights, a punk band on their way to a gig that turns out to be a waste of time. After an uncomfortable social media interview, the band - consisting of Pat (Yelchin), Sam (Alia Shawkat), Reece (Peaky Blinders' Joe Cole) and Tiger (Callum Turner) - are thrown a gig at a dingy bar in small-town Oregon. It's the type of place adorned with Confederate flags and fascist graffiti on the walls, and, in true punk style, the band introduce themselves with a rendition of Dead Kennedy's Nazi Punks F**k Off. After the gig, the group find themselves locked in a room holding an unlicensed gun after accidentally witnessing a brutal murder. The situation worsens when club owner and neo-Nazi party leader Darcy (Patrick Stewart) turns up to deal with the situation.
The events that follow are pure horror stripped down to the bone, sometimes literally. There's nothing supernatural or indeed unbelievable about the situation, just a group of inept youngsters facing off against a small army of bruising, well-organised skinheads armed with weapons designed to inflict grisly damage and a pack of trained pit-bulls. The violence is ugly and wince-inducing, with the awkwardness of the ones often inflicting the pain only heightening the sense of desperation and utter dread of the situation. The tension is only broken by the ramblings of a somewhat confusing sub-plot, which unravels itself through half-heard mumblings, and this only distracts from the immediacy of the central plot thread.
Saulnier asks quite a lot of his cast, as even the heroes of the story aren't the most likable bunch. They steal petrol, drink beer, cause trouble - pretty much what you would expect from a real-life young band trying to make a buck. But Yelchin has always been especially skilled at eliciting sympathy from any character he has played. As he and his companion Amber (Imogen Poots) - a close friend of the murdered girl - fight desperately for their lives, you are willing them all the way, rather than becoming frustrated at their ineptitude. Stewart also makes an impression as the quietly menacing skin-head leader, a role played completely against type, and it's a shame he isn't given more to do. The actor said he knew he wanted to take on the role when he was left terrified at home after finishing the script, and no doubt you'll be making sure the doors are locked once the credits role too.