This is no masterpiece, and the premise requires a fair amount of suspension of disbelief, but I was pleasantly surprised by the decent camera work, colors used, sound editing, and overall presentation of the story. It's more of a dark comedy/drama than a horror or thriller, with some amusing, well-written scenes. The acting is mostly pretty good among its main characters, and carries the story nicely even if it has a somewhat lukewarm finale. On a day where I watched and reviewed a truly terrible horror movie with F-list actors, I was appreciative of this film's cast. The beginning minute or so made me a little nervous because it looked like it was going to be another garbage movie, but then that part ended up being an intentionally goofy scene where our protagonist was pitching a bad movie to a producer. Is it a classic? No. But if you're sick of giving chances to unknown indie films that end up exploding in your face with stupidity, you may agree that Greenlight is a surprisingly enjoyable trip into relative madness. 5.5 out of 10
9 Reviews
middle of the road inde
natcalgary1 March 2020
I've seen better and worse.
deloudelouvain31 March 2020
Maybe for an indie the expectations are always lower but if you have a good story and good actors it doesn't matter what budget you have, it's always possible to make a good movie. I would say the story was decent, not mindblowing but interesting to watch nonetheless. It has it's flaws though, needs more editing, and the acting was borderline, not awful but certainly not award winning either. All in all it was a nice attempt of Graham Denman to make a good movie, the result could have been better though.
An Opportunity, A Debut and The Price
DeadeGuard983 July 2020
😱First Impressions:
What actually goes on behind a horror movie set? With so much realistic looking practical effects to simulate gore and violence, acting that's just perhaps too believable at times... It could maybe be real- all it needs is a greenlight~
Pros: 😋 The cinematography felt very professional and the use of colors, neon lights paint that dreamlike state by the protagonist that's in line with the movie (about sleep deprivation) characters ironically were trying to shoot.
😋 The cast boasts particularly strong performances. Protagonist comes off very earnest and understandably freaked at such an insane request. His descent into madness and loss of focus was also very magnetic. Sarah and Nancy were the other standout portrayals~
😋 There was a considerably low bodycount and I think it's really a testament to the genre. Viewers have become desensitized to violence and so the others deaths (apart from the end) that do happen were shown offscreen. The entire movie is based around the buildup and mulling over whether to take a life or not. That was very shocking! Even though things did not go as planned- the characters all have to cover up a different crime at the end.... This is a very worrying documentary about the film industry. So genuine and haunting.
Cons: 😪 Camera works come off dull and the actors deliver lines that just felt like a mouthful or their acting chops just couldn't compensate. This is an indie film about an indie film trying to make it big so it was unavoidable and in fact could be intentional...
😪 Finally, the idea of a movie set being turned into a literal horror film has been done many times. "Scream 3", "Cut" but those are essentially slasher films. This film did something remarkably different but is basically a low budget "Birdman" and the stress, pressures of being involved in the entertainment industry. At least that's how it struck me. Only Birdman had a more profound meaning and message. Whereas Greenlight is just a watered down version but based on typical melodrama of revenge and affairs.
😇 Verdict 😈 A rather starry-eyed and more than passable attempt at a more realistic form of horror. Its minimal bodycount and impressive performances by the cast should say that much. However, being an indie film- there were some moments that just dragged too long and dialogue being forced. But overall, a well-done thriller that lingers beyond the credits being dropped.
Pros: 😋 The cinematography felt very professional and the use of colors, neon lights paint that dreamlike state by the protagonist that's in line with the movie (about sleep deprivation) characters ironically were trying to shoot.
😋 The cast boasts particularly strong performances. Protagonist comes off very earnest and understandably freaked at such an insane request. His descent into madness and loss of focus was also very magnetic. Sarah and Nancy were the other standout portrayals~
😋 There was a considerably low bodycount and I think it's really a testament to the genre. Viewers have become desensitized to violence and so the others deaths (apart from the end) that do happen were shown offscreen. The entire movie is based around the buildup and mulling over whether to take a life or not. That was very shocking! Even though things did not go as planned- the characters all have to cover up a different crime at the end.... This is a very worrying documentary about the film industry. So genuine and haunting.
Cons: 😪 Camera works come off dull and the actors deliver lines that just felt like a mouthful or their acting chops just couldn't compensate. This is an indie film about an indie film trying to make it big so it was unavoidable and in fact could be intentional...
😪 Finally, the idea of a movie set being turned into a literal horror film has been done many times. "Scream 3", "Cut" but those are essentially slasher films. This film did something remarkably different but is basically a low budget "Birdman" and the stress, pressures of being involved in the entertainment industry. At least that's how it struck me. Only Birdman had a more profound meaning and message. Whereas Greenlight is just a watered down version but based on typical melodrama of revenge and affairs.
😇 Verdict 😈 A rather starry-eyed and more than passable attempt at a more realistic form of horror. Its minimal bodycount and impressive performances by the cast should say that much. However, being an indie film- there were some moments that just dragged too long and dialogue being forced. But overall, a well-done thriller that lingers beyond the credits being dropped.
Well Acted and Well Executed Thriller
carolinephillips-474279 June 2020
How far would you go to make your dreams come true? Would you beg, steal, or even murder? First time filmmaker, Jack Archer (Chase Williamson) tries to figure out what his threshold is Graham Denman's impressive Greenlight.
Jack is struggling with trying to get a feature film of his greenlit in between crummy PA gigs and soul crushing dinners with his girlfriend's disapproving family who thinks he's a bum. By pure luck, Jack gets an interview with a sleazy low budget film producer (a scene stealing Chris Browning) who takes to the young filmmaker and agrees to let him produce a script of his.
It seems like everything is finally going Jack's way until, after the first day of filming, his producer tells him that he needs to ask a big favor - he wants the last death scene in the film to be real. From then on, Greenlight becomes a twist-filled thrill ride that never lets up.
One thing you'll notice about Greenlight is that it's better acted than most indie horror films of this sort. Williamson and Browning in particular are excellent and have fantastic chemistry in their scenes together. Veteran scream queen, Caroline Williams, gets one of her better roles in years as the producer's wife who's also starring in the film within the film. It's also way better shot than most indie horror films, leaving me to wonder why something like this couldn't have played in theaters.
The script is also stronger than most films of this type, focusing more on character development and suspense than buckets of gore. In fact, there are moments that are downright Hitchcockian. While the pacing is typically good, there are a few moments towards the middle that drag a tad and some of the twists can get a little silly, but Greenlight is still a very impressive low budget horror offering and worthy of your time.
Jack is struggling with trying to get a feature film of his greenlit in between crummy PA gigs and soul crushing dinners with his girlfriend's disapproving family who thinks he's a bum. By pure luck, Jack gets an interview with a sleazy low budget film producer (a scene stealing Chris Browning) who takes to the young filmmaker and agrees to let him produce a script of his.
It seems like everything is finally going Jack's way until, after the first day of filming, his producer tells him that he needs to ask a big favor - he wants the last death scene in the film to be real. From then on, Greenlight becomes a twist-filled thrill ride that never lets up.
One thing you'll notice about Greenlight is that it's better acted than most indie horror films of this sort. Williamson and Browning in particular are excellent and have fantastic chemistry in their scenes together. Veteran scream queen, Caroline Williams, gets one of her better roles in years as the producer's wife who's also starring in the film within the film. It's also way better shot than most indie horror films, leaving me to wonder why something like this couldn't have played in theaters.
The script is also stronger than most films of this type, focusing more on character development and suspense than buckets of gore. In fact, there are moments that are downright Hitchcockian. While the pacing is typically good, there are a few moments towards the middle that drag a tad and some of the twists can get a little silly, but Greenlight is still a very impressive low budget horror offering and worthy of your time.
Not a SuperHero film. It actually has a plot!
Reeljunkie16 March 2020
So glad I took a chance on this one. Surprisingly good for a low budget indie flick. All of the acting was excellent, which is usually not the case in these films. My only beef is the ending which I didn't expect! I watched it twice and picked up some subtle foreshadowing and other subtle clues 2nd time through. If you are sick of superhero movies this is worth the watch.
Very good
mrcowdenbeathfc5 March 2020
Just watched this independent film and wow is all I can say . To see a movie with a couple of familiar faces including the lovely Caroline Williams mixed with some new faces that could actually act and are believable is a pleasant change . I won't give anything away but a young director gets given his chance to direct a movie and thentjings take a dramatic turn of evens . Outstanding
Highly recommended
RobertPrudhomme18 August 2022
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