In show biz parlance, a “green room” is where entertainers hang out while they wait to do their thing. 2016’s Green Room gives the term a dark spin.

Members of a small-time punk band called “The Ain’t Rights” tours the Pacific Northwest. At one club, they become the only witnesses to a murder.

Matters take an even darker turn due to those involved. Neo-Nazi skinheads committed the crime and they refuse to leave any witnesses. This forces members of the Ain’t Rights to battle for their own survival.

Though touted as a thriller, Room has more in common with Westerns. Much of the movie concentrates on the standoff between the band and the skinheads, as the musicians find themselves trapped in the venue’s green room. We follow their efforts to survive despite the massive odds against them, and that seems a whole lot like a Western theme to me.

A Western mixed with horror elements, that is, as Room veers toward the other genre as well. This synopsis may leave the impression that Room throws a lot at the wall and lacks coherence, but the truth goes in the other direction. While it may dabble in various genres, Room maintains a tight focus at all times.

Much of the movie’s success comes from its “back to basics” approach. It gives us enough background and exposition to place its characters where they need to be, but it doesn’t bog down in those areas. Less driven films would give the audience breaks during which we learn more about the roles – and during which they go all sappy ‘n’ cheesy on us.

Not Room. While it doesn’t throw relentless violence and action at us, it never gives the audience a real emotional respite. Instead, it maintains a high level of tension at all times, which I like. The characters never feel safe or relaxed, so why should we?

I can’t claim that Green Room reinvents genre wheels, but it doesn’t need to do so. It packs a real wallop into its 95 minutes and gives us a taut, unnerving piece of work.-

Green Room appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. The transfer presented the film in a reasonably appealing manner.

Sharpness looked mostly good. Interiors tended to lack great delineation, but not to a substantial degree. The majority of the flick showed fine clarity and accuracy. Jaggies and shimmering failed to distract, and edge haloes remained absent. The movie also lacked any source flaws and was consistently clean.

In terms of colors, the movie took its title to heart and featured a palette that emphasized a sickly green tint. It also through in the usual orange and teal as well. The hues never stood out as memorable, but they weren’t supposed to be impressive, so they were fine for this story’s goals. Blacks were pretty deep, and shadows were well-depicted. The image offered a “B” presentation.

As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it lacked a ton of ambition, though I didn’t view that as a flaw. A story like this came heavy on ambience and light on opportunities for fireworks, so the absence of showy sequences failed to become a problem.

Music filled the various channels in a satisfying manner, and low-key effects fleshed out the spectrum in a logical way. Nothing dazzled but the mix seemed workable for the material.

Audio quality pleased. Speech was concise and natural, while effects – as subdued as they tended to be – remained accurate and full-bodied. Music was vibrant and dynamic. While this was never a memorable track, it suited the story.

Among the disc’s extras, we discover an audio commentary from writer/director Jeremy Saulnier. He offers a running, screen-specific look at the project’s roots, themes and personal influences, story and characters, cast and performances, sets, locations and production design, music, editing and connected domains.

At the track’s start, Saulnier states that he’s unprepared for the commentary – and this shows for a little while, as the first few minutes of the chat seem less than enthralling. However, Saulnier soon gets into a groove and the stories/facts start to flow. After a clumsy beginning, Saulnier provides a strong discussion.

Into the Pit: Making Green Room runs nine minutes, 58 seconds and provides notes from Saulnier, cinematographer Sean Porter, and actors Patrick Stewart, Macon Blair, Imogen Poots, Mark Webber, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Eric Edelstein, and Anton Yelchin. “Pit” examines story and characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, music and cinematography, and general themes. “Pit” presents a few basics but lacks much substance.

The disc opens with ads for The Witch, The Lobster, Swiss Army Man, Room and Amy. No trailer for Green Room appears here.

Filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier follows 2013’s terrific Blue Ruin with 2016’s Green Room, another solid effort. Tense and compelling, the movie keeps us with it from start to finish. The Blu-ray provides generally good picture and audio as well as a couple of bonus features. Saulnier keeps his hot streak alive – I can’t wait to see what he does next.