Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Joe Cole and Callum Turner in Green Room.
Director Jeremy Saulnier (Murder Party, Blue Ruin) continues one of the best streaks in independent horror with this terrifying and inventive thriller. After a punk band reluctantly plays for a group of skinheads in the backwoods of Oregon, the group stumbles upon a murder in the titular room, with no easy way to alert the authorities or escape. That terrifying scenario would be enough to elicit chills, but then along comes Patrick Stewart, who immediately sheds his gentle Captain Picard image to embody the persona of a neo-Nazi chief intent on making sure the killing is kept under wraps. In just 94 tight minutes, Saulnier crafts a fully realized world of sleaze and desperation. It's a delightfully cruel work of high tension, perfect in just how quickly and easily it gets under your skin.
Barry Hertz