Horror Off The Rails: WGTC’s Top 13 Horror Films Of 2016 (And More!)

3) Green Room (dir. Jeremy Saulnier)

Here’s another one – yes, Green Room is horror. How is it not? This is survival terror to the max, as an angsty punk band must escape a nightclub that’s surrounded by skinheads. Their methods are vile, death weighs heavy and attacks are beyond evil. Director Jeremy Saulnier’s intent is to scare and shock, and just because siege action prominently drives motives, that doesn’t mean horror dissipates. What about Tiger’s deadly encounter with a pit bull? Tell me that’s not horror. Go ahead.

The passing of Anton Yelchin hit with a strong force because of movies like Green Room. His leading presence as bandmate Pat spotlights the fear found in Green Room. Pat may fight back and support the group, but so much of Saulnier’s tension comes from Yelchin’s terrified reactions. The beauty in Green Room is how we feel every death, and live the same absolute savagery that the Ain’t Rights experience – an emotional connection derived from actors like Yelchin who convey nothing but hopelessness. This is the bleakest of the bleak, wrought with tension tighter than an Eagle scout’s knot.