Red State Review
Kevin Smith had been talking about his first foray into horror for the better part of a decade, and finally it is here. The trouble with Red State is that it seems to be sold off the back of hype and general gossip surrounding the director’s decision to market the film himself as well as his lashing out at the press for their mistreatment of his previous films.
This is all fair enough, but ultimately it is the film that needs to stand on its own two feet. So ignoring the news and, well ignoring Smith as much as possible outside of the context of the material what do we have?
Red State starts with a trio of horny teens lured into the promise of a sexual fantasy from an online ad, only to find themselves prisoners of a religious sect lead by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks). This very anti-anything ungodly have taken it upon themselves to punish the wicked. And for a moment there the set up works just fine. And then suddenly the film turns into something else altogether.
It’s either to Smith’s credit or detriment that the film changes so suddenly. But the change is very sudden and we come face to face with a group of agents trying to lay siege to the property that the Cooper family are residing in.
It’s quite distracting as early on we find the family doing all they can to keep what they do a secret. And less than a scene later they are surrounded by armed forces. It’s almost as if a whole middle act went missing. So we get a creepy 1st act and then an action based finale. And that’s pretty much it. Smith interjects character moments for the lead players, but most of the supporting cast are wasted in their roles or not even given a chance to say anything of relevance.
The cast that do get to shine, particularly Parks, are game enough. But they aren’t given anything fleshy enough to warrant award recognition – just a few decently acted scenes.
By the end it’s a diverting picture, but full of glaring error. But it must be said that Smith has at least tried his hand at something else and whilst he hasn’t fully succeeded, he has failed either. What appears to be missing from the middle of the picture has at least helped the run time come in under 90 minutes, which for any “talkie” Smith film can be a real blessing in itself.
Steven Hurst