Red State (2011) User Reviews

Very dynamic film with no protagonist, no build up, and no payoff

[amazing_sincodek · 7/10 · 16 May 2014]

This action-horror film changes directions about once every 15 minutes. On the whole, I enjoyed it.

The downside is that every twist kills the momentum. There's not much continuity, and the last five minutes or so are quite arbitrary. I was expecting something to tie it together at the end, but there was nothing like that.

It's never dull. Instead of a gradual build up, this film dives into the action fairly quickly and never slows down. I enjoyed it as a way to burn a few brain cells.

...I have to write more lines to get this review to post. There's a bit of classic Kevin Smith dialogue at the beginning. It's nothing brilliant, but it's fun.

Berserker – Berserker.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 13 July 2014]

Kevin Smith breaks away from his comedic roots to direct and write this religious/political/bigot baiter that lurches from Hostel type madness into a siege of the damned. Starring Melissa Leo, Michael Parks, John Goodman, Michael Angarano, Kerry Bishe and Nicholas Braun, story finds Parks heading up a Christian cult that lures horny youngsters to their place of worship on the promise of sex with an older woman. Of course once the lads get there it's not long before the truth of the lure is revealed and we are treated to hate spiel by sermon and some unpleasantness from the production code edition of the torture porn play book.

Red State is an infuriating movie in many ways, but it is never dull and it always remains challenging, even if some of Smith's sermonising agendas lack cohesion entering the final third of the piece. In fact there are three tonal shifts that don't make an altogether appetising whole, Smith straining to bridge the gap between satire and horror – cum – thriller. And sadly the climax to all the damaged threads is very anti-climatic. On the major plus side is a cast doing fine work, headed by Goodman, Leo and Parks, the latter getting to play lead dog for a change. It's impressively shot by Dave Klein and Smith shows flickers of there being a good director in the mix.

Poor box office and bad reviews upon release inevitably got it tarnished as a bad film. In truth it's a fascinating failure, but it has merits enough to warrant time spent with it. From Westboro to Waco, stopping briefly for a night in a Hostel, Red State is not easily forgotten once sampled. For better or worse. 6/10

Promising Beginning, Disappointing Conclusion

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 21 July 2012]

The teenager Jarod (Kyle Gallner) invites his best friends Travis (Michael Angarano) and Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun) to have a foursome with a thirty-eight year-old woman. While driving to meet the woman, Travis hit a car parked on the road. When they meet the woman, she gives spiked beer to them and they faint. When the three friends wake-up, they find that they are trapped in the fundamentalist Five Points Trinity Church of the infamous Pastor Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) and that they will be killed. Meanwhile the church is under siege of ATF agents led by Agent Joseph Keenan (John Goodman) that have been ordered to destroy the terrorist cell. Will the teenagers be saved by the agents of the law enforcement agency?

"Red State" is a film by Kevin Smith with a promising beginning, but also a very disappointing conclusion. The indulgent Kevin Smith made a twist in his career in Hollywood and "Red State" had potential to be a great movie but unfortunately it becomes an incoherent and inconsistent mess in the end with Keenan sparing the life of Abin Cooper after killing Jarod and the girl Cheyenne. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Seita Mortal" ("Mortal Sect")

"Fundamentally" inconsistent.

[lewiskendell · 4 November 2011]

If nothing else, Red State is memorable. A trio of horny teenage boys gets baited and captured by an armed to the teeth fanatical cult. The attempted escape of two of them precipitates a Waco on steroids violent showdown between the cult in their compound and ATF agents outside that have botched the situation and are ordered to take drastic measures to clean up their mistake. 

As a horror movie, it's pretty decent, but it sort of fizzles out by the finale, and the ending is something you'll either think is clever or not as clever as Kevin Smith thought it was. Red State earned enough goodwill from me during its disturbing first half to carry me through its trigger-happy, tone-shifted latter half and earn it a slightly positive rating. Check it out to sate your curiosity, but don't expect to be blown away.

Red State - Good Not Great.

[southdavid · 6/10 · 15 March 2018]

Kevin Smith's first non-comedy film is a loose actiony horror parable about an extreme right wing Baptist Christian cult, who kidnap and sacrifice "sinners" as part of their services and three young idiots who are tricked into their clutches. A minor traffic accident on their way to the rendezvous inadvertently escalates until eventually it brings an ATF squad to the pastor's compound, but will they be in time to save the trio.

Central to "Red State"s appeal is a towering performance from the late Michael Parks, as Pastor Cooper, the devout head of the family church. He's charismatic and magnetic, despite the warped beliefs he holds and has engendered in his flock. His performance adds a credibility to the idea that his congregation would murder at his behest. The rest of the cast is full of recognisable faces, Anna Gunn and Matt Jones from "Breaking Bad" have small roles. Michael Park's son James appears, as does Stephen Root, Kevin Alejandro, Kevin Pollock and Patrick Fischler. If there is a weakness to the cast, it's probably in the three boys who make the poor choice to meet an older woman at a quiet trailer park. Kyle Gallner, as Jarrod, makes the most of his role as the defacto leader of this group, but the other two boys are perhaps a little underwritten and making us care more for them might have made their scenes of peril resonate more.

Smith's scriptwriting, despite veering away from comedy, remains his greatest strength. Dialogue remains sparky, and relationships (such as between John Goodman's ATF agent and his wife, his unnamed boss on the other end of the phone and his increasingly distressed on site team) feel realistic. Where it fails is the other great criticism that dogs Smith, the action scenes that make up the final third of the film are pedestrian and repetitive and drag on until we reach a truly surprising conclusion. I can't decide even now if I'd have preferred the hinted at ending to have been the truth, or the one we get, but it's a memorable ending.

It was brave of Kevin Smith to make a move so far outside his wheelhouse and he deserves credit for it, even if the result is a bit flawed.

My red state of the mind for this. It was alright for a satire movie. Could had been better

[ironhorse_iv · 6/10 · 19 April 2014]

I have to give props to Director Kevin Smith for trying something new. Known for years as a comedy writer. Kevin Smith went for trying to write a horror thriller. The movie is a bunch of teenagers that are kidnap by members of a religion fundamentalists cult call the Five Points Trinity Church, led by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks), for being mistaken as gay men. The only man that could rescue the teenager hostages is ATF Agent Joseph Keenan (John Goodman), who begins setting up outside of the church. The movie plays as a standout, as both ATF agents and religionists fundamentalist stood their ground, gun blazing. Can Joseph Keenan save the teens or will they be killed in the crossfire? Without spoiling too much of the movie. The movie really does mirror, the real life event of the Waco, TX Standout of 1993 where ATF agents and Branch Davidians face off, ending in such tragedy results. The movie makes you witness the events happening. Both the Five Points members and the ATF agents are both call upon higher powers to kill each other. Most of them follows the orders without thinking it through. It's only Agent Joseph Keenan who has doubts, rationalizing what is right and wrong here. The movie message, if any, seems to be that. I love Joseph Keenan's story about the hungry brawling dogs and John Goodman delivers this message well. I have to say, his acting, pretty much save this film. Another one worth noting for their acting is Kyle Gallner as Jarod, one of the victims. The Casting director was moved to tears during his performance. He was so good at the role, that they couldn't tell the different, between his acting and a panic attack. He suffer one during the nailing to the cross scene. Still, in my opinion, I think his acting is mediocre at best. I felt that everybody else had characters that were too dumb, not develop enough, unlikeable, or was just over-acting. The 15 minutes of sermon was a bit too long as it wasn't well told by Michael Parks. Michael Park was alright, but a better actor could had made this character way better. It's boring because he's talking about something that isn't new. It just repeat rambling. The violence in the film was brutal, but pretty tame for a horror movie. Poorly executed shots even if it was low budget. Lots of vulgar dialogue that somewhat sound right in scene, and out of place in others. I didn't like the bittersweet ending, the producers gave to the film. Honestly, I didn't like the original ending as well, but at less, that would be more interesting. It was cut from production, due to it being too expensive. About the controversial message; I found the movie kinda water down. I found Kevin Smith 1999's Dogma, more controversy than this movie. About the message about gun control; it's seem the movie could had gone further with the plot. It was barely explain in the film. The movie was inspired by infamous pastor Fred Phelps of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. They are known for its extreme ideologies, especially on other religion such as Jewish, Christians, Protestantism, Islam, Hindu, and others. They are also known for protesting or picketing American militaries, murder victims, world leaders or celebs funerals. It's weird to hear that some members of Westboro Baptist Church came to watch this movie screening. Less than 20 minutes into film, the entire WBC audience attending the event walked out, outraged by the film's content. The Westboro Baptist Church planned to protest Red State at its premier at the Sundance Film Festival, but kinda chicken out, after Kevin Smith plan to counter protest them. In the "Commercial" episode of Comic Book Men, Kevin Smith cited Bryan Johnson's film Vulgar as being an inspiration for Red State. I don't see it. I do not believe the movie has anything to do with View Askewniverse. There is supposedly a pair of disgruntled neighbors caught growing marijuana reference in the film that was a reference to Jay and Silent Bob, though this is never made explicit in the film itself. The movie had a bit of controversy start due to auction event at Sundance. He show the movie to movie studio producers, and then after watching the film, he told them that he was self-distribution it. Smith has said that there are ten "Easter Eggs" (hidden jokes or surprises) in the film. So look for that, if you want to see the film. Well, there is a cameo of Kevin Smith in this movie worth finding out if you hear him. His line in the end, pretty much sum up what I thought of the 88 minutes movie, overall. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't the worst movie about a cult. Maybe in a few more years, it will find a cult following, but right now…red as raw. I wonder what blue state is about.

Caught a screening with Q and A.

[Matt_Layden · 7/10 · 16 August 2011]

Red State is Smith's most ambitious work to date, not due to budgetary reasons but simply because it is a genre flick that is outside his comfort level. Smith is known for comedies and Red State is the polar opposite. Despite the hundreds of laughs in the theatre, this movie is suppose to be sick and disturbing.

I had more fun with the Q and A after the film than I did actually watching Red State. The film tries so hard to be different that it actually fails in some aspects. I think Smith accomplished what he tried to do perfectly, set people off kilter with a film that was raw and unapologetic. Red State is all these things. But in doing so, he sacrifices a few things that would have made the film a bit more 'polished'. As it is, Red State feels like Smith is going back to his Clerks roots, in his technical style of filmmaking. He breaks a lot of editing rules, by crossing the axis and using jump cuts. They work effectively, but to the common viewer it could be a bit distracting. The use of hand held cameras and no score, are signs that Smith has indeed matured as a filmmaker.

We start off as a horror flick of sorts. We have three young teenage boys looking to get laid. They go out in the middle of the woods to find a girl online who will have sex with them. Turns out it's all a con by a sick and twisted religious family known as the Coopers. They imitate real life crazies The Phelps from the Westboro Baptist Church, with Michael Parks as the father of the clan. Tied up and next on the chopping block, the viewer is to expect the film to be about these kids trying to escape. For a fraction of the film it is this, but then Smith turns the idea of conventional filmmaking on the audience and switches genres. He does this many times, leaving the viewer feeling molested of sorts. Smith told us after the viewing that this is his intention. He wanted to provide you with a chair, so when you go to sit down, he moves to at the last minute.

Smith stated that this was his attempt at making a Tarantino-Coen style hybrid of a film. While I wouldn't go that far, it is indeed his most mature film to date. It's sad to see him leaving the filmmaking industry just when he managed to break out of the comedy that was holding him back. Chasing Amy showed promise in Smith as a filmmaker, then he went back to the basics. Red State shows promise again, but it's a bit late.

The script still has that Kevin Smith tongue that we've been accustomed to over the course of his career. He was able to get his opinions on Christianity out in Dogma and here it seems that he wants to get his opinions out on, well, many things. The two most prominent themes this film deals with his religion and homosexuality. Smith has always thrown in a bit of gay content in his films, but here it takes the forefront issue.

Smith said that the film we saw had some added material that wasn't in the cut since Sundance. Two lines in particular that got the crowd to gasp were the lines that were added, which were suppose to be cut. His reasoning for taking them out was that it was too easy to go that route. In a way I agree because I felt that it was a bit easy after one of the lines. I'm glad we got to see the ending that ends on a more punch worthy note than what his original ending was. Smith as an editor still needs some practice, there were a few areas I felt that could have be snipped up. Particularly Park's hate speech, which was originally 16 minutes long. As talented as he is, the length it is now, which is about 8 or so, is still a tad long. Now, after saying that, I will flip to the opposite side of the coin and say the film moves at breakneck speed. It's about an hour and a half long, but Smith flies through that running time like it's nobodies business.

No character is safe in this film. Bodies will fall and when they do, you have to decide whether or not you are invested enough in the characters to transfer that connection to someone else. Or, you could be like the people at our screening and cheer for every death on screen. The biggest name attached to the film is John Goodman and his role is Fargoesque, to put it lightly. The man has lost a lot of weight, and I believe it has effected his acting ability. I wasn't blown away by his performance, instead the whole time I kept thinking that he was sick and had health issues.

I would recommend this film to any and every Smith fan, just to get their reaction to it. Smith is finally doing what he wants to do, make movies. Red State isn't my favourite Smith film, it's not even his best, but it's one that I admire the most. You can tell he is very passionate about it and the way he is going about promoting and distributing it, tells me that he still very much loves the craft. To compare it to something similar, I'd have to say that the opening of The Devil's Rejects is a good place to start. That mixes both horror and action well and both have a family locked up in a house having a shooting match with some cops. I enjoyed Red State enough to recommend it to people, but not enough to rave about it to people.

One of the biggest wastes of time of 2011

[dudemark · 1/10 · 4 April 2012]

I am extremely surprised, reading through some of the other reviews - so many people seemed to like this movie, and I just don't see it at all. It was awful.

None of the characters shown in the first half hour of the movie were alive for the last fifteen minutes of it. They did a complete cast rotation, which made so little sense as I watched this train wreck, that I considered closing up my laptop in frustration.

There were scenes in the movie (like the sermon, and the explanation for the trumpet soundings at the end) that went on so long that it became comical. The screenwriters took some serious indulgences during the crafting of this script, and not artistically either. Just lengthy monologues which served little purpose besides tying the flimsy plot together.

In the absence of fractions I give this movie a begrudging 1 out of 10, though it really doesn't deserve that.

Pretty Entertaining!

[cammymadden · 8/10 · 21 June 2016]

*Warning: Minor Spoiler Ahead"

I gave this film an 8 although I do feel it deserved a 7.5 but I decided to round up. I had been a bit reluctant to watch this film initially because it seemed like it would be hugely predictable and overall rather boring but after watching several somewhat random films, I found myself watching it and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

I feel like with Red State, you have to begin watching it in a certain frame of mind, knowing that the plot will be rather straightforward but also frighteningly possible. Despite referencing the Westboro Baptist Church as being "less-violent", it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to notice the similarities between their family and the one featured in Red State. You begin to wonder how far a brainwashed group such as this would go in the name of religion.

The ending (which I'll try not to go into too much detail about) was bittersweet: while it ends in a rather comical fashion, I couldn't help but wish that there had been a huge twist at the end i.e. God was actually reaching down and beginning the crazy stuff from the book of revelations (I'm not religious at all so my longing to see a film end like this is entirely based on entertainment value).

That being said, if you're in the mood for a rather crazy and violent film about a groups of religious nutjobs and some sex-craved teenagers then this is the film for you.

Michael Parks is AWESOME

[filmchaser · 7/10 · 16 January 2013]

I first saw the smooth talking dude played by Michael Parks in Then Came Bronson when I was a teenager, and kind of lost track of him. I almost didn't recognize him in this film, he so embodied his character as the paternal leader of a religious cult. His acting is so natural, and his southern accent flawless. Michael Parks can ACT. Why hasn't Hollywood recognized this talent before now? I don't want to neglect John Goodman in this film. No matter the role, John Goodman is just a pleasure to watch. I'm never certain what he will do with his character, but have never been disappointed. This film is violent for sure, but it's about fanaticism and insanity, so it's predictable that violence begets violence in this story. I like the fact that the good guys and the bad guys are all mixed up in this movie, and those most committed to their beliefs are the most terrifying. Great acting all around. This film moved quickly.

Great Cast, Weak A&& story.

[eadverts · 3/10 · 2 September 2011]

Great Cast, Weak A&& story. A lot of gimmicky red meat, heart string pulling, morality play. I would expect a whole lot more from almost any other director except Kevin Smith. He manages to take a great cast with a really good potential story, and turn it into a typical Kevin Smith schmaltzy pile of nonsensical, who is the worst amongst us thought experiment. I bet he thought he was being profound. The story degenerates into a shoot em up dark comedy of religious nonsense, government conspiracy, comic book logic stupidity. I hope Kevin Smith stops making movies if this is the best effort he can come up with. He should be charged with Crimes against Art for forcing these great actors to push through the mostly nonsensical things he did to this script.

Flame away.

Best Kevin Smith Film to Date!

[sethmartin_2 · 9/10 · 2 February 2011]

I had the honor of seeing a screening of Red State last night at Laser Pacific in Hollywood as part of the Red State of the Union film school program Kevin Smith held.

Prior to going in, I refused to read any of the Sundance screening reviews of the film because I wanted to avoid spoilers and go in with a fresh experience. I had high expectations and I was not disappointed.

The film begins with sort of the stereotypical horror movie formula, teenagers go out looking for sex and find themselves staring death in the face. However, what happens to them in Red State is a far departure from your standard Jason or Michael Myers flick. The film is hardly a stereotypical horror movie. In fact, Kevin Smith deliberately goes out of his way in this film to keep it far from the typical story arch and structure of most studio movies. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, Smith hits you with another twist and surprise. This film is completely unpredictable and unforgiving of its characters.

I must congratulate Mr. Smith on the exceptional camera-work and editing in this picture. This is by far the best looking Kevin Smith movie to date. The constant use of hand held cameras and creative cutting, keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I think a fair comparison would be Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects" or parts of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Also, the film has no musical underscore. It uses ambiance and sound effects in place which works beautifully for this film. Most films use music to enhance the mood and make you feel a certain way. In this film, you can tell Kevin Smith doesn't care how you feel and wants you to just sit there and take it.

The cast is also spectacular. Michael Parks steals the show. Also John Goodman delivers the goods and has a lot more screen time than the teaser trailer suggests.

All in all, I think this film is one of the best films I have seen in the last few years. With everything being computer generated these days, it refreshing to see a small practical film like this which still holds as much power as one of the big boy studio flicks. And for those of you worrying about the political or religious messages, there aren't any. This movie does not preach religious views to you nor does it take any kind of political side. Its plain and simple. This is just a horror movie about a family of psychos. The fact that they are religious just adds to the terror.

The movie also features one of the best endings ever.

"You're already dead, sinner. You destroyed your spirit in a waste of shame."

[jhroyal3 · 6/10 · 15 January 2012]

Three best friends in high school decide to take an offer from a sex site. A woman invites them over to have some good times. But when they get there things turn ugly. The woman is kidnaps them, revealing that they were lured in by a right-wing religious extremist church that believe they were sent to eradicate homosexuality from the world. Seeing as though three men will share one woman they see this as a form of homosexual act and have complete intention on brutally killing them. Everything goes south from there when the police and FBI discover that the church houses enough firearms to support a small army.

Is it political satire movie or biggotry caught on film? Whatever it is, it seems to be a mixed bag of genres, throwing several things into our faces so fast we're not sure how to react. We have horror, suspense, action, drama, war, and so on. Make up your mind, movie! Which do you want to be? Nonetheless it is quite an interesting watch, not because of the plot, but who the director is: Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith! Most of his works are usually Your-early-20s-suck-dramas (and the one satire on Catholocism) with his signature characters and actors, and now here he comes with something that breaks his own mold. But despite the major flaw (constant loss of track on the plot) it manages to be quite frightening at times. The acting is where this movie really shines. The antagonists are exceptionally frightening and Michael Parks as the priest of an extremist church really takes each scene. Like they say in the movie- "People just do the strangest things when they believe they're entitled. But they do even stranger things when they just plain believe". It's also nice to see John Goodman back in the movies once again with a significant amount of weight lost. He does a good job at playing an action hero-figure. ....Just don't make him yell... This film breaks the mold of the directors usual work and provides us with strong actors but sadly, easily loses track of what it's trying to tell us on several occasions.

Why not just watch a documentary about the Waco fiasco?

[nazztrader · 1/10 · 3 September 2011]

This is an awful movie. I'd rather watch a bad episode of any of the "Law & Order" TV shows, for example, and I often laugh at them (on the few occasions that I watch them). RS is unrealistic, unappealing, and poorly made, but not enough that one can laugh at it. MST 3K would reject it, I'd guess. Was the director trying to be "ambiguous?" Does he think this is what makes a film "art?" He has succeeded in making an unambiguously bad movie. Among other things, there are no characters to "get behind," and what's worse, none of them come across as particularly realistic. Nor are the situations realistic. RS makes Oliver Stone's "JFK" conspiratorial vision look like an establishment white-wash by comparison!

Forget about offense to "Christian conservatives," because all people should be offended (except for film students who need to learn what not to do and truly deranged people, perhaps). The "religious" people shown in the film are clearly using religion to fulfill sadistic desires, and no religion should be blamed for the actions of a few "nuts." However, what's worse is how the ATF agents are portrayed, which would place them on the same level as Nazi SS guards at death camps if they actually were like this in reality. And of course we get the bungling local sheriff. Why that character's name wasn't Lobo is an interesting question.

Really, the only "message"' one gets in this film is that the director is an incompetent with a bizarre view of social reality. I would welcome a film that shows how a cult is comprised of many different types of personalities, with some of the members really wanting to do good and thinking that they are, for instance. Perhaps we would get some back story about what led them to the cult in the first place. This is where we might see some social reality. For example, perhaps one of them lost a loved one because they lacked health insurance and put off going to a doctor. In this case, the person would fall into the hands of a group of people who are opposed to making sure everyone has good health care, generally-speaking. This would create the irony or ambiguity that the director apparently sought. As it stands, though, it is a sad mess of a film, though if it was designed to offend everyone, it would all make perfect sense.

Reality is scary

[birdieleigh · 19 November 2011]

I'm going to be honest with you: I've never watched a Kevin Smith film other than this one. Yes, go ahead, have problems with that. But that's not why we're here. I'm telling you this so you know that I had absolutely no expectations of this film coming in, other than that a friend of mine told me it was very thought-provoking.

And she was right.

I think "Red State" is an unappreciated gem of a film. Coming from the perspective of being fascinated with the Westboro Baptist Church, I especially got into it. If you don't know about the Westboro Baptist Church prior to watching the movie, you need to look them up. Because much of the film is based around a religious sect that is quite similar. In fact, Abin Cooper (brilliantly played by Michael Parks) gives a sermon in the film that essentially quotes the WBC's beliefs verbatim. It's hard to believe that people can actually believe this stuff--but they do. And that is what makes this story truly frightening. My favorite horrors are based enough in reality to be believable--as a matter of fact, I think something MUST be believable in order for it to be scary. "Red State" is not scary because it has monsters or buckets of gore. It is scary because it is probable: there is nothing more frightening than the terrible things human beings are capable of doing if they choose to.

In reading other reviews, I have noticed that many people criticized "Red State" for being all over the place or inconsistent. I didn't see that at all. Frankly, I appreciated the Coen-brothers-esque comedic breaks. John Goodman, especially, brought up some fond memories of "The Big Lebowski"-type humor. But I never felt that these breaks took away from the film or made it any less compelling.

Another note, and I mentioned this before with Michael Parks, is that I thought the acting in "Red State" verged on superb. Parks' performance as pastor Abin Cooper was spot-on, and the rest of the cast followed suit. The story was put together well, with a nice but brief intro and a plot that never felt too forced. I was pleasantly surprised at the way the story was wrapped up, too, even though it probably wouldn't count as a typical "happy ending." But stories like this don't typically have those anyway, do they?

To sum up: I wasn't expecting a lot from this movie. Negative reviews gave me low expectations. But, as usual, my curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't help but check it out for myself. "Red State" is a movie that I can genuinely say pleasantly surprised me. It is a little off the beaten path, slightly unorthodox, and subtly disturbing. But I loved it.

Ban all religions and you get a better world

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 1 September 2017]

Well I did like the movie. Not specially for the acting or the writing but because I'm a convinced atheist. And watching movies that ridicule religions is just mind kinda soup. Everybody is entitled to have his beliefs, and I have no problems with that, but some (or many) are just too extreme and should just keep their mouth shut about it and just be retarded by themselves. In Red State you get the extreme religious Christians, with their hate towards everything that does not represent their stupid book. You would think it's all fiction but sadly there are tons of retards thinking like that. The world would be better off without all those lunatics. The movie will not be remembered for it's great acting or story, but it will amuse people like me, that's for sure.

Not great, but unexpected and entertaining

[Bored_Dragon · 7/10 · 1 February 2018]

I'm huge fan of Kevin Smith and, although this movie is completely different from what we are used to expect from him, I enjoyed and liked it very much. However, I must admit that this is the worst (or least good) of his films. I couldn't say which genre it is. IMDb says crime/action/horror. Okay, crime it is, but it's not a typical crime flick in which the main hero or antihero cop is solving a case. There's some action too, but I think it's too exaggerated to call this film an action flick. There's no H of horror. It is not a thriller because there is no mystery that is resolved, nor is there any special twists, surprises or excitements, and characterization is too shallow for a drama. Essentially, the film has elements of all these genres, but not enough of any one of them to be genre-determined. It begins with horror cliche. Three boys schedule sex with an unknown woman via a mobile application and end up as hostages of religious fanatics. But here, every similarity with the horror ends and the anti-terrorist unit enters the story. I think the film is made as a criticism of both religious fanaticism and the way the US government is dealing with crisis situations. Acting is great, especially veterans Betty Aberlin and John Goodman. Camera, directing and sound are interesting, but far away from masterpiece. Must watch for true fans of Kevin Smith, and if you're not one do as you're pleased. If you watch this movie you won't regret it, but if you skip it you won't miss much.

7/10

Westboro Baptist Church hits the big screen!

[LuvzHorror · 7/10 · 8 October 2011]

I went to see this as judging by the trailer it looked like your average 'teens get in over their heads with local nut jobs' type of thing. However this is clearly not the case with this film.

Three teenage friends answer an internet ad from a woman who wants to indulge in a spot of group sex with teenagers. They travel to her trailer, hitting a parked car on the way. The car is owned by the sheriff, who is also indulging in a spot of sexual debauchery....with another man. On arrival at the trailer the woman encourages the boys to drink beer to relax them before they get down to business. The beer however is drugged and they boys soon wake up in a nightmare as the local religious fanatics have decided to punish them.

I initially thought that the film would then carry on as a simple slasher film with the teens trying to escape from the loony God squad. But it didn't. It turns out that the religious 'family' (cult) is based on Westboro Baptist Church, the vile cult that pickets the funerals of soldiers and blames the woes of the world on homosexuality! They are also heavily armed and more than willing to fight. As the local police become aware of the hostage situation (with the sheriff keen to hide his own homosexuality) the mistakes that are made in the attempt to capture the fanatics must be covered up.

The film quickly turns into a Waco style siege, with a major stand off between the cult and the police. Saying anything more would spoil the film. There are a couple of shocks that I definitely didn't see coming and all in all I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

There are parts that could have been done better and the ending is a bit of an anticlimax but it's still well worth watching!

This movie is so bad it's "Insidious".

[Wolfpack-K9 · 1/10 · 14 February 2012]

WOW, really bad, and surprising coming from such a big name as Kevin Smith. Damn he should stick to bad comedies with a crap load of dialog because horror movies about a Christian extremist sect are not his strong point. John Goodman, what were you thinking, are you broke? if so sell stuff on ebay but don't ruin your name, come on really, how does a dude enter an armory full of weapons, grab one then stand in the middle of the room waiting to get shot, terrible. The end, i don't want to spoil it in case someone has an hour and a half to throw away, OMG is it bad. You would be better off spending the time staring at the sun with a telescope, way better ending.

Saw this in Indianpaolis

[ryanmercer · 10/10 · 12 March 2011]

I had the pleasure of watching this when Kevin brought it to Indianapolis. I wouldn't call it a horror... I'd call it a Tarantino style action movie... when I first heard Smith say he was doing a horror, I thought it would hands down suck... I was very mistaken.

Red State is honestly one of the best movies I have ever seen. It had laughs, insane 'Christians', guns, action, etc. I paid $72.15 to see this movie, I'd do it again if I had the chance.

If you get a chance to see this before it's theatrical release around October, do yourself a favor and GO! If not, let the anticipation build until October as it will be worth it. Smith has a gold mine with this movie and I'm glad it came to be. He couldn't have done it without Michael Parks and John Goodman as Parks sells his character and is completely believable... I imagine the man will win an award or two for his role, Goodman was nearly as fantastic in the delivery of his character.

Evil, abridged.

[solidgameboy12-1 · 7/10 · 9 September 2011]

Kevin Smith, if you are reading this, then recognize how hard it is for me to say this: Red State isn't perfect, but it's got enough good ideas going for it, that it makes what could have been average seem slightly better, and I didn't enjoy watching it as much as I wanted to, but I am glad I did see it.

For Everybody else, Red State follows three kids, all generic no-names, who find a website that allows them to find women who are more than willing to fool around. As such, they set out to meet with said stranger, finding out the next day that the person that has drugged and is holding them captive is actually Abin Cooper's Five Points Church, a cult based off of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas.

The movie has an intro, a middle and an end, and it's sad to say that both the middle and intro lack so much character and definition from Smith's previous movies that if you didn't recognize it was a Kevin Smith film from the beginning, you'd assume it was some random pulp exploitation picture made by a bunch of no names starring Melissa Leo, Michael Parks and John Goodman and a bunch of kids in movies you've probably never seen.

The movie had so much riding on it, from the moment Kevin announced it, I was on board. I've been a Kevin Smith fan for some time, perhaps not as long as most fans, but I still enjoy his work. However, when he made this movie, it didn't feel as strong as a Kevin Smith film or even a horror film, for that matter.

The villianry of Abin Cooper's flock comes off as silly in some parts, and it's sad that it had to be done in such a cut-paste style of other cult pictures. An Example has a man being executed and one of the members starts chanting, "Send the Sinners straight to hell", and while not a poor delivery, it's so cliché that it took me out of the picture. Not to mention, nearly the entire flock sport accents that sound native to the deep south and again, hearing phrases like, "I'll take care of it, Daddy", seem comical, which is wrong, because it shouldn't be so funny, but it breaks the flow because the accent and the nonchalant delivery makes it seem so average.

None of the characters have backgrounds, being more caricatures than people. The saving graces (A term I use lightly) of the picture are the actors, who do a fine enough job with what is written in front of them. Michael Parks in some scenes tries to act with dialog that's rather wooden, where I get the feeling if he were allowed to ham the performance up, it might have made the character seem more villainous. He does have some moments, such as when he's surrounded by death all around him, Parks makes Abin seem so detached that all he does is remark how the Bible says they did good. Not to mention, a real tense scene with Abin talking to a cop over a radio was the type of evil that really needed to be within the whole picture.

Melissa Leo does as good as she can, most of her scenes have her doing the kind of overacting that made Raul Julia's performance in 1994's "Street Fighter" fantastic.

The film sadly squanders the other actors, John Goodman, Kevin Pollak and Stephen Root do what they can, and of the time they are on screen, they don't do too much.

The problems with the film are simple: if you have a villain that's toted as "so bad, Nazis don't even want to have their politics associated with them", It would help if we got some kind of indicator, instead of lots of talking.

However, the ending is probably going to be the polarizer of the year. I actually like the ending, because of the way Smith ends the picture, it's an ending that people should follow whenever we see the WBC protesting for one reason of another. Short of that, the first two halves of the film don't make the picture seem anything more than generic, the horror isn't horrifying enough and the action is nearly non-existent.

I will say as a Kevin Smith fan, however, don't watch the film expecting "Clerks" or anything living within the View-Askew universe. I recommend it for seeing what an director can do wrong, but what he can do right, All the same, if you saw the movie and didn't like it, I understand entirely why, but if you liked it, I could understand why all the same.

Incredible waste of time

[LilxSaint · 1/10 · 24 September 2013]

I have to say I absolutely hated this movie. With a passion. Seeing this flick getting an average rating of above 6 is something I can't wrap my head around.

I already went into this movie with fairly low expectations. Monday night, nothing on TV, so we decided to watch a movie. Unburdened by living up to high expectations, Red State still managed to disappoint massively. What an absolute abysmal attempt of a movie this was. The characters have no depth at all, you don't get any backgrounds whatsoever. There's not even an introduction in this movie, it just rushes to the main event. Then followed by an incredibly long, incredibly boring cliché-laden monologue of the main antagonist. Who is a lot less 'demonic' or crazy than you'd expect.

The movie then drags in a police force out of nowhere, and continues to be largely unrealistic. Suddenly the protagonist becomes an FBI agent, who you haven't even heard of halfway through the movie. Lets just say it doesn't help feeling connected to this movie or any of its characters. Red State then continues to an incredibly weak plot. I've tried, but I honestly can't find anything positive to say about this film. Weak story, characters don't have any depth, camera-work is questionable at best and irritating at times, no logical build-up whatsoever, weak plot.. This movie simply does not deliver in any area. I wouldn't recommend watching this to anyone. Very, very weak effort.

Great script, solid acting and slick editing = sweet flick!

[collinbentley · 9/10 · 6 March 2011]

I had the opportunity to see Red Statee on March 5th, 2011 at the Radio City Music hall screening followed by a Q&A with Mr. Smith and cast of the movie.

I am very much a fan of Kevin's other work but after seeing the movie it's clear that this flick transcends his typical fan base. You do NOT need to be a fan of Kevin Smith to enjoy this movie or even know who he is. For starters it's not a comedy or a romance, it's a suspense/thriller/horror with a bit of psychological-ness thrown in the mix in regards to the family's religious fanaticism and how it shapes the characters. I would define this as a character driven film. There are a few action things going on but you really only care about that because you're intrigued by the multi-faceted characters.

Pros: -Great casting and acting. All of the actors, including the young boys, seemed to really understand their roles and pulled them off without a hitch. John Goodman is incredible along with Michael Parks. They really sell the part. -Interesting script. The story doesn't really unfold in the typical/expected way. By this I don't mean there a ton of "m. knight shamamalanalanama" twists, but rather the way the story progresses is slightly off-course from how you would expect it to go. -Engaging cinematography and editing. You can really tell that this movie was edited by someone who smokes (i.e. has a short attention span). Mr. Smith cut out every scrap of "fat" that would have slowed down the pace of the movie and it pays off. Additionally, the cinematography was everything you would want it to be. The majority of the movie is hand held but it's not distracting. They also do the thing where they switch to cameras mounted on the actors so you can see their perspective and it all just worked perfectly in pulling you into the flick.

Cons: -This wasn't an issue for me, but at times in the movie they go from "incredibly serious/scary" to "im making sarcastic/inappropriate jokes." I could see this pulling some people out of the movie.

All-in-all this was a great, fun movie to watch. It is not overly gory and tells a very interesting story. Definitely check it out if you are a fan of good movies! Again, you do NOT have to be a Kevin Smith fan to dig it.

Life Imitating Art Imitating Westboro Baptist Church

[BleakDestiny · 7/10 · 14 September 2011]

When I heard that my favorite director was making a horror I was beyond excited. Kevin Smith himself was going to branch into my favorite genre and I couldn't wait for the trailer. The trailer was.....bizarre and didn't reveal anything but at the same time did not impress me, in fact it concerned me.

I began watching the movie with bated breath, I actually expected the worst but within seconds I was gripped as I realised that it clearly had the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps Family in their cross hairs when they wrote this movie.

Religion is rarely a good thing in movies and this is no exception, 3 teenage boys looking for a good time come across more religious extremists who deem their actions against the word of god and a showdown ensues.

The cast is surprising because several are fleeting, you'll see cameos by Kevin Pollak and Marc Blucas but blink and you will miss them. John Goodman is on top form as always and the members of the congregation are terrifyingly convincing in their roles.

This is a thought provoking film above all else and is scary for different reasons than most horrors. Not the jumpy type, not the creepy type but more the realistic this could be happening right now type.

A great film, a true triumph for Kevin Smith.

Im in shock!!

[Paulinglesfield · 1/10 · 4 May 2013]

I can not believe that there is one single good review about this film. So when i see that there are people actually giving this film praise i once again begin to lose faith in mankind. The first 5 minutes you could be forgiven for thinking this could be a good story. Well don't, because you will be wrong. John Goodman must rue the day he ever decided to put his name to this film. Since i saw Red State i refuse to watch anything that has John Goodman's name cast to it. He really does show how poor an actor & judge of a role / film he is here. Flinstones is obviously his limit. To put it simple this is by a very long way the worst film i have EVER given the time of day. Awful in every single way. Red State is not a horror, it is not a thriller and it is not a comedy. The only thing it is, is rubbish. Save yourself DO NOT go near this film. You have been warned.