Review of Red State (2011) by Jonathan R — 15 Feb 2012

Red State is something completely different than Kevin Smith has ever made before. I congratulate Smith for stretching his filmmaking abilities, especially by crossing into a category that he has never touched before: horror/thriller. As for the final product, Red State has a mixed result. There are some characters that I found intriguing (John Goodman and Michael Parks), while there were other characters that I did not find interesting and therefore was not invested in seeing their stories play out. I almost feel like Smith did not know how to end certain characters' stories, and gave these characters far from a satisfying conclusion.

The first half of the film to felt like the average direct to DVD horror film. Three teenagers thinking they are going to have a sexual encounter find themselves in a situation of torture. This part of the film does nothing to distance itself from the countless other low budget horror films. The second half of Red State is really where the film kicks in, as a constant stream of action is introduced. Every action by a character is accompanied by a sense of desperation, and this is where Red State crosses over into the thriller category. Now the movie is able to attract the viewer's full attention.

Red State contains many things to enjoy, such as some entertaining characters and tense scenes of action. It's great to see that Kevin Smith does not want to make the same kind of movie over and over. Jersey Girl first displayed Smith's desire to produce something different, but Red State is a better example of Smith trying to expand his reach in filmmaking.