Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier is back with his latest genre offering, Green Room, a horror-thriller starring Patrick Stewart as a diabolical club owner who squares off against an unsuspecting but resilient young punk band. One one of the final stops on their failed tour, the band (made up of Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner) take a gig at what seems to be merely a third-rate club—the night escalates into something much more sinister when they witness an act of violence backstage that they weren’t meant to see.

Saulnier set out to create a John Carpenter-influenced, gore-filled horror film as his follow up to the highly regarded thriller Blue Ruin, and, if critics and fans who have caught early screenings are to be believed, he’s succeeded.

We sat down with Saulnier and co-producer/co-star Macon Blair at Fantastic Fest a few months back and discussed working with the incredible cast, from Patrick Stewart in a controversial role to the young talent who make up The Ain’t Rights. Saulnier also filled us in on the original music for the film—which, it turns out, was a family affair—and the use of unrelenting gore in his movies. It was an intriguing conversation about a movie that is sure to be one of the biggest cult hits of 2016.

Green Room, which also stars Imogen Poots and Macon Blair, opens in theaters in New York and LA on Friday, April 15, and nationwide on April 29.

Featured Image: A24 Films

Clarke Wolfe writes Horror Happenings for Nerdist every Sunday. You can follow her on Twitter @clarkewolfe.