Review: ‘Red State’. The Kevin Smith film that isn’t a Kevin Smith film.

Kevin Smith says this is his last film. I hope it’s not because he has just hit his stride as a director, and this is his most interesting and accomplished film yet.

For people expecting Kevin Smith’s latest (and according to him, last) film to be another slacker comedy in the vein of Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks, Red State will be something of a shock. It opens as the story of three teenagers living in a small town near the HQ of an extreme fundamentalist sect who protest on the streets at funerals and other public events. While all the boys are aware of the sect, losing their virginity is more important. So when they see an online ad for a woman offering herself up in the next town over, they’re there like a shot.

Of course, nothing goes as planned.

The boys wake up in cages, listening to the ranting of the Five Points preacher as he rails against their sins for all the congregation (about 15 people) to hear. It’s a masterful scene, long and laced with evil. From here we know we’re on uncertain ground, and that this is not a typical Kevin Smith film.

The lean screenplay has more shocks and surprises in store, enough that the audience is kept on the edge of their seats throughout most of the film’s running time. The editing is equally tight, full of a jagged energy that compliments the film’s story and tone perfectly.

It’s a horror movie, but not a gory one. It’s horror is more unsettling than gross out, which is not something you’d expect from a heavy-handed director like Smith. The actors are uniformly excellent, especially Michael Parks whose creepy sermon is delivered in such a laid back way, it’s shocking to realize what he’s actually saying.

Creepy, disturbing and very brave, Red State is definitely worth a look. I hope it isn’t Smith’s last film, because this is proof that he’s grown and matured as a filmmaker and I for one would be interested to see where he might go from here.

8/10

<Amendment: Our bad. This is not going to be Kevin Smith’s last movie; that honour has been reserved for his next project – the two part ice-hockey film ‘Hit Somebody’. Let’s hope he doesn’t stop there!>

Have you seen Red State? What did you make of Kevin Smith’s turn to the darker side?