Red State (2011) Film Review

Rated R For Strong Violence/Disturbing Content, Some Sexual Content Including Brief Nudity, And Pervasive Language.

1hr 28min/88min.

145 uses of the F-word.

Kevin Smith has made a film, not quite like the other films he makes. Yes I love the View Askewniverse(Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks II), but this film is the best non-ViewAskewniverse film that Smith has directed. This is a very well-made horror/thriller flick. This film, however, has One great quality that makes it a staple in the horror genre. It has little redeemable characters. For a film like this, that is quite hard to do.

The film kicks off with three teens, who are on an online dating site, looking for "a night on the town." When they get to the house of Sarah Cooper(Melissa Leo), she gives them a few drinks which turn out to have drugs in them. When one of the boys awakens, he is in a dog cage and in a church. Abin Cooper(Michael Parks) is reviewing the events of there protest of a funeral of a 19 Year-old boy who was homosexual. The boy realizes, to his horror, that they kill homosexuals or people on online dating sites, right on the cross in their church. The police request elite sherrif Joseph Keenan(John Goodman) to investigate the church due to suspicion of the church having a basement full of guns. He and a barricade of agents go to the church and a huge shootout ensues.

The films depiction of the Coopers and their church reminds a lot of the Westboro Baptist church family and their church. Sidenote, if you don't know who the Westboro Baptist church family are, they are(and I hate to use this word) The family that proclaims "God Hates Fags" at the top of their lungs every single second of the day. I despise these people and the film does a great job recreating these people, in a devilish and wicked form.

The action and suspense are done terrifically well, With John Goodman turning in one of his best performnaces. The charcters are well setup(and in most cases, taken down) with a lot of the violence being suspensful and shocking. This film has one of the best stories in a film, with Michael Parks playing such an evil, evil man. This is one of the best recent horror films in recent years. This is a phenominal film, that some people say, makes up for Cop Out(Which I Like)