Green Room was released in 2016 by director Jeremy Saulnier. It was met with fairly decent reviews from critics and audiences, however it performed poorly in the box office, raking in only $3.8 million against it’s $5 million budget. This film follows an indie punk band as they get trapped in a backwoods venue by violent neo-Nazis. Ironically, this relatively unsuccessful thriller/horror flick shares a lot in common with one of the greatest horror movies of all time, Alien. 

“[Green Room] does a really good job at portraying punk subculture” said junior Ana Pagelos, “and it has really good makeup.”

Although Ridley Scott’s Alien was released in 1979, it still holds its own as one of the most terrifying  and unnerving films ever. The plot of Alien consists of  the passengers of the commercial space tug “Nostromo” being terrorized by a Xenomorph, a brutal bloodthirsty alien that slowly picks off the passengers one by one. At first glance, Alien and Green Room do not seem as though they would have very much in common at all, however the two are very similar.

Both films use pacing exceptionally, something a lot of horror movies often fall flat on. Green Room shows characters slowly being picked off by sadistic neo-Nazis in intense ultra-violent fashions. These segments of violence are brief and sudden, usually only lasting one or two minutes. Rather than making the audience bored of the movie, this actually creates tension very well. The viewer is constantly anxious, wondering when the next monstrosity will take place. A lot of horror movies don’t do this at all; instead, they fill the screen time up with as much violence as humanly possible. This desensitizes the audience quickly, and the film becomes an action flick rather than horror.

Alien does this amazingly as well. Much like the violence in Green Room, the Xenomorph itself actually has very little screen time, leaving the viewer anxious for the next time it’ll strike.

Another aspect of horror that both films play off often is the feeling of isolation. Green Room does this perfectly. Most of the film takes place in the venue where the punk band is being held captive, and it is in the middle of  the forest in Oregon.  On top of that, no one has a phone to call for help. This feeling of isolation is very dominant throughout the film, making it a lot more intense to watch. This feeling is even more prominent in Alien, with the Nostromo’s crew being stranded in the middle of space.

With the two films sharing so much in common, one would think that they are equally successful. That is unfortunately not the case. If you haven’t seen Green Room or Alien yet, please, do yourself a favor and watch them.

Comment below what you think about the movies!