Green Room (3 Stars)

This is a different type of horror film, grounded in reality. A group of young people are trapped in a building and need to escape, but they're being attacked from all sides. Not by zombies or vampires, they're being attacked by neo-Nazis.

A punk band, The Ain't Rights, is on tour in Oregon. They're desperate for money, so they accept an invitation to play at a bar that's owned by neo-Nazis. I'm surprised they were even invited, because everyone knows that punks are usually left-wing. The bar is located in a remote woodland area, no neighbours for miles. After their set they're about to leave when they see a dead body. The bar's owner, Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart), says that they can't be allowed to leave alive. A siege situation ensues, with the band holed up in a room painted green.

I saw this film with my friends from the Birmingham Film Club. They all enjoyed the film. I was the only one who disagreed, so please understand that the rating only reflects my personal opinion. There's a good chance that you will like the film more than me.

In my opinion, the young people under siege theme has been overdone in horror movies. It makes an interesting twist that the "monsters" are human, but this doesn't make the film better. I don't like the film's slow pace. For me this doesn't succeed in building up the suspense. I expected a rapid onslaught of attackers, rather than occasional short bursts.

On the positive side, Patrick Stewart's performance as the intellectual patriarch of the young Nazi thugs is brilliant. He proves that he's able to play a bad guy.