This... is a Nightmare.

Gaze upon Oliver Barrett's bars-appropriating poster for GREEN ROOM, a film that, in the current political climate, has suddenly become worryingly relevant... and quite cathartic to rewatch.

BLUE RUIN OST

Some of the best film scores don't dominate the soundtrack; instead they lurk in the background, building tension, atmosphere or whatever through subtle suggestion rather than blunt-force emotional manipulation. A perfect example of this is François-Eudes Chanfrault's icy, melancholy score for Inside, which listened to on its own can feel completely at odds with the carnage and mayhem that it accompanies on screen.

Brooke and Will Blair are also masters of the understated score. The duo's compositions for Jeremy Saulnier's Green Room and Blue Ruin are deceptively simple, but are in fact skillful exercises in balancing ethereal dreaminess with a deeply unsettling sense of creeping threat. Both scores are similar - a chilly ebb and flow of synth sounds, punctuated by passages of throbbing, pulsing menace. Like Carpenter, but without the beats. Some minimalist scores can be a bit of a chore to listen to on their own, but these are a pleasure, and as captivating as the two masterpieces that they were written for. You can stream the OST for Green Room elsewhere on this blog, but today just lose yourself in the Blair brother's score for Blue Ruin, courtesy of Blackest Rainbow Records' bandcamp page.

After six and a half years, today marks my 300th post. Most blogs seem to mark their progress in the thousands, but I have no idea how they do it. Fuck knows, it was hard enough for me just to reach this minor milestone. I actually recently considered throwing the towel in, but - like an antibiotic-resistant infection - I'm still here! Anyway, thanks to everyone reading this, and see you at post 500!?

BLUE RUIN

Anton Yelchin

Today's news that the young Russian/American actor has been killed in a tragic accident is heartbreaking. Of all the many obituaries that I've posted on this blog, the 27-year-old Yelchin is the youngest by decades. He made a terrific Pavel Chekov. He held his own among heavyweights Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston in Only Lovers Left Alive. But I'll always remember him most fondly as Pat in this year's horror masterpiece Green Room.

Green Room BTS

More Green Room, this time some juicy behind the scenes stuff.

This is a great collection of candid shots taken on the set by production assistant Bryan Tosh. You get a closeup look at some of the film's meticulous set dressing, sound capture and filming during the gig sequence, a feel for day-to-day life on set... and a baby lemur brought in by the dog handlers (the look on Macon Blair's face is priceless).

GREEN ROOM gore FX + more art!

Having now finally seen it, I can join the army of fans who are noisily vouching for Green Room's unassailable radness. Believe the hype, Jeremy Saulnier has crafted an exceptional horror movie that's as uniquely original as it is uncompromisingly brutal. By turns tense, upsetting, terrifying, quiet, thought-provoking and sad, the film works because it's grounded in a realism that only someone who has spent time in the punk scene could pull off.

However make no mistake, for all its realism Green Room is a fantasy, an alternate universe version of the hardcore scene, but it's a highly believable fantasy made by a punk for other punks to dive into and relish. Crucial to the achievement of that veracity is Saulnier's understated and subtle screenplay, and every performance in the film follows suit. Production design is spot on, everything from the Ain't Rights' van to the interior of the skinhead club has a dingy, lived in feel that doesn't feel faked. And much to my personal amusement, there's a kind of naive old-school quality to Saulnier's worldbuilding, with many of the references belonging to my generation - Dead Kennedys, Cro-Mags, Minor Threat, Fear, The Damned etc. 

I'm going out to see it for a second time today. If you haven't already, get out there and experience this relentless, intelligent and artful horror masterpiece on the big screen for yourself.

There's your review. Now for the goodies.

An absolutely killer alternate poster by Jason Cryer

A nice illustration by comic artist Cameron Stewart

Another cool tribute, this one from Neal Anderson

Poster for a screening in Brixton, London

That was the entree, now for the MEAT. This is major SPOILER territory. If you haven't seen the film yet, stop and come back when you have!

Green Room features some of the gnarliest, most realistic practical gore effects I've ever seen. The grue (and one vicious looking pitbull puppet) was supplied by a studio called Prosthetic Renaissance Inc, headed up by one Mike Marino, and his history of working with the likes of Rob Bottin and Rick Baker is clearly evident in the nauseating details of his work. The following gallery is made up of makeup tests and final effects seen in the movie. Enjoy!

GREEN ROOM OST

The complete soundtrack for Jeremy Saulnier's Green Room is now streaming on Spotify. Have a listen below. You get all of Brooke and Will Blair's score, some tracks from Corpus Rottus, Midnight, Hochstedder, Battletorn, Patsy's Rats, CCR(!), and finally four tracks from Green Room's unfortunate punk band, the Ain't Rights (that's actually not a bad cover of "Nazi Punks Fuck Off"). Not enough for ya? Then scroll down and take a look at some alternate art that's cropped up online recently (the last one is weirdly coincidental after yesterday's post).

An Aussie release date has finally been confirmed, and I've got my tickets for opening night next week (that's Wednesday 11th at Dendy Newtown for my fellow Sydneysiders). Fuck yes!