Red State: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Kevin Smith's Red State when it was in theaters due to its very limited release. However, Netflix recently released the film on instant.

Kevin Smith is one of my favorite non-horror directors who is mostly known for his comedy films, so when I heard about him taking on the horror genre, I was both excited and skeptical.

The film tells the story of an anti-gay extremist church in the Midwest (obviously based on a certain well known church with similar values). The church, led by their devilishly insane preacher, devise a scheme to lure in three young boys with promises of sex with one of their members, and when the boys arrive, they are drugged and taken hostage. Soon, a war erupts between law enforcement, with John Goodman as Deputy Keenan, and gun-toting church members who believe they are doing god's work.

I really enjoyed this film and thought that Kevin Smith did a really good job with this genre piece and I would definitely like to see more from him. It remained interesting and fun throughout and had a story that made you eager to know what would happen to the characters. Also, it managed to be scary in a fairly realistic way. It was the kind of movie that leaves you thinking "Could this really happen? Could it be happening right now?"

One the best things about this film was how well it reflected the times we live in. Throughout the history of film, movies have been able to reflect the times they were made in without directly talking about it. Taxi Driver did it in the 70's, The Breakfast Club did it in the 80's, Clerks (also a Kevin Smith film) did it in the 90's, and Red State does it for the 2000's. The film tackles the issue of extremist religious groups in a way that so perfectly relates it to the modern world while at the same time keeping it in the realm of fiction.

I think that Kevin Smith did an amazing job with this movie, and most definitely impressed me. I would really love to see more from him in the genre.