GREEN ROOM (2015) 4K UHD

Written By:

Rich Cross

Arriving at a bar in rural Portland, hustling Washington punk band Ain’t Right discover they have been booked to play a support slot at a neo-Nazi club. Deciding to go all-out in response, the band open their set with a cover of the classic Dead Kennedy’s anti-Nazi anthem Nazi Punks Fuck Off. Before they can escape the enraged audience, members of the band stumble across a murder in the club’s Green Room and find themselves locked up at gunpoint by the skinhead killers. The four members of Ain’t Right are soon engaged in a hands-on fight for survival as their kidnappers, led by the ruthless Darcy, reveal the full extent of their ruthlessness.

An underground thriller that’s as intense and claustrophobic as it is unpredictable, Green Room became an immediate hit among discerning punk rock cinephiles. Committed performances, sharp dialogue, a gripping blend of the visceral and the heartfelt, and a credible sense of authenticity all add up to deliver an indie-grindcore night out to remember. One that’s deserving of way more plaudits than Green Room secured on its 2015 big-screen release. The much-missed Anton Yelchin is excellent as the impulsive but goodhearted punk stalwart Pat, while Patrick Stewart revels in playing against type as the vicious, nihilistic Darcy.

This newly packaged release from Second Sight gives the plucky members of Ain’t Right an overdue encore. The pristine UHD and Blu-ray versions are accompanied by a strong set of special features, including audio commentaries, interviews with cast and crew, and critical appraisals of the film. The special limited edition adds a 120-page book of analyses and six collector’s art cards. Scuzzy punk rock, even in its cinematic guise, rarely attracts such respectful treatment.