Review – Green Room (2016): Raw, Relentless, and Righteously Punk

Green Room is, without exaggeration, the best horror movie I’ve ever seen. Presented at the Festival de Cannes in 2016, Jeremy Saulnier’s masterpiece is not only brutal and nerve-shredding — it’s also fiercely intelligent. Nothing in this film is gratuitous. Every act of violence is earned, every beat of terror justified, and every silence as sharp as a knife.

At the heart of it all: The Ain’t Rights, a broke punk band trapped in a neo-Nazi venue after witnessing a murder. The cast is flawless. Anton Yelchin, in one of his last roles, gives a deeply human performance as Pat, the bassist — vulnerable, thoughtful, and quietly heroic. Imogen Poots as Amber, a skinhead’s friend turned unlikely ally, is magnetic and terrifying in her own right. Alia Shawkat brings grit and heart as Sam, the band’s guitarist, while Joe Cole (Reece, the drummer) and Callum Turner (Tiger, the singer) round out this raw, believable band of outcasts.

But Green Room is more than survival horror — it’s a howl against fascism. The film shows us that punk isn’t just noise; it’s resistance. Music becomes a weapon, a scream in the dark, a refusal to be silenced.

Bleak? Yes. But never empty. Green Room is punk horror with purpose.

@klarabudapost