Okay, I may have made a misjudgment as to whether or not this movie is considered a horror movie or not. It may just be a thriller or suspense. But I had already put in the effort to review it so spooky it is! Fight me. I hadn't seen this movie since it came out, and I think I remember it a little differently than it ended up being. But I think gory, suspenseful, terrifying murder spree still falls into this website's genre. So here we go. To preface, I grew up in the punk scene. Since I was about 12 or 13 years old I have been going to all kinds of punk and hardcore shows. There was a period in time where there was a lot of right wing nazi affiliated gangs populating the punk scene. I was definitely too young to understand what was going on politically or even what they were standing for. But you could identify a nazi from a mile away. There were the right wing racist and most likely violent nazis that came to shows. But there was also a skinhead crew around called S.H.A.R.P (Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice). I don't want to get into it too much because I was probably about 14 when these battles were going on within the scene and I just don't know enough to make proper statements about what was going on. So this movie centers around a regular old punk band touring in their van making shit money for gigs and having no one show up. Pretty regular run of the mill punk tour story. I think this movie is unique because no one has really ever tackled this subject within the punk scene. I mean I can almost guarantee that they got SO many facts and so many events wrong and I can only imagine the kind of backlash this movie received. So anyway, this promoter, some nerdy Mohawk dude who is also a zine journalist, promises this band a weird show kind of near Portland(?) but says there will be mostly Nazis attending. The band is kind of desperate for money and food while on tour so of course they take it. One of the weirdest things to me, is that the show is at a "bar". Although the bar looks shittier than fucking Funky Winkerbeans in Vancouver, just a complete dive. The show is at like 2PM in the afternoon. I mean. I don't know. It's 2015, I feel like I've been to enough venues and shows to know that a punk show isn't gonna start in the middle of the afternoon but whatever. It's still daylight. The band goes on, they alright right. The room is completely full of Nazis though. And what do they decide to open with? Nazi Punks Fuck Off by the Dead Kennedys. Good way to start of the set in front of a bunch of people who could probably murder these people with their bare hands. But I mean, ballsy none-the-less. And dare I say... punk? The weird thing after that awkward start is that they play the rest of their set and all the Nazis seem to forget about the completely stupid introduction and mosh and jam to the band as regular. So they enjoyed it. That would never happen. They would be done by the second chord of the DK cover lol. Oh well. Movie has to go on.
So the band goes back the Green Room after (to anyone unaware - the green room is where the band keeps their belongings and gear and stuff and prepare before their set. Kind of like a dressing room, but shittier and sketchier.) They enter the room and there is a girl on the ground with a knife in her skull. People are just kind of sitting on the couch not saying anything about it, but the band has to go in anyway because all their belongings are in there. There's a nice confederate flag in there just to set the scene even more. The band tries to gather their things and run out but a bunch of giant intimidating Nazi freaks block the door and keep them inside the green room next to this dead girl. One of the band member's used their phone to try to call the police before one of the Nazi dudes smashing it. Which means all the Nazis outside have to come up with Plan B. Which is to stab one of their friends so that when the police show up - that looks like the only crime that was committed.
The owner, Darcy, who is this very well characterized and intimidating owner of the venue played by Patrick Stewart (more known for Wolverine series and Star Trek). He tries to falsely reason with the band to let them become less intimidated and promises to let them go as long as they don't say anything. But why would anyone in their right mind trust a promise like that? They know these men are holding multiple weapons and guns so they continue to hide in the Green Room. The girl who was stabbed in the head was allegedly romantically involved with one of the Nazis and they got into a disagreement but this leaves her skinhead gal-pal to fend for herself and basically learn to trust the band more than the Nazis remaining in the room. The show is still going on outside of the room which is still eerie, but I guess they have to keep suspicion to a minimum. Finally Darcy calls the show and tries to reschedule for tomorrow offering no cover and free booze and apologizes while lying about the PA cutting out.
Now for the unknowing (including probably me cause I'll get this all factually wrong) there are skin heads and Nazis at the show. A main way you can identify the difference, which identifies the difference between the threat level is by the color of laces on their Doc's. I feel like such an ultra dork writing this like this honestly. My mom is probably reading this article and she's probably like "WHAT'S A SKINHEAD". Okay so Darcy gathers a bunch of red laced boot wearing skin heads to try to convince the band to come out of the green room. Basically they know they have to murder all of them because the venue will never reopen, the business will be shut down and they will all be labeled as a criminal gang. If they weren't already. The band just wants the police to show up, but Darcy will not have any of that.
The giant remaining Nazi in the green room is being held down by one of the band memebers who just happens to be a master in Jujitsu. (I mean supposedly, I don't know if any of his restraints or defenses are from that practice so I'm not claiming any factual evidence to that part of the plot). Anyway, he is holding the giant guy in a choke hold trying to make him pass out, but he keeps waking up. So finally, the skinhead girl (Amber), takes a box cutter and disembowels him herself just to make sure. Because honestly he was probably going to murder them all anyway.
While continually trying to find an exit to the green room the band starts smashing the wooden floor to find an escape. The room ultimately has no escape though. I mean that's probably why they were locked in there in the first place. Their only option is to get out and run. They try to sneak out as a team and get picked off one by one. The Nazis even send in pitbulls to attack and kill some of the band members. Which I mean, maybe this is why people have such a problem with pitbulls. I call bullshit. Not fair. Pitbulls are great dogs. Fuck ya'll. But whatever, for the sake of the movie we carry on.
Movie carries on with them attempting to exit. Getting killed. One by one. They collect weapons as they kill Nazis but end up getting injured themselves as well. There are so many fucking Nazi skinheads outside with Darcy that I don't even know how these people think they have a chance. They truly should have stayed locked in the green room as long as they could until maybe someone came looking for them. But no. I mean, in the beginning the green room seems secure, but I guess to feed the plot, the door is able to be broken down in the end.
Lots of blood, lots of murdering and in the end we are left with just Amber and Pat. I will not spoil the ending (this time) but the whole scenario is entirely unlikely. Amber was shot and Pat was stabbed multiple times in the arm. With an army of at least 15 Nazis outside it doesn't make sense why they would even have a chance to survive this circumstance. Especially since Darcy's crew drove off their vehicle of escape. What are they suppose to do? Run out and try to run miles and miles to safety or a cellphone or something? It would never happen. They would be dead 100% in my opinion. But it makes for a nice ending. The movie is entertaining for sure. It's nice to see a movie about something other than just one crazy serial killer running around. But the ending is entirely unlikely. Good watch though. Don't hold me accountable for Nazi references, labels or facts. I am tiny white girl I know nothing. Also a big R.I.P. to the actor Anton Yelchin who passed away a year after this movie came out. I especially enjoyed him in Alpha Dog (another amazing crime movie). He did a great performance in this movie as well. Uhh... Nazi Punks Fuck Off!
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