Red State: Kevin Smith should stick to comedy

A group of teenage boys travel to the backwoods to answer an online sex ad but little do they know it is a trap set by the extreme religious fundamental group known as the Five Points Church. The group, led by Abin Cooper, has diabolical plans in store not only for the teens, but for any person or group that does not share their beliefs.

It is always interesting when a director who is known for creating a specific type of film does a one hundred and eighty degree turn and tries something completely unlike what has always paid their bills. Such is the case with writer/director Kevin Smith (best known for comedies such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, etc.). The subject matter/story of Red State seemed out of character for a man who in his own words has a "predilection toward dick and fart jokes," but with his abilities to create sharp, crackling dialogue, as well as memorable characters and situations, it seemed as though he would be able to deliver a horror film that challenged the genre's conventions and leave the audience shaken but engaged and entertained. Unfortunately Red State felt like a halfhearted attempt with no real scares. Smith was never able to create any memorable characters, with the exception of Abin Cooper (the scene stealing Michael Parks) who was able to entrance the audience with his fervent (and extremely fundamentalistic) beliefs. The rest of the cast felt extremely generic and failed to deliver performances even close to Parks. As a result, the audience failed to connect with any of them and could not feel any real emotion when each was in a life threatening situation. The story and structure of the film made it seem like more of a thriller than a horror film as Smith obviously drew influence from recent real life religious cults/sects to ground it in a reality the audience had a feeling for. However the message that he intended for the audience to take away from the film (eloquently stated by John Goodman near the end) that "people just do the damndest things when they believe" (like Cooper's followers and the silly ATF agents that try to stop them) no doubt fell on deaf ears.

The audience wanted to see a film that would shock them with its powerful storytelling, overabundance of gore or other salacious content, but Kevin Smith's Red State did none of this. It only left the audience wishing that he would write another Jay and Silent Bob movie.

Grade: D 

Scream 4: A return to the good stuff!

Ten years after her last encounter with the Ghostface Killer, Sidney Prescott seems to have finally put herself together. While on tour promoting her new self-help book, she stops by her old hometown of Woodsboro and reconnects with her old friends Dewey, Gale and her niece Jill. But her reappearance also brings about the reappearance of the Ghostface Killer, who seems intent upon finally getting the best of Sidney.

The thing that made the original Scream so groundbreaking was that it broke the rules in regards to horror films. When it was released in 1996, it not only acknowledged that horror films (like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.) existed, but that there were certain rules that one needed to abide by in order to survive a horror film scenario. The original was also aided by screenwriter Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven and the immense talent they both brought to the project. The self-reflexive look/story aspect of the film helped to break the mold of the Hollywood horror film (a mold that had existed since the early 1980's and something Craven helped to create with A Nightmare on Elm Street). However, the successive sequels fell victim to the flaws the original skewered and, as a result, lacked the punch and staying power of that original.

But, as with any good horror film franchise, it just could not die and Scream 4 was released nearly 15 years after the first one. Thankfully Craven and Williamson returned to guide the project which does not quite live up to the original (how could it honestly), but has the same spirited scares, laughs, pop culture references and sturdy performances to make it the best sequel in the franchise. Williamson's script kept the audience involved by presenting the mystery of who or whom was responsible for the new Woodsboro killings while giving the characters plenty of opportunities to rift on cultural gems like "the death of horror films" or how cliched the situation they were facing at the time was. Meanwhile Craven was also able to strike a balance between building up the tension as Ghostface stalked his (or her) victims and allowing the audience to breath and chuckle. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette all pitched in with solid performances, breathing life into the characters that helped get them bigger paychecks when looking for other starring roles, and the youngsters in the cast added a needed jolt of youth and energy (Emma Roberts performance in particular was absorbing).

Scream 4 was a return to the uber-intelligent, fun and self-reflexive horror film ways that made this once fabled horror franchise relevant enough to pass judgement on the horror genre as a whole.

Grade: B

The Last Exorcism

Reverend Cotton Marcus agrees to let a documentary crew follow him as he attempts to show that exorcisms are a fraudulent waste of time. But once they arrive at the Sweetzer home where the Reverend is to perform his final exorcism, they confront an omnious situation that none of them is expecting.

The film was able to deliver a few effective jumps, scares and suspensful moments thanks in large part to the performance of Ashley Bell, who played Nell Sweetzer (the girl that was supposedly possessed). But with the exception of those few moments, The Last Exorcism clunked along, trotting the same well-worn path as other "exorcism" themed horror films of recent memory. The character/story of Cotton Marcus had the chance to make the movie something unique in the genre for his character was a priest who had lost his faith in God and thought exorcisms were a joke. But rather than focusing on that and his possible redemption or rediscovery of faith director Daniel Stamm chose to go the same old route and, instead of a welcomed character-driven horror film, The Last Exorcism became a nasty, exploitative junker with an ending that felt like it was borrowed from another film all together.

If you can stomach another brainless exorcism film that fails to do anything but recycle the same plots, characters, and other elements that have been utilized by previous exorcism movies then The Last Exorcism is right up your alley.

Grade: D