I do think Kevin Smith has a good ear for a certain kind of dialogue,and I count some of his films as very good.I was very curious about "Red State" when I first heard about it,because it was originally billed as Smith as his attempt at straight up horror.Coming from a guy who barely ever ventures past the genre of stoner buddy film,I was not sure what to expect.
"Red State"is better than I expected,and builds some real tension in the first half.The story follows an extreme fundamentalist preacher and his flock,the kind who go to a gay kids funeral with "Burn In Hell"signs.We meet a trio of high school kids who get entagled in the Church of the Five Points path and spend a horrifying night fighting for their lives.Michael Parks who plays the preacher spits his dialogue with a serpent's tongue and slimes up the screen whenever on.About halfway through John Goodman is introduced as an ATF agent sent to the Church's compound,and we are then plotted along to a Waco style raid and firefight.Goodman seems a bit lost in the role,and his character is written as a man who wants to do the right thing,but has his own interests to worry about.It gives him a sense of conflict,but he wavers easily back and forth.
The last fifteen minutes nearly takes a supernatural right turn,and to Smith's credit,he dodged a bullet with the choices he does make in the end.The film spends too much time at the end trying to shove down our throats that the U.S. Government and it's tactics are as bad as,if not worse than homosexual murdering zealots,and that gets old quick.Not because I don't believe that Government isn't corrupt,but Smith almost seems like he spends so much time setting up the Church members as truly evil,and then wants us to almost sympathize with them.Sure they are not evil in their minds,but they surely are.
I give this film 3 stars and Kevin Smith gets some credit for trying something new.
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