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