Well, sorta. I liked this movie a lot, but I wouldn't say that it's a TRUE horror movie. Yes, there are horror elements in it, and there are scenes that perhaps would make a novice viewer of this sort of material cringe, but the terror really bookends the movie, leaving the middle open for some stylized action and Smith's trademark brand of humor.
The film is a thinly disguised interpretation of the Westboro Baptist "Church" and its so-called "preacher", Fred Phelps. If you aren't familiar with these people, be glad that you're not.
Basically Smith's vision depicts that evil can exist in any form, and that's certainly true here.
When the trailer was first seen for this movie, this blogger was expecting gritty horror, something along the lines of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or even more recently Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. And for parts of the film, it stays true to that aspect.
First, let's make something clear: this movie would not have worked at all without the tour-de-force performance of Michael Parks. (Smith has said in interviews that had Parks not agreed to do the movie, then he would have dropped the project entirely.)
Parks has been a Tarantino staple over the years, with bit parts in From Dusk Till Dawn to Kill Bill, and also appearing in several 70's television series. Here he displays his all-out gift for being creepy and fascinating to watch at the same time. His Pastor Cooper is the epitome of psychotic, particularly in his character introduction and the speech that he gives to his congregation. Smith makes it evident that the audience is in for some disturbing stuff.
It does seem refreshing to see Smith do something different here. After beating us all over the head for 12 years with super-stoners Jay and Silent Bob, it IS a welcome change to witness something more original from this director. (This blogger never saw Jersey Girl or Zack And Miri Make A Porno). The set-up here for the evil personification of Cooper, his church, and its followers make for an interesting collective of false prophets and crazed individuals.
As the movie progresses, the horror element seems to take a back-seat and more instances of drama and action surface. While this is not a bad thing, it seems like a misleading tactic seeing how the movie was marketed as a horror flick, but then that's not to say one can't have some dramatic intensity in a horror movie. Also, there are some instances of comic relief that seem out of place for a movie like this. With the marketing done for the film, it's almost seems like what would've happened if Leatherface had been a stand-up comedian and told jokes before he sliced somebody's limbs off, with a "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" to the camera.
Perhaps though, that's not the point here. For the most part, Smith gets fine performances from all his actors, particularly John Goodman who does some of his best work here since The Big Lebowski. And the irony displayed as the movie comes to an end makes the viewer wonder what Smith exactly was trying to accomplish, but as mentioned earlier, it seems for the most part to display that evil lurks everywhere and for all of us to be cautious, whether it be on the religious front or elsewhere.
Is Red State a good movie? Yes, it is. Is it Kevin Smith's best film? No, it isn't. But it's also a fine example of rogue filmmaking, and what can be done on a low budget, with limited resources and a good script. To be sure, the film's marketing campaign was a facade of sorts, giving audience the false hope of a retro-gritty horror story, but in the end, the movie is an interesting display of dread and fanaticism, without the Snooch to the Nooch.
Red State, (2011), Directed by Kevin Smith
Grade: B+
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