Movies.ie

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• Currently 2/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

After one of them gets an online invitation for group sex, buddies Jared (Gallner), Travis (Angarano) and Billy Ray (Braun) naturally head out into the country to have some fun. Only to find that the woman who sent out the invitation, Sarah (Leo), is part of the Five Points Church, who don’t actually like promiscuous sex. Or homosexuals. Or pretty much anyone who isn’t part of the Five Points Church. And so the torture begins, as these religious wackos head for their own little Waco disaster.

THE VERDICT: The once-mighty Kevin Smith has been reduced to pretty much just a mighty mouth these days, thanks to a string of flops, over-self-exposure through the net, and, well, crap films. Like this well-deserved but not very well-aimed swipe at the Westboro Baptist Church. Smith doesn’t do religion well, as anyone who has sat through the diabolical Dogma will know.

Early plans to self-release the film alongside a tour of cinemas amounted to nothing as, well, no one expressed much interest. Go see the guy do his stand-up instead (he’s at Vicar Street on Feb 21^st, with Jay & Silent Bob Get Old), if you really need your Kevin Smith fix.

Review by Paul Byrne 

• Avg User rating
• Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  ssconnolly

  

  Red State follows three teens, who upon receiving an online invitation for sex with an older woman eagerly drive to her trailer only to be drugged and kidnapped by a group of religious fundamentalists. They are taken back to their church where they witness a homosexual man being brutally executed and soon realise they too are to be punished for their willingness to share a woman with other men. After about 70 minutes of this 90 minute film I was ready to slot this film in with my favourites of the year. It was by no means flawless but to be honest it hasn't been a great year for film and I was really enjoying it. Being marketed as Kevin Smith's first horror film, Red State is not a horror film, it's a thriller. And it's a great thriller too, but one which unfortunately has too many pointless filler scenes and an overly complicated and outright silly ending. For his first non-comedy film I think Red State is a decent effort which had the potential to be brilliant, and surely would've been in more competent hands. At the end of the day Kevin Smith has nobody to blame for the films eventual failure but himself. After over and hour of suspenseful, exciting and often unsettling cinema he for some reason decided to let the whole thing fail in the final act. It wasn't just the fact that the ending didn't fit that annoyed me, but it was that this crap ending robbed me of the only satisfactory way I think this film could've ended. Throughout Red State, Smith explores these radical Christian characters and impressively creates this intense hatred towards them. Then when the film explodes into excitement and sets up an ending in which we will see the villains being brought to justice and the excitement becomes almost unbearable the film stops. The excitement stops, the action stops, the enjoyment stops and the film cuts to a boardroom scene. It's as if Smith decided his film was gripping enough, but not smart enough and so he tried to incorporate a twist ending which though undeniably clever doesn't make sense in the grand scheme of the film. And the film cuts to that boardroom scene which Smith uses to explain what his twist was. One of the best things about the film was the cast, especially Michael Parks. Parks plays the leader of the Five Points Church and he is truly outstanding. It's a shame the film was so mediocre in the end as Parks' performance could have been an awards contender if only the film was good enough to match him. He carries so much of the film almost on his own and he does so exceptionally. The supporting cast, including great stars such as Melissa Leo, John Goodman, Kevin Pollack and many more, all put in some solid displays, though few make a huge impact. That is apart from Kerry Bishé, who puts in a surprisingly superb performance. The star of the deservingly cancelled Scrubs spin-off was not someone I expected much from but she was one of the films standout stars. So all in all Red State is a film which came so close to brilliance but some poor decisions by Smith have instead left this as another film which will leave people wondering what could have been. Some great performances and intense action sequences make the film not entirely worthless but a terrible final act and a silly subplot involving a guilt-ridden agent unfortunately make this film one I just can't quite recommend.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  ging-grr

  

  I have been a huge fan of Kevin Smith's movies since that first night in college when I saw the original cut of Clerks on late night TV in a friends house after a long night of drinking. I have taken the journey through all his movies and for most part have thoroughly enjoyed. Clerks showcased indie movies at the time, the comedic talents of Smith were solidified with Mallrats, he first hinted at more grown up content in Chasing Amy (which to this day I consider his strongest script), Dogma was a truly tongue in cheek look at the Catholic religion from a man who is a devout Christian himself, he tried to go too grown up too fast with Jersey Girl, removing the ever present Jay and Silent Bob characters and trying to make a romantic comedy (I didn't hate it but it's far from his best work), Jay and Silent Bob had more in jokes for fans than any other movie I can name, Clerks 2 revisited where it all began and was handled well and showed how the years had affected the central characters and Cop Out say Smith get a great comedic performance out of Bruce Willis, reminiscent of his Moonlighting days. However with Red State Smith stepped away from comedy and firmly into the horror genre. A first in film for him, though much of his comic writing has had a darker side and I was for one was really curious to see how he would handle the realms on a movie so far outside his comfort zone. I had heard reports that Smith wanted to create a horror without a single likeable primary character and ladies and gentlemen I think I can say without any doubt that he firmly succeeded in doing this. His script is dark and again has a religious undercurrent. There are few twists and turns but the script is strong so there doesn't need to be. Smith also pulled great performances out of the cast, John Goodman in particular deserves praise and the sets were kept simple as the script required them to be. The only downfall of this movie is the lack of someone to cheer, I may be cliched and I hate cliches but I found it hard to enjoy the movie without having anyone I was hoping would survive to the end. If Smith was making a point about how deeply flawed the human condition is and that if people find themselves in a situation where they can save others and risk their own lives or just run to save their own hides, the majority will choose to save themselves, then he succeeded, but it takes it from a potential 4 star review to a solid 3. I don't know if I could bring myself to watch it again but it's definitely worth seeing once.

• • Currently 4/5 Stars.

  Hadouken65

  

  Loved it, apart from the preachers speech at the beginning, which dragged a lot. It was funny, shocking and definitely a Kevin Smith movie.

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  aoibheana

  

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  filmbuff2011

  

  Kevin Smith is a frequently inconsistent writer/director. His last film was the truly dreadful Cop Out, but thankfully he's back on form with Red State. It's a thriller that pulls no punches in its depiction of a religious cult out to cleanse society. However, it's not as controversial as I've been lead to believe. It's more like a standard siege film shot through with Smith's trademark humour, but it does take some unexpected turns here and there. It's not quite up to the standard of Smith's best work (Chasing Amy), but it will do for now. It's also refreshing to see a Kevin Smith film with no Star Wars jokes or Jay and Silent Bob cameos. Maybe he's finally maturing?

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  mart

  

  Despite its many flaws, it's the most provocative and least predictable movie that Kevin Smith has made in years, at least since Dogma way back in 1999.

• • Currently 5/5 Stars.

  vu1999uk

  

  A real return to form from Kevin Smith here, although it is not like any of his other films. A wonderful miss-mash of genres gives an almost dream like quality that leaves you wondering what will happen next and adds to a wonderful sense of foreboding. A great finale as well.