‘Green Room: Limited Edition’ 4K UHD Review
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Macon Blair, Imogen Poots, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein, Patrick Stewart | Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
I first reviewed Green Room back in 2017 for my blog Wight Blood and gave it a score of 9/10. I don’t think I have watched it since so with this Second Sight 4k/Blu-ray release, I had the opportunity to see if it was just as good on second viewing.
The movie follows a punk band as they attempt to tour and book a last-minute gig at a neo-nazi bar with the promise of some decent money. They play the gig and attempt to leave as quickly as possible but after they witness something they shouldn’t have, things turn nasty and they get stuck in the green room with nowhere to go.
Green Room is quite the movie. It’s easy to see why Second Sight have given it this special edition treatment. There’s not been many films quite as intense as Green Room in the last ten years. It grabs hold of you as soon as we see that green room and it never lets go. You’ll literally be on the edge of your seat watching, involuntarily holding your breath and then gasping and what you witness on screen. With this movie, writer/director Jeremy Saulnier created his finest movie so far and may never better it.
Of course, part of the reason the movie is so great is the cast and their performances. There’s not just one or two decent performances here. Every single one of the main cast is fantastic. Anton Yelchin, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Macon Blair, Imogen Poots, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein and of course Patrick Stewart, are honestly all great. Stewart plays a role like anything else I’ve seen him perform but ,of course, he handles it perfectly. Poots’ character grows into the movie and she delivers more and more as the film goes on. At the same time, Macon Blair might just deliver my favourite performance in Green Room. He’s an excellent actor and he excels in creating sympathy for a character who is a neo-nazi but somehow still caring. You would not care about this character in lesser hands.
Not only is the movie tense for very long periods of time, but when the action gets going it is absolutely brutal too. Although the violence is always there it still doesn’t make it any less effective. When we see blood splatter everywhere, or arms get chopped up or necks cut, it feels horribly real. The make-up effects are spot-on and it’s as brutal as any genre film you’ll see.
You’d think a movie that takes place for big chunks of time in one room, couldn’t look that great but the cinematography is great too. When the outside scenery is used it is strangely beautiful, even using some high drone shots. But inside the bar is as dark and grimy as you’d expect with some really cool use of lights to display how great this movie can look.
I could go on and on about how great this movie is but you should just check it out for yourself. Green Room is one of the very best genre films of recent years. With an exceptional cast, a gritty survival story and brutal violence, it comes wholly recommended. Now with a host of great extras and content from this Second Sight release.
Special Features:
- Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs
- UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR
- New audio commentary by Reyna Cervantes and Prince Jackson
- Audio commentary with writer–director Jeremy Saulnier
- Going Hardcore: new interview with writer–director Jeremy Saulnier
- Punk Rock: new interview with actor Callum Turner
- Rocking Out: new interview with Composers Brooke & Will Blair
- Going Green: interview with production designer Ryan Warren Smith
- Nazi Punks F*ck Off: Thomas Caldwell on Green Room
- Archive featurette: Into the Pit – Making Green Room
Limited Edition Contents:
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Adam Stothard
- 120-page book with new essays by Eugenio Ercolani and Gian Giacomo Petrone, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Josh Hurtado, Jolene Richardson, Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Thomas Watson
- Six collectors’ art cards
***** 5/5
Second Sight’s Green Room: Limited Edition is available now.
