Green Room 4K Review (Second Sight)

Green Room is 2015 horror film written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, True Detective, Murder Party, and Hold the Dark). The budget was $5,000,000 and it ended up grossing $3,767,402 worldwide at the box office. Pat (played by: Anton Yelchin from the Star Trek franchise, Fright Night, Terminator Salvation, Along Came a Spider, Hearts of Atlantis, Huff, Burying the Ex, Odd Thomas, Charlie Bartlett, Alpha Dog, and The Smurfs franchise), Sam (played by: Alia Shawkat from Arrested Development, The Old Man, The Runaways, The To Do List, and The Final Girls), Reece (played by: Joe Cole from Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London, Woodshock, and Thank You for Your Service) and Tiger (played by: Callum Turner from Masters of the Air, Assassin’s Creed, Victor Frankenstein, and Fantastic Beasts franchise) are in a punk band known as the Ain’t Rights. They are travelling through the Northwest when their show gets cancelled. After doing an interview with a local radio host Tad (played by: David Thompson from The Boys, Win Win, and Gotham), he hooks them up through his cousin Daniel (played by: Mark Webber from 13 Sins, Antibirth, Jessabelle, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) with a replacement gig at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar in the woods outside Portland. They are opening for the Nazi metal band Cowcatcher. After they are finished playing the show, Pat returns to the green room to retrieve Sam’s phone. He discovers a dead body killed by a Nazi named Werm (played by: Brent Werzner from The Toxic Avenger, Blue Ruin, and Get Backers) while the victim’s friend Amber (played by: Imogen Poots from 28 Weeks Later, Black Christmas, Fright Night, French Exit, Vivarium, Popstar, That Awkward Moment, Need for Speed, and Filth) watches in horror. Pat gets caught calling the police. Gabe (played by: Macon Blair from The Toxic Avenger, Murder Party, Blue Ruin, and The Hunt) and Big Justin (played by: Eric Edelstein from The Hills Have Eyes 2, Twin Peaks, Creepshow, and Shameless) hold them hostage in the green room. The skinhead leader Darcy (played by: Patrick Stewart from the X-Men franchise, Star Trek franchise, The Doctors and the Devils, Dune, Lifeforce, Excalibur, L.A. Story, Detonator, Gunmen, A Christmas Carol, Moby Dick, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Conspiracy Theory) orders the deaths of the entire band to leave no witness to the original crime. His henchman Clark (played by: Kai Lennox from Fargo, Unbelievable, Falling Water, and D2: The Mighty Ducks) gets his killer dogs ready to destroy their current problem. The band is trapped inside with Amber and they are all fighting for their own survival. Can they escape this white power? or Will they be silenced forever????

Green Room was one of the best films the year it was released and I still feel like it’s a hidden gem. It was the last theatrical feature for lead actor Anton Yelchin who tragically died after this. I’ve always liked everything that I’ve seen from director Jeremy Saulnier especially Murder Party which was a great dark comedy. Green Room just starts out as an upcoming band trying to make it and get enough money for the next thing. I love how the vibe completely changes from one thing to another like it’s nothing here. It starts to turn dark when they perform at this unknown bar and the crowd feels like they could turn on them anytime. One mistake causes all this chaos. Most people will recognize every actor from the band here because they have been involved in some major projects over the years. Anton Yelchin is great as Pat, he’s not your natural leader type but he shows those skills when something goes down. Imogen Poots as Amber is fantastic, she is somebody that’s at the wrong place at wrong time. She’s the last one here that you expect to step up and fight for everything. Imogen Poots is one of current favorite actresses and this might be her best role so far in her career. The two leads above have excellent chemistry out of nowhere and they are scrappy when it comes to being out of their element. The iconic Patrick Stewart proves here that he can play any character given to him. This isn’t something you would ever imagine seeing from the respected actor, he such a likeable person and almost always is a hero. Darcy is one of the better nazi and skinhead villains of all time. He will kill at any cost. He’s very intelligent and he’s beyond vicious at the same time. You haven’t really seen white power baddies like this in awhile. Those are always some despicable and nasty characters. Green Room has an awesome supporting cast that includes Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Kai Lennox, Eric Edelstein, Callum Turner, Macon Blair, Mark Webber, and David Thompson. The script keeps you on your toes, it’s very tense and suspenseful. It kinda becomes like a slasher towards the 2nd half. They never hold back with the violence in Green Room, there’s some gruesome moments. I think this one is even better when you revisit it. It definitely have great replay value and it’s very entertaining. I still can’t believe that it didn’t do good at the box office. I’m hoping it does better now on home video with this brand new 4K from Second Sight because it’s honestly one of the best productions from A24. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Second Sight! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 looks amazing in 4K. I own the original Lionsgate blu ray from the states and this UHD from Second Sight blows it out of the water. It damn near feels like a whole new experience. Everything really pops out on this restoration. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Since Green Room is plot driven by music, the audio here is fantastic. All of the dialogue is very clean, the thrills are elevated, and the music/soundtrack has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new and exclusive “Audio Commentary” with Bloody Disgusting’s Prince Jackson and horror writer Reyna Cervantes. They are both huge fans of the film and they show their appreciation here on this track. They get personal and they share some solid information. It’s a solid fan track with some passionate people. It has an archive “Audio Commentary” with director Jeremy Saulnier. I prefer this one when it comes to the commentaries. He’s full of all kinds of great information and stories when it comes to this production. I love finding out about these films from the creative minds behind it. He’s never dull here and it’s an entertaining learning experience especially if you are a fan of Green Room. “Going Hardcore” is brand new and exclusive little over 32 minute interview with director Jeremy Saulnier. You get some of the same things that’s said in the previous commentary but it’s still very interesting to revisit. Since it’s a newer chat, he goes back and reflects on everything a little more. He digs deep into his early career and the struggles getting stuff made. It’s a nice companion piece to the commentary. “Punk Rock” is brand new and exclusive almost 16 minute interview with actor Callum Turner. He goes over his career and how he got this gig. He chats about his experience on the film and his character. “Rocking Out” is brand new and exclusive almost 16 minute interview with composers Brooke and Will Blair. They chat about their working relationship and experiences with director Jeremy Saulnier. They talk about Green Room and their approach to it. “Going Green” is brand new and exclusive little over 15 minute interview with production designer Ryan Warren Smith. This one is pretty cool because Green had some excellent production design so it’s nice to get an inside look into that aspect. He shares his inspirations and experiences on Green Room. “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” is brand new and exclusive almost 15 minute interview with critic Thomas Caldwell. The critic shares his thoughts on Green Room. He explores other features that includes Neo Nazis in this discussion on cinema. If you are into that sub-genre, it’s an interesting watch from an outsider’s perspective. It has the archival almost 10 minute “Into the Pit”. This is a quick behind the scenes look featuring interviews with the cast and crew from the A24 production. This is a must own for any fan of the Green Room or any A24 fanatic considering all the additional extras plus the technical upgrades when it comes to 4K. I’m only covering the standard release here but for those superfans, they have a packed limited edition also available. This available everywhere in the U.K. right now plus a select few locations here, CHECK IT OUT!!!!