r/horror • u/AutoModerator • Jan 26 '17
Discussion Series Green Room (2016) /R/HORROR Official Discussion
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u/duckandweave Jan 26 '17
Whilst there's debate about whether this is a horror movie or not, it fits the bill for me. Imagining being in the situation is pretty fucking horrifying to me. I loved the film though, it was tense and drawn out well. I sympathised with the characters and felt as exhausted as they looked by the end. Was expecting big things after Blue Ruin, with Patrick Stewart, Yelchin and a punk band thrown in (and bonus Maeby) and wasn't dissapointed.
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Jan 26 '17
There's a thin line between horror and thriller, sometimes. I think his use of violence pushed it over into horror territory, in that (and it feels lazy to say this, but it's true) those scenes really invoked a sense of horror, not just thrilling action. There's a despair and hopelessness to the film that's quite at home in horror.
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u/professor_murder Jan 26 '17
Why would home invasion films like You're Next or The Strangers be considered horror but not this? And don't tell me its simply because they wear masks in the others. Everything about Green Room was far more horrific than the other two.
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u/airz23s_coffee Jan 26 '17
Nothing much to add that others haven't other than the scene with the guys arm getting hacked up was one of the grimiest things I've seen recently.
Fucking loved it.
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u/house_atreus Jan 26 '17
That scene was so unexpected. I just expected the villain to play the "now I have you trapped card."
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u/Darkconnection Jan 26 '17
It's extremely rare that I watch a movie and be 100% satisfied, this was one of them. After blue ruin (2013) and murder party (2007), J. Saulnier was on my radar but I didn't think I could watch a movie as good as blue ruins, but I did. Story-wise, just like his other movies, it's very hard to anticipate what will happen next and that's part of what I like about his movies. Cliches are rare. His direction also is as dynamic as his writing, his camera goes every where without spoiling the story or ruining our entertainment. I don't believe this movie is a social commentary, as some claim, but if it is, it's a damn good one! I'm sure we can expect more great movies from him.
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Jan 26 '17
As a guy who was on the punk scene for a while in my teens and most of my twenties, he really captured the feeling of both punk and (racist) skin culture, the whole thing was very authentic. I looked at my girlfriend before a certain scene and said, "I know exactly what song they're gonna play now." She nodded and then, bam, Dead Kennedys.
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u/elementalmw Jan 26 '17
That club setting was on point. The daytime show with natural light pouring in was just perfect.
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u/RealNotFake Jan 26 '17
I just want to say RIP Anton Yelchin. I liked that dude and his death was a shock.
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u/discipleofdoom Jan 26 '17
This was my favourite film of 2016 and instantly became one of my favourite films of all time. It is one of the only films that made me genuinely terrified to the point where I had to pause the film several times to compose myself. Great film, loved every minute of it.
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u/sirdaveyboy Jan 26 '17
This movie just filled me with a sense of impending doom. I knew the basis of the plot before seeing the movie, but the whole time I felt sick to my stomach -- I mean this as a compliment to the film. It was so well shot and so well acted. I don't really understand the argument that it isn't a horror movie.
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u/KillMat99 Jan 26 '17
It's not going to contribute much to the discussion, but I was watching this in bed one night. My wife, who does not like horror movies at all since we had our daughter, watched the entire thing with me and got mad at me for talking during it. She loved it and I did too. Great movie, excellent gore and incredibly tense throughout.
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Jan 26 '17 edited Apr 23 '17
deleted 0.9556 What is ^^^this?
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u/GladysTheBaker Jan 27 '17
I was shocked that the drummer died so unceremoniously. Shanked and left to bleed out, there was no big dramatic moment or special sequence, it was just really quick. It was almost done nonchalantly, and i fucking loved that. It all played out so very real, it was an extremely realistic and grounded portrayal of just trying to survive. My favorite movie of 2016.
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u/Imaginos64 Jan 26 '17 edited Jan 26 '17
There was so much that I loved about Green Room. Unlike a lot of movies the depiction of the punk scene felt genuine and natural. The film had a stellar atmosphere and great characterization. It succeeded in doing something a lot of horror films either fail at or don't bother to do at all, which is to build up to the action in a way that creates a genuine investment in the story and characters and not just a bee line to the scary stuff. All of the characters spoke naturally and came off as real people acting the way real people would in a bad situation, not as horror cliches. While it was clear that the skins weren't a good group of people the film allowed some of the characters to switch sides, make good and bad decisions, and act like actual people and (for the most part) not just an embodiment of evil.
I was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed by the use of gore in the film. I enjoyed that it was used in a way that was actually unsettling and shocking since it was sparse yet unflinching and graphic. So many films either use camera angles to flinch away from the blood and guts, showing very little on screen, or use it so often with such a predictable set up that it has no real effect and cheapens whatever plot or story the movie is trying to show. At the same time this was a complaint of mine. I'm glad that the film's focus wasn't on showing as much violent carnage as possible but at the same time after the box cutter incident almost nothing was shown for the rest of the film. It felt like a bit of a missed opportunity to have such a great tool in the film's arsenal (Awesome, unsettling special effects and the understanding of how to use them effectively) but little use for it once things really got crazy. Once everyone was just running around with guns the film lost some of its suspense and sense of dread for me and became a little boring and drawn out. There was so much opportunity to naturally add a couple more genuinely frightening scenes and depictions of violence (In a movie that established early on it wasn't scared to go there) which was, in my opinion, wasted.
My only other complaint (Which might be attributed to me being an idiot) was that there were times in the movie where I had no idea what the hell was going on...as in who was on what side, what characters were talking about, etc. While I love a film that doesn't treat its audience like a bunch of idiots I felt like maybe certain things at certain times could have been made a bit clearer to have more of an effect. Regardless I loved the ending. It didn't beat a point over your head but still gave you something to ponder as you considered the film's meaning.
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u/Silvershanks Jan 26 '17
I enjoyed it. The only mis-step I thought was to have Patrick Stewart try an American accent. It really pulled me out of the film. They should have had him do a east-end cockney accent - there are plenty of skinhead groups in England, would have been believable that somehow this guy found his way to the Northwest US - no explanation necessary.
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u/Adamj1 Jan 26 '17
I saw the movie alone in a theater, and it was the only time I'd wished there were other people with me just so that it would have had a higher gross. Shame such a worthwhile film bombed.
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u/dethb0y Jan 26 '17
You know, i don't have a feeling about the movie itself, but i watched it entirely for Patrick Stewart. Until i saw this, i didn't believe he could be a bad guy; but no, he can be the bad guy. The way he presents himself, the way he carries himself - it's amazing. Perfect example of an intelligent, well spoken, extremely brutal villain.
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Jan 26 '17
I must be missing something because I found this movie extremely boring. The plot of punk and neo-nazi really grabbed me as it seemed quite unique but in all honesty, it really didn't play much of a role in the plot line at all. Of was more of violent cat and mouse which is great for horror but honestly, would it have been any different if they were simply deranged and not neo-nazis?
I did enjoy it somewhat but was honestly left with a let down feeling at the end which was frustrating as it was well shot and directed and should have been a film that I loved giving the plot.
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u/Stwmode Jan 26 '17
How fucking sick was it when she came out of the couch??