Empire's Red State Movie Review

Red State
Bigots beware

Plot
Three teenage boys are lured into the clutches of Abin Cooper (Parks), a fundamentalist preacher who kidnaps and executes "sexual deviants". Realising something is wrong inside Cooper's heavily armed church, the Sheriff calls in Joe Keenan (Goodman), a veteran ATF agent.

Review

In his previous career, Kevin Smith essentially stuck to a genre of his own invention: slacker rom-com with pop-culture footnotes and gross-out elements. He might well be aggrieved that a whole generation of bigger-budget Hollywood star vehicles (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Hangover etc.) repeat Smith schtick and connect with wider audiences beyond his devoted indie following. After the compromised studio project Cop Out, he has gone handmade and personal again, but here sets out to make something like a genre film — though it’s hard to pin down exactly what genre Red State is.

Smith labels it a horror movie, and the first act has overtones of the kids-captured-by-torture-cult cycle of Hostel. However, he hasn’t got the patience to build suspense or even stick with his original set of mixed-up kid characters, three horny guys lured by an internet siren (a somewhat wasted Melissa Leo) who promises three-way sex but delivers them into cages before an ecstatically demented congregation. After attempted escapes and some splatter deaths, it then shifts into a siege/shoot-out movie starring John Goodman as the exasperated agent nagged on all sides to bring about a bloodbath before delivering editorial speeches about the sorry state of America and paying off with crass buggery jokes. For a film supposedly anti-anti-gay prejudice, it’s full of that Smithian blend of homoeroticism-tinged-with-homophobia that’s weirdly commonplace in Yank guy culture. After ten rambling, anecdotal films, Smith the writer hasn’t quite learned how to tell a story — he writes speeches that work like sermons or stand-up turns, but doesn’t know how to do exposition.

Red State is about interesting undercurrents in contemporary American society — it’s plainly inspired by the antics of the ‘God Hates Fags’ brand of lunatic Christianity and the conduct of the Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms And Explosives in the Waco siege of an American extremist cult. Michael Parks is outstanding as a plausible baddie who is at once dedicated to executing gays for Jesus — though, note, the main kids are straight, and murdered gay characters don’t register — and a Rapture-awaiting apocalyptic gun nut. Goodman can sell pretty much anything, and wearily handles disillusionment with the disaster-waiting-to-happen that is a multi-agency siege of a heavily armed church compound with a full complement of semi-innocent women and kids among the die-hard maniacs.

Verdict

Reviewed by Kim Newman

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Average user rating for Red State

RE: RE Red State
light spoilers ** I thought this was very decent and definitely worth checking out. Not perfect, certainly not a horror film if that's what you're expecting, but the plot is relatively fresh thanks to the shifts in direction throughout. The down side is the ending is a bit bollocks, and very clumsily handled by Smith. Did we really need an expository explanation of the awful "deus ex..." ending a duff anecdote from Goodman in the interview room? And actually, that ending - this could... More

Posted by Vitamin F at 10:36, 26 March 2012 \| Report This Post



RE Red State
I've just got round to watching this (little late, I know!) but I have to say it was excellent! Michael Parks and John Goodman were outstanding. Nice work, Kev! ... More


Posted by wgfuzzydunlop1 at 17:39, 22 March 2012 \| Report This Post



RE: Fear God
cial commentary, it's passable. As a movie, it's above average'll second that. It's clearly a film that has been inspired, to a degree, by the Phelps Family in America, to the point of which there is even a direct reference to them in the film by John Goodman's character and there's a disclaimer at the end of the credits too. I agree it's above average, it's surprisingly less brutal than I expected it to be after watching the trailer which plays like your stonewall Tarantino movie. It certainly... More

Posted by Goodfella at 20:07, 12 March 2012 \| Report This Post



Fear God
Red State: Kevin Smith's return to film. After a wait that lasted long enough, Smith made a film that was worth every minute. The way he managed to handle a violent story was amazing. Although many people will disagree with that, it is true. Anyone else would've made a hardcore actioner, not caring about the character development during the situation. But Smith shows us development and intense filming. This film ends up being tense, horrific and stunning. Shame we'll never see the original endin... More


Posted by lostboys96 at 10:38, 03 February 2012 \| Report This Post



SOME GOOD IDEAS HERE......
AND PARKS IS EXCELLENT.... ... More


Posted by chrisdagnall at 00:56, 29 January 2012 \| Report This Post



RE: Red State
L: Tech_Noir Haven't watched a Kevin Smith film in a long time but I thoroughly enjoyed this. is last two films were Zack & Miri and Cop Out. Trust me when I say you ain't missing much. sn't Michael Parks amazing, though? ... More

Posted by MonsterCat at 16:46, 28 January 2012 \| Report This Post



RE: Red State
Haven't watched a Kevin Smith film in a long time but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I never imagined Smith was capable of action but that one scene with the character racing the escape the house was as intense as anything from the proven action masters. ... More


Posted by Tech_Noir at 16:34, 28 January 2012 \| Report This Post



Plenty Of Interesting Ideas, Even More Flaws
As a social commentary, it's passable. As a movie, it's above average. For ideas, however, it gets a solid 10/10. Kevin Smith's horror-drama is an exciting excursion into an amusing yet horrific world of religious extremism that may harbour a story closer to home than we think. The story lacks polish, and the plot is clearly sidelined in favour of delirious action sequences and amusing dialogue, and so as a result, the ideas and (quite possibly) controversial religious material doesn't quite gel... More


Posted by blaud at 20:33, 18 December 2011 \| Report This Post



good film with plenty of flaws.
I'm a big fan of Smiths earlier work ranging from Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy to Zack and Miri make a porno, but when Smith announced he was making a horror film, I was intrigued so much so that I waited in anticipation for the release of Red State. After watching the trailer I was expecting a sort of torture porn, crazy christian movie, but too be honest there is little to no gore in Red State, other than a few executions, I would have thought Smith could be more inventive with his death sce... More


Posted by lewisb548 at 20:45, 29 November 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: Sh!t!
Thanks for the response guys - much appreciated I've had another search, and if it was on somewhere here (Bristol), it's certainly not on now. Which is odd, because there are posters everywhere for it. Ah well, I guess It might have had a short run - it not being 'big' enough for the big chain cinemas, but at the same time, it probably wasn't 'hip' enough for the couple of independent screens in this area. Ah well, no major hassle. I'll just wait for it to appear on my rental li... More

Posted by Schimchs at 19:12, 15 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: Sh!t!
L: Schimchs Did this get shown in any of the mainstream cinema chains here in blighty ? - I understand Smith kept control of the distribution for this one, but I couldn't see it listed anywhere at my local theatres (including the smaller independant ones). Was there any country wide showing, or was it just limited to select screenings ? Or has it yet to be distributed to a wider audience ? It has actually had regular distribution in the UK, by eOne. Smith only controlled it in the... More

Posted by adambatman82 at 18:28, 15 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: Sh!t!
L: Schimchs s get shown in any of the mainstream cinema chains here in blighty ? - I understand Smith kept control of the distribution for this one, but I couldn't see it listed anywhere at my local theatres (including the smaller independant ones). Was there any country wide showing, or was it just limited to select screenings ? Or has it yet to be distributed to a wider audience ?/quote] I saw it at Cineworld. They're still screening it I think so you still have time to catch i... More

Posted by Spaldron at 15:45, 15 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: Sh!t!
Hey All Apologies for thread necromancy here.... Did this get shown in any of the mainstream cinema chains here in blighty ? - I understand Smith kept control of the distribution for this one, but I couldn't see it listed anywhere at my local theatres (including the smaller independant ones). Was there any country wide showing, or was it just limited to select screenings ? Or has it yet to be distributed to a wider audience ? I was looking forward to this - the concept appealed ... More

Posted by Schimchs at 12:37, 15 October 2011 \| Report This Post



Sh!t!
Total and utter sh!t! I wanted to walk out after 10 mins! Kevin Smith is finished! ... More


Posted by Bobby TwoTimes at 10:26, 07 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE:
Pretty much agree with most of the other comments. Its a good film but not a masterpiece. Clerks and Chasing Amy are two of my all time favourite comedies and its nice to see Kev try something new but still keep his knack for amazing dialogue. I love the fact the film flits from one genre to the next discarding characters and wrong-footing you along the way but its a slighter film than the premise deserves - overall though a solid 3.5 out of 5 ... More


Posted by ChudMonkey at 17:06, 04 October 2011 \| Report This Post




so damn good. lives up to the hype ... More


Posted by fightclubber954 at 17:05, 02 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
Yeah, although I really liked /i] but I know what you mean. Still, it kept you interested I feel and thought John Goodman pulled off his part. I thought it would be more gory though as it had been described as porn"I would say in all certainty that it didn't even come close to. Overall however I thought it was a good film. ... More

Posted by NinjaShortbread212 at 00:23, 02 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
Its better than Cop Out, Clerks 2 and the rest. But it still feels like a debut movie by a young filmmaker still trying to figure stuff out, and not a two decades old director. ... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 23:50, 01 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
L: Rgirvan44 L: Spaldron Gotta disagree with Girv on this one. Its not a masterpiece by any means but its a solid 90 mins of Saturday night entertainment. It actually e substance thought it would (considering Smith's recent track record and probably because I went in with low expectations) and John Goodman and Michael Parks are both excellent. There's some sag around the middle and its peppered with the usual sweary Kevin Smith dialogue but overall I enjoyed it and I'm glad that Smi... More

Posted by NinjaShortbread212 at 23:45, 01 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
L: Spaldron Gotta disagree with Girv on this one. Its not a masterpiece by any means but its a solid 90 mins of Saturday night entertainment. It actually e substance thought it would (considering Smith's recent track record and probably because I went in with low expectations) and John Goodman and Michael Parks are both excellent. There's some sag around the middle and its peppered with the usual sweary Kevin Smith dialogue but overall I enjoyed it and I'm glad that Smith has decided to b... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 23:29, 01 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
Gotta disagree with Girv on this one. Its not a masterpiece by any means but its a solid 90 mins of Saturday night entertainment. It actually had more substance than I thought it would (considering Smith's recent track record and probably because I went in with low expectations) and John Goodman and Michael Parks are both excellent. There's some sag around the middle and its peppered with the usual sweary Kevin Smith dialogue but overall I enjoyed it and I'm glad that Smith has decided to broad... More


Posted by Spaldron at 22:50, 01 October 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
L: Rgirvan44 I suppose what I am trying to say is that the ending is puts on sunglasses f a Cop Out YEAHHHHHHHHH* where tumbleweed gif should be] I'm still going to see it I think. ... More

Posted by Spaldron at 18:20, 30 September 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
I suppose what I am trying to say is that the ending is puts on sunglasses a bit of a Cop Out YEAHHHHHHHHH ... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 18:16, 30 September 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
It was going somewhere interesting...but it just drops the ball. Big time. And it isn't scary. Think more Assault on Precient 13. ... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 17:46, 30 September 2011 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
So this film sucks? Hmmmm, was really hoping it would be good as i plan to see it soon. Kermode said it was alright I think. ... More

Posted by Spaldron at 17:41, 30 September 2011 \| Report This Post



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