"Green Room" is a technical marvel, beyond brutal, and underwhelming in the wrong places...

Rating: 7/10 (26 April 2016)

Jeremy Saulnier's "Green Room" is a step in the right direction; A modernized slasher film that we deserve, but one that feels unrefined. We follow a hardcore punk rock band that, after witnessing a murder, is forced by a group of skinheads to stay in a green room. As tensions and the need to escape intensify, so too does the violence and brutality.
On a technical side, the film is an aesthetically pleasing horror/thriller. Cinematographer Sean Porter has captured the pure grit and grunge of backwoods Oregon, along with the visual beauty of the modern punk rock movement. The atmosphere and mise-en-scene of this film so eloquently move along, which leaves the audience on the edge of their seat, wanting more.
Everything else is wasted potential. Most of the film is not boring, but the patterns of what we expect to happen next become apparent. The "good guys" plan an escape, and they are met with disturbing and brutal violence in their wake. The violence is stunning, but it's not enough to care. The characters are all just archetypes and portraits of what I would expect from a Texas Chainsaw sequel. The good guys are "good guys" because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bad guys are "bad guys" because they are Neo- Nazis, which is enough justification to do what they do.
Unfortunately, because of these simplistic archetypes, I don't care enough for the consequences of anyone, protagonists or antagonists. Nor do they seem to care at points. The threat of death, or of this venue being discovered by the police, is apparent, and yet, no one takes them seriously. I have no problems with simplistic characters or motivations, but with how complex the film presents itself, it left me wanting more. A good example of the slasher archetypes done right, in recent memory, is "Cabin in the Woods," which blends humor, gore, terror, and a level of meta-filmmaking that is complex and great. "Green Room" didn't need to be this, but it needed more complicated characters to root for.
The cast did fine, including a sub-par Patrick Stewart. Saulnier's previous film, "Blue Ruin" comes highly recommend over this more recent effort. Overall, this film didn't have any message to take away. The only thematic take-away I have is a line from one of the band members calling out a skinhead, saying, "You were much scarier at night." The theme here being that there really are monsters in the dark. But that's it. A patterned story about a band trying to escape from a concert hall is a fun idea, presented at a very high level of technical prowess, which thankfully brings a level of professionalism to the slasher genre. However, like the slasher genre, I don't care for the mix of eccentric and bland "good guys," and unlike the slasher genre, I don't care for the bland and predictable villains. I would give "Green Room" a 6/10.