The premise is tantalizing: a punk band gets stuck in a rock club run by skinheads (led by Patrick Stewart) and must fight its way out. This may sound like the setup for an over-the-top action extravaganza such as Assault on Precinct 13 and The Warriors, however, director Jeremy Saulnier plays it mostly straight. Instead of creating a fighting movie filled with cartoon violence, he creates a gory, visceral horror flick that is both a desperate scramble for survival and damning allegation against American hate groups that still continue to operate in a country that is supposedly post-race.

After accepting a gig at a backwoods venue in rural Oregon, the members of Ain’t Right quickly realize they’ve made a wrong turn. Led by Pat (Anton Yelchin), the members of the four-piece band have only accepted the gig because they are out of cash and need the money to get back to the East Coast. Things feel wrong from the beginning, the close-cropped, black-booted denizens of the club ooze menace. The band plays its set without a problem, but it’s afterwards, when they witness a murder, that things go sideways.

Barricaded in a room and more or less unarmed, most of Green Room’s tense sequences occur while the band negotiates with Darcy (Stewart), the cool-headed, yet malevolent leader of this gang of racists. We know it’s only a matter of time before the shit hits the fan and the bloodletting begins. Saulnier dispatches his characters in brutal, gruesome ways that dare us to keep a steely gaze on the screen. The gore should be no surprise to anyone who has seen Blue Ruin, Saulnier’s debut feature. But expectation and execution are two separate things and even those of us inured to violent films will still likely wince at what happens here.

Unlike Blue Ruin, which reached Shakespearean levels with its tragic story, there really isn’t much going on under the surface in Green Room. Yes, you can argue that the movie is an indictment against hate groups and a validation of ferocious rebellion, but that might be giving it a little too much credit. Pat compares the situation to a time he played paintball against a trained group of Marines and what he did to ultimately vanquish them. The stakes are higher here, but attacking full-on is pretty much the only recourse in this desperate situation.

Green Room is also a little predictable. If the actor is someone you recognize, there is a good chance he or she will survive or at least make it to the final reel. Someone you’ve never seen before? Not so lucky. Also, are there that many hate groups out here in Oregon?

Green Room runs on the thrill of survival and Stewart’s performance. But aren’t skinheads an easy target, especially for righteous anger? Even the one villain who shows a thread of decency is ultimately punished. With both Blue Ruin and Green Room, Saulnier has now established himself as an auteur who is unafraid to shed a little blood. Hopefully his next project can combine the emotional heft of Blue Ruin’s story with the go-for-broke violence of Green Room. Now, that would be something to see.