Green Room - Review

The date Friday the 13^th is synonymous with misfortune, horror and a guy with a hockey mask. Replace the guy with the hockey mask with an evil Patrick Stewart and you have this week’s new release Green Room.

Following a gig in a Neo-Nazi bar, punk band The Ain't Rights find themselves in a Green Room that is witness to more horror and carnage than the aftermath of an Ozzy Osbourne or Justin Bieber gig.

Forget a bottle of Jack Daniels or 1000 brown M&M's in a brandy glass, the only thing on their rider is staying alive… and that is not a copy of the Bee Gees song either.

The band must survive the night and fight their way out in the hope that they might play one final encore. Patrick Stewart however, in a role that is more American History X than Professor X, is determined to stop them. In fact you could say he will “make it so” that they are a one hit wonder.

With all great horror films, writer/director Jeremy Saulnier wastes no time in effectively setting up the band dynamics before it all goes south and he ramps up the tension and violence all the way to 11 whilst shredding more nerves than guitar solos along the way to a bloody crescendo.

Having filmed Blue Ruin and Green Room, one wonders if Jeremy Saulnier will complete his own Three Colours trilogy with a red-based film. Perhaps Red Rum? A sequel to The Shining or a biopic of the Grand National-winning horse maybe?

4 stars

Blue Ruin - review

30 years ago, this story where a single act of revenge spirals out of control would have probably starred Arnold Schwarzenegger or Steven Seagal.

Blue Ruin stars a man who starts the film looking like a hobo Daniel Bryan ("YES! YES! YES!") and once he shaves looks like Joe Lo Truglio.

Safe to say, not your typical action hero.

But there is not much that is typical about this twist on a familiar storyline of trouble in the Deep South.

It starts off almost as a silent film as a wordless bearded down-n-out is given some news that causes him to go on a quest for revenge.

The how and why don't come straight away and even though the audience are not aware of his motives, they will empathise with the lead character of Dwight thanks to the excellent performance of Macon Blair.

Possessing these incredibly sad-sack puppy dog eyes that tell the story on their own, Blair becomes the most unexpected action hero since Liam Neeson, constantly wrestling with the actions that become increasingly necessary as he descends into a world he is unfamiliar with and unable to leave.

Blue Ruin, it saw Dwight standing alone, a gun and beard in the dark, seeds for revenge have been sown.

Blue Ruin, Kickstarter was how it was paid for, from Saulnier and Blair we'll see more, in terms of stars this movie gets four.

4 stars