Review of Red State (2011) by Rekkr — 12 Feb 2014

Entertainment. This is perhaps one of the more solid and "pure" movies I have seen in a while. It seems to have just the right degree of self-awareness to keep it fun and captivating without pulling too hard in any direction.

By the end of the film, it comes across as bizarrely charming. It has this 'casual' attitude - both in how it depicts and reacts to brutal violence as well as its portrayal of these bile-inducing religious zealots - that works perfectly. Just know that it is something of a stretch to term this movie as a horror film.

As far as performances are concerned: standouts include the FOREVER brilliant John Goodman - who is as endlessly entertaining as ever - and Michael Parks as the hypnotic yet nauseating 'father' figure of the cult.

Honestly, I think the critics writing this off as a mindless 'Kevin Smith rant' are reading about two bridges too far into it. Sure it's rather blunt, but at it's heart, it's a shocking and often hilarious little story that is (perhaps surprisingly) rather UN-presumptuous. And I have to say that the ending scene is genius.