I remember watching Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin on VOD awhile back and being dazzled by Saulnier’s visual style, his use of practical special effects, and his effortless and naturalistic dialogue. The movie would end up on my top 10 films of the year. Saulnier’s Green Room is somehow even more intense. Chronicling the trials and tribulations of the final days of a punk rock band tour, Green Room has an even larger cast of characters and more ambitious thrills than anything Saulnier has ever done.

Green Room is out in limited release today and I’d highly recommend you check it out. I was fortunate enough to be able to speak with Saulnier while he was in Seattle. We talked about how much of his life he poured into Blue Ruin, how he came up with the concept of Green Room, and why performance is just as important for selling special effects.