Saulnier’s grisly third feature has a little bit of everything: Punk Rock, flesh-eating dogs, and Sir Patrick Stewart as a Neo-Nazi leader / club owner. Anton Yelchin stars alongside a coterie of familiar indie faces—including Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development)—as the bassist in a down-and-out hardcore band who decide to play one last gig at Stewart’s venue on the not-so-liberal outskirts of Portland. When they happen to witness a group of skinheads commit a brutal crime, the titular backstage holding zone becomes a claustrophobic prison as Stewart and his foot soldiers attempt to clean up their mess—and eliminate all witnesses. Yelchin brings his characteristic mix of vulnerability and intensity to this unrelenting and artfully gnarly thriller.
Screening with Like Crazy as part of the program Anton Yelchin x 2. Special double feature price of $20 (individual film tickets also available).