Green Room (film)

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This article is about the 2015 American film. For the 1978 French film, see The Green Room (film).

Green Room
Green Room (film) POSTER.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJeremy Saulnier
Written byJeremy Saulnier
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySean Porter
Edited byJulia Bloch
Music by
  • Brooke Blair
  • Will Blair
Production
companies
Distributed byA24
Release date
  • May 17, 2015 (2015-05-17) (Cannes)
  • April 15, 2016 (2016-04-15) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[3]
Box office$3.8 million[4]

Green Room is a 2015 American horror-thriller film[5][6] written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, and produced by Neil Kopp, Victor Moyers and Anish Savjani. Starring Anton Yelchin, Joe Cole, Imogen Poots and Patrick Stewart, the film focuses on a punk band who find themselves attacked by neo-Nazi skinheads after witnessing a murder at a remote club in the Pacific Northwest. The film came from Saulnier's desire to direct a thriller set in a green room.

Principal photography took place during October 2014 in Portland, Oregon. The film was financed and produced by Broad Green Pictures. Green Room was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[7] At the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, the film finished third in the balloting for the Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award.[8] The film began a limited release on April 15, 2016, before being widely released on May 13 through A24.[9] It appeared on many critics' lists as one of the best films of 2016 and received a 2017 Empire Award nomination for Best Horror, but grossed just $3 million against a budget of $5 million.

Plot[]

Punk band the Ain't Rights -- Pat, Sam, Reece, and Tiger -- are travelling the Pacific Northwest. After their gig is cancelled, a radio host arranges a new show in a rural area outside Portland through his cousin, Daniel. Arriving at the venue, they realize it's a neo-Nazi skinhead bar and they're opening for a NSBM band, Cowcatcher. They go ahead with the show anyway, managing to win over the skinheads. During their set, Pat notes two young women, Emily and Amber, looking disturbed and being shepherded out of sight.

As the band is about to leave, Pat returns to the bar's green room to retrieve Sam's cellphone, where he stumbles upon Amber and the members of Cowcatcher standing over the body of Emily, who's been stabbed to death by Werm. Pat calls the police as he flees, but is caught, and bar employees Gabe and Big Justin capture the rest of the band and confine them in the green room with Amber. Gabe pays one young skinhead to stab another to create a cover story for the police who respond to Pat's call. He consults with the bar's owner, skinhead leader Darcy, who decides all witnesses need to be eliminated. He arranges for Cowcatcher to be gifted poisoned heroin, while more skinheads assemble at the bar, waiting until nightfall to kill the band and Amber.

The band overpowers Big Justin and holds him hostage, taking his pistol and a boxcutter from his pocket. They negotiate through the door with Darcy, who asks them to surrender the pistol. Pat agrees, on the condition that they keep the bullets, but when he opens the door, the men attempt to force their way in while slashing at his arm. They manage to close the door, however Pat loses the gun and is seriously injured. Big Justin attempts to break free, leading Reece to choke him unconscious. In response, Amber slashes his stomach open with the boxcutter.

The band tears up the floorboards and discovers a drug lab under the bar, but the only exit is locked from the outside. Arming themselves with improvised weapons, they attempt to fight their way out. Neo-Nazi Clark unleashes an attack dog which kills Tiger. Amber and Pat drive the dog away with microphone feedback. Reece escapes through a window, only to be stabbed to death by Alan. Pat, Amber, and Sam retreat to the green room.

Daniel arrives and Darcy sends him in to kill the remaining survivors, claiming they murdered Emily, his girlfriend. However, he instead talks to them, and Amber explains that Werm murdered Emily after discovering she and Daniel were planning to leave the skinhead life. Daniel agrees to help them escape, but as they venture back out into the bar, he is shot dead by the bartender. Pat kills the bartender and the group takes his shotgun, only to find themselves confronted by the full skinhead force. Sam mortally wounds Clark's dog with the shotgun before it kills her, and Amber is shot as she and Pat once again retreat to the green room.

With the sun rising soon, Darcy has most of the skinheads disperse, taking Clark and Alan with him to stage the band's deaths to make it look as if they were killed while trespassing on his property. Gabe prepares to clean up the bar, while Jonathan and Kyle are dispatched with the dog to finish off Pat and Amber, who formulate a plan for a last stand. They again use microphone feedback to scare off the dog before Pat lures Jonathan into the drug lab. As Kyle stands watch in the green room, Amber emerges from under the cushions of the couch and ambushes him, cutting his throat with the boxcutter. Pat and Jonathan fight, and Amber sneaks up and shoots Jonathan in the head. Gabe enters the green room to find his companions dead, and surrenders to Pat and Amber.

Holding Gabe at gunpoint, they trek through the woods. As they near Darcy's house, Pat and Amber decide to go after him, while Gabe goes to a nearby farm to call the authorities. Pat and Amber kill Clark and Alan before confronting Darcy. Fleeing, Darcy pulls a revolver but is shot dead. Their ammunition and energy spent, Pat and Amber sit on the side of the road, waiting for the police.

Cast[]

  • Anton Yelchin as Pat, the bassist of the Ain't Rights
  • Imogen Poots as Amber, Emily's friend
  • Alia Shawkat as Sam, the guitarist of the Ain't Rights
  • Joe Cole as Reece, the drummer of the Ain't Rights
  • Callum Turner as Tiger, the singer of the Ain't Rights
  • Patrick Stewart as Darcy Banker, the leader of the skinheads
  • Macon Blair as Gabe, a skinhead and club employee
  • Mark Webber as Daniel, a skinhead and Tad's cousin in a relationship with Emily
  • Kai Lennox as Clark, a skinhead and attack dog trainer
  • Eric Edelstein as Big Justin, a skinhead bouncer
  • David W. Thompson as Tad, a radio host and promoter
  • Brent Werzner as Werm, a member of Cowcatcher
  • Taylor Tunes as Emily, a female skinhead and Amber's friend
  • Samuel Summer as Jonathan, a skinhead
  • Mason Knight as Kyle, a skinhead
  • Colton Ruscheinsky as Alan, a skinhead
  • Jacob Kasch as the bartender
  • Thomas Bell as cell phone guy and fan of the band

Production[]

The film came from Saulnier's desire to create a thriller set in a green room, calling the idea "an obsession".[10] Saulnier created a short film set in one as part of a 48-hour film challenge in 2007 which involved the supernatural and according to Saulnier was "Really kind of fun and hammy." However, he still wanted a chance to do his green room movie "the right way".[10] Although the film features a large amount of violence and what Saulnier calls "full frontal gore", he has gone on record as stating that it is not "sadistic", and that every act of violence apart from the initiating incident is done with a reason.[11] As such Saulnier made sure that there were no "gratuitous close ups" of recently deceased characters.[11]

On May 22, 2014, it was announced that Broad Green Pictures would finance and produce the film directed and written by Jeremy Saulnier, with Film Science.[12] Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp and Victor Moyers would produce the film.[12] On October 16, Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots joined the lead cast of the film, along with Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Joe Cole, Macon Blair and Mark Webber.[13] On October 21, Patrick Stewart was added to the cast to play Darcy Banker, the leader of a violent white supremacist group,[14] while other cast includes Kai Lennox, Eric Edelstein and Taylor Tunes.[14]

Filming[]

Principal photography began in October 2014 in Portland, Oregon.[15][16] The location for Tad's house was in Astoria, Oregon, on the Oregon coast, and the forest scenes were filmed in the Mount Hood National Forest.[17]

Music[]

Saulnier, who used to play in a hardcore punk band called "No Turn on Fred,"[18] wanted the film to "stand the test of real musicians scrutinizing every frame."[19] He enlisted Hutch Harris of American indie rock band The Thermals to teach the actors the musical parts that they would be performing onscreen.[20] The film's soundtrack is largely populated by heavy metal artists like Midnight rather than white nationalist bands. Saulnier says that he wanted the club to have a Motörhead-like atmosphere, but that he had no intention of financially supporting white nationalist artists.[21]

Soundtrack[]

Green Room (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedApril 15, 2016 (2016-04-15)
GenrePunk rock
LabelMilan Records

In addition to the songs appearing on the soundtrack, Green Room features several other punk and metal tracks, including Fear's "Legalize Drugs" (1995), Napalm Death's "Suffer the Children" (1990), Obituary's "Paralyzed with Fear" (2014), Poison Idea's "Taken By Surprise" (1990), Slayer's "War Ensemble" (1990), and Bad Brains' "Right Brigade" (1982).[22]

Soundtrack listing[23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Artist(s)Length
1."Weapons Ready"Brooke and Will Blair 2:18
2."What Have I Become?" The Ain't Rights2:20
3."Corpus Rottus" Corpus Rottus3:02
4."Oregon Coast"Brooke and Will Blair 0:51
5."Balefire"Brooke and Will Blair 0:52
6."Prowling Leather" Midnight 
7."Nazi Punks Fuck Off" The Ain't Rights1:07
8."Red Laces"Brooke and Will Blair 2:01
9."Pour A Floor"Brooke and Will Blair  
10."Blades And Fangs"Brooke and Will Blair  
11."Coronary" The Ain't Rights 
12."Inevitable Failure" Hochstedder 
13."Mosh Pit"Brooke and Will Blair  
14."Mopping Up"Brooke and Will Blair  
15."Let's Pretend"Brooke and Will Blair  
16."Savage Pressure" Battletorn 
17."Takin' Out The Trash" Patsy's Rats 
18."Melted" Patsy's Rats 
19."Odin Himself"Brooke and Will Blair  
20."Fresh Air"Brooke and Will Blair  
21."The Residence"Brooke and Will Blair  
22."We Need The Police"Brooke and Will Blair  
23."Sinister Purpose"John FogertyCreedence Clearwater Revival 
Bonus track
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
24."Toxic Evolution"The Ain't Rights 

Release[]

Box office[]

On October 29, 2014, WestEnd Films acquired the international rights to the film.[24] The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2015.[25] Shortly after, it was announced A24 Films had acquired distribution rights to the film.[26] The film screened on opening night of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, on September 10, 2015.[27]

The film was originally to open in a limited release on April 1, 2016, before opening in a wide release on April 15, 2016.[28] However, it was moved to April 15, in limited release, and May 13 wide.[9] According to Box Office Mojo, Green Room opened at #30 in its limited release, premiering in 3 theaters, culminating over $87,984. In its official wide release, the film premiered at 777 theaters, taking the #16 rank on opening weekend, and grossing more than $411,376.[4]

Critical response[]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 241 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Green Room delivers unapologetic genre thrills with uncommon intelligence and powerfully acted élan."[5] Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[29]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat and Macon Blair's performances and called the film "a wonderfully nasty, gruesome, jagged-edge gem of a horror film" that has "first-rate" cinematography, set design, soundtrack, and editing.[30] Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail awarded it a full four stars and wrote, "Jeremy Saulnier (Murder Party, Blue Ruin) continues one of the best streaks in independent horror with this terrifying and inventive thriller."[31] Lenika Cruz of The Atlantic said it's "a tense gore-fest, one that’s as grimy and claustrophobic as the titular room. But scrape off the scum, and you’ll find Green Room full of visual artistry, dark humor, smart writing, and glints of humanity".[32] IGN awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, saying, "This follow-up to the brilliant Blue Ruin pits a rock band against white supremacists with ace, ultra-violent results."[33]

Jeffrey Bloomer of Slate favorably compared the film's "genre maturity", "amoral survivalism and malleable sense of good and evil", "brutal efficiency" and "weary humor" to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 and praised the cast, writing "If the world knows any justice[...] then the Screen Actors Guild will remember this cast when it doles out its awards next year".[34] James Berardinelli concludes the film is "for anyone who enjoys sitting through 90 tense minutes and feeling the attendant adrenaline rush. It’s like a well-constructed horror movie" that's "As intimate as it is unnerving".[35] Guy Lodge of Variety called it "a technically sharp backwoods horror-thriller that lacks a human element".[6] Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it's entertaining but "less disciplined, less original and less memorable work than Blue Ruin".[36]

Accolades[]

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
2015 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival H.R. Giger «Narcisse» Award Green Room Won [37]
Audience Award Green Room Won
Denis-de-Rougemont Youth Award Green Room Won
Deauville Film Festival Grand Prix Green Room Nominated [38]
Toronto International Film Festival Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness Award Green Room 3rd place [39]
Austin Fantastic Fest Audience Award Green Room 1st place [40]
Festival du nouveau cinéma Temps Ø People's Choice Award Green Room Won [41]
IndieWire Critics' Poll Most Anticipated Film of 2016 Green Room 3rd place [42]
2016 BloodGuts UK Horror Awards Best Original Film Green Room Nominated [43]
Best Actor Anton Yelchin Nominated [44]
Best Screenplay/Script Jeremy Saulnier Nominated [45]
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Independent Films Green Room Won [46]
Fright Meter Awards Best Horror Movie Green Room Nominated [47]
Best Actor in a Leading Role Anton Yelchin Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Imogen Poots Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Patrick Stewart Nominated
Best Score
  • Brooke Blair
  • Will Blair
 Nominated
2017 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Film Green Room Nominated [48]
Best Actor Anton Yelchin Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Patrick Stewart Nominated
Best Makeup & SFX Wayne Eaton Won
Empire Awards Best Horror Green Room Nominated [49]
Seattle Film Critics Awards Best Villain Patrick Stewart Nominated [50]

Top ten lists[]

Green Room was listed on many film critics' top ten lists.[51]

Home media[]

Lionsgate, as the home media distributor of A24 releases, released Green Room on Blu-ray and DVD on July 12, 2016.[52] The end credits of the film's home media and subsequent releases feature an addended dedication to the memory of star Yelchin, who died on June 19, 2016.[53]

References[]

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  2. ^ "Green Room (2015)". Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Phillips, Ian. "The best action movie out now cost just $5 million and is more intense than anything by Marvel or Disney". Business Insider. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Green Room (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Green Room (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Lodge, Guy (May 17, 2015). "Cannes Film Review: 'Green Room'". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "The Directors' Fortnight 2015 selection!". Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  8. ^ "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Jaugernath, Kevin (February 2, 2016). "Watch: Arm-Snapping, Punk Rock, Red-Band Trailer For Jeremy Saulnier's 'Green Room' Starring Patrick Stewart". Indiewire.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Hall, Jacob. "Interview: 'Green Room' Director Jeremy Saulnier on Patrick Stewart, Inept Heroes, and "Full-Frontal Gore"". Slashfilm. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Hall, Jacob. "Interview: 'Green Room' Director Jeremy Saulnier on Patrick Stewart, Inept Heroes, and "Full-Frontal Gore"". Slashfilm. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b McNary, Dave (May 22, 2014). "'Blue Ruin' Director Gets Financing for Thriller 'Green Room'". Variety. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  13. ^ Kit, Borys (October 16, 2014). "Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots to Star in Thriller 'Green Room'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Sneider, Jeff (October 21, 2014). "Patrick Stewart to Play White Supremacist in Crime Thriller 'Green Room'". thewrap.com. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  15. ^ Baker, Jeff (October 29, 2014). "Patrick Stewart is in Portland filming a movie with Anton Yelchin". oregonlive.com. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  16. ^ "Patrick Stewart begins filming the crime thriller "Green Room" in Portland, OR". onlocationvacations.com. October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
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  22. ^ Fischer, Russ (May 5, 2016). "Crossover: Eight Great Punk and Metal Songs In GREEN ROOM". Birth. Movies. Death. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  23. ^ Davis, Edward (March 22, 2016). "Exclusive: Listen To 3 Soundtrack Cuts From Jeremy Saulnier's 'Green Room' Plus Full Release Details". IndieWire. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
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  26. ^ McNary, Dave (August 19, 2015). "'Green Room':A24 Buys Patrick Stewart Thriller". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  27. ^ Punter, Jennie (August 11, 2015). "Toronto Film Fest Documentary, Midnight Movies Lineup Revealed". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  28. ^ Sneider, Jeff (October 5, 2015). "A24 to release Anton Yelchin's Neo-Nazi Thriller 'Green Room' on April Fools Day". The Wrap. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
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  31. ^ Hertz, Barry (April 29, 2016). "Green Room is a delightfully cruel work of high tension". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  32. ^ Cruz, Lenika (April 27, 2016). "Green Room: Escape From the Nazi Punks". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
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  38. ^ "Michael Shannon Starrer '99 Homes' Wins Deauville Grand Prize". Retrieved September 12, 2015.
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  42. ^ "IndieWire Critics' Poll 2015 - Mubi". Mubi. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
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  47. ^ "2016 Fright Meter Award Winners". Fright Meter. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  48. ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!". FANGORIA®. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  49. ^ Pape, Danny (February 7, 2017). "Star Wars: Rogue One Leads Empire Awards 2017 Nominations". Flickreel.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  50. ^ "SEATTLE FILM CRITICS AWARDS 2017". Mubi. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  51. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Film Critic Top 10 Lists - Best Movies of 2016". Metacritic. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
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  53. ^ Green Room (Blu-ray). Broad Green Pictures. 2016. End credits read: "In loving memory of our friend, Anton."

External links[]

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