Green Room (2015)
If Fincher made a slasher film.
Presentation:
The premise is quite intriguing: a punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar. It delivers. The visuals are gritty and Fincheresque with modern, clean, shallow depth of field with a grimy green look on Arri and Cooke lenses. Sentimental dialogue is really lame for such a film, and luckily avoids it for the majority of the film instead giving us colloquial neo-nazi slang, which i think many including myself will find incomprehensible. Even as someone in a band, it was difficult to follow the majority of the dialogue in this film. It’s still an immersive experience, and i think it’s due to the moody grade and modern aesthetic, which I think allows you to forgive some shortcomings as the film treads on the line of indie film and star studded cast. Some of the scenes are gory and brutal, but I wouldn’t consider this film scary, it’s a thriller/slasher. Very unique character, setting and stage of conflict.
Conclusion:
The film is really quite well done with no real cliches. Nothing feels like a traditional slasher where you can expect a formulaic structure aside from a final conflict, character’s decisions feel real and combat is smart and believable.
Recommendations
The father of horror/thrillers.