Green Room

GREEN ROOM (2015)

I've got a dumb idea...

Months ago I saw the trailer for this movie and got immediately hyped. Sir Patrick Stewart playing a psycho neo nazi?! Sign me the fuck up.
I was also psyched because I was pretty sure I could convince Mitch to watch this movie with me since it had punk bands in it and a great soundtrack. Luckily, two months ago Mitch came to me and suggested we watch this movie. I didn't even have to convince him!

So last night we rented Green Room on itunes and settled down to watch it.

Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier it stars the late and great Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots and of course Sir Patrick Stewart. It made it's premier at Cannes in 2015 but was widely released in May of this year. Sir Patrick Stewart accepted this role after he read the script in his home in England and was so terrified at the end of it that he turned on the security system and poured himself a scotch.

The poster is an homage to The Clash's London Calling album cover.

(SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT)

A punk band called the Ain't Rights are on tour and after being told about a show where they could make a fare bit of cash, they drive to Portland only to find it's a neo nazi show. The band decide to open with the classic Nazi Punks Fuck Off song by the Dead Kennedys to a not so thrilled crowd.

After their show they are hustled out pretty quickly, but Sam forgot her phone in the green room so Pat runs back in to grab it only to find a girl lying dead on the floor, a knife sticking out her head and three neo nazis standing around her. Her friend Amber is cowering the corner. And so the neo nazis are stuck in a tough position....this visiting band has witnessed something they want kept secret. And they don't want the cops sniffing around, especially with what they're keeping in the basement. So the band ends up basically quarantined in the green room, fearing for their lives, and trying to find a way out. While outside the neo nazis, led by Darcy (Stewart) plan their deaths, wanting to make it look like an accident.

First off - was this a horror movie? Not really. It was more of a really violent thriller. Of course there are horror elements in a sense - neo nazis are pretty horrific, and there's some flesh hungry dogs running around. But I was expecting more of a jump scare, horror type film. Which it isn't.

Now, that doesn't make me disappointed in any way. I still enjoyed the movie and found it very intense.

It had a nice slow burn beginning to it where we got to know the main characters and care about them. And what I will say is the deaths in this film - they are mostly pretty quick, violent, and shocking. It's incredibly upsetting once you've gotten to know these band mates.

I really loved Amber a lot. She was pretty fucking bad ass. Pat, played by Anton, was really really great too. Such depth to that character. Sam, played by Alia Shawkat was a joy to watch too. Her death really upset me. It was so damn violent!!

No part of this film felt too long to me, every scene felt like it needed to be there. It's a dark, gory film that I really enjoyed watching.

Mitch on the other hand seemed to get very confused at the beginning. He couldn't follow along with the characters or story line. BUT he was also very drunk. So I'm not sure if that's the film being too convoluted to start, or too much beer in Mitch's tummy. I followed along just fine.

Overall - Green Room is pretty damn great. Is it as great as everyone is saying? Nah. People have a real circle jerk going on for this film and while it was awesome....if I had paid attention to the hype and had incredibly high expectations...I think I would've been disappointed.

But...WATCH IT! It's unique, it's independent, support it.

gif credit

Alrighty, I've got a list of a tone of movies for September and October and I'm going to knuckle down and watch them. Although as I type this I'm watching Hellevator which I talked about awhile ago. It's that reality TV show that puts three people into a horror movie type setting and if they survive they win money. It's hosted by my favorite female directors; the amazing Jen and Sylvia Soska.  It's on Netflix now yeyyy!

Stay Spooky!

The conspiracy continues....

Let's get into some horror news! In my own life I'm super excited because tonight we're headed over to our friend's place to house sit and puppy sit my god daughter Ginny. Then in just a few more days Oprah will be here along with our new fur child, Obie!!!! Very exciting few days coming up.

But WHO CARES?! Let's talk about the important stuff:

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE....Yeah, I'm still talking about it. And apparently so is the rest of the internet. Remember back when Cloverfield came out and no one had any idea what the movie was or where it came from? And after the first teaser we were even more confused? But then this massive in depth marketing campaign came out and it blew our minds. Well, the same marketing tricks seem to be in place for 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Cloverfield's marketing campaign surrounded a company called Tagruato who spent their money and time drilling in the deep ocean. But it wasn't for oil, it was for a flavor to use in a Japanese drink called Slusho!!! Which, if you watch Cloverfield, is the company Rob is going to work for in Japan before...well...ya know...the statue of liberty's head smashed the street he was on. Tagruato was targeted by TIDO Wave who were protesting the drilling. None of this was actually explained in the movie but lead us to believe this was the backstory and this was how the Cloverfield monster came out of the depths it had fallen into.

Now currently, if you email the Tagruato account you get a response telling you that the account is no longer active....from "Vanessa Gwon, Director of Public Relations, Employee of the Month: 2016 January". NO LONGER ACTIVE? YET THIS BITCH IS EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

But wait, there's more. In the 10 Cloverfield Lane trailer you can spot a soda branded Swamp Pop. If you go to the website for this pop you can buy the product but you can also buy a "Long-Term Shelter Supply" for a tone of money...$4,813.00 to be exact. Except wait....it's sold out. And double wait...4813 is the number that gets punched into the jukebox at the beginning of the trailer that starts playing I Think We're Alone Now.

Someone on the internet named Sarah Rose actually contacted Swamp Pop about getting one of those shelter supplies and got this response:

So people started buying Swamp Pop in six packs and some people on Reddit realized they were also receiving puzzle pieces with the orders. So everyone got together and put together the puzzle which forms the Eiffel Tower....WHAT?!


But wait....in the trailer you can see that there's multiple framed pictures of the Eiffel Tower in the background and on the girls t-shirt:

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?!?!?!

Now the IMDB description says this:
Waking up from a car accident, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself in the basement of a man (John Goodman) who says he’s saved her life from a chemical attack that has left the outside uninhabitable.
 
WHAT IS HAPPENING?! AND WHY CAN'T I WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW?!?!

Let's keep putting on our tinfoil hats, watch the trailer a few more times, and eagerly count down the days until we can finally watch this damn film!!!

~~ I think we're alone now, there doesn't seem to be anyone around ~~

Second up, I'm super excited for the movie Green Room which now has a brand new trailer! Starring Patrick Stewart, Green Room is set to release nationwide April 29th and is already getting amazing reviews.

It looks super intense, claustrophobic, and violent! Patrick Stewart is unrecognizable and creepy as hell. It's about a punk rock band who have finished an unsuccessful tour but take one last booking at a run-down club. But after the show the band witness something incredibly violent and become trapped backstage, facing off against Stewart's character and his henchmen.

Watch the trailer:

And last, but certainly not least...February is WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH!!! HOORAYYY!!! WiHM is all about supporting and showcasing the underrepresented work of women in the horror industry. Throughout the year they update their site and blog alerting you to the great things women are doing in the genre, they also have the Ax Wound Film Festival. But February is when they go all out celebrating the women that bring and support horror in every way.

As a woman in horror myself, I have experienced the judgement that comes from being just that. Men won't take your opinion seriously, especially on the internet. And people in general are shocked to learn I'm a massive horror fan. Why though? I can get rowdy over a messy beheading just like the average Joe.

So take a look at their site here, support them on social media, and give a little shout out to the women in your life who love the horror genre! Cause hey...we all float down here.

Stay spooky!