Red State (2011)

Set in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda.

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith

Stars:

Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Angarano	...	Travis
Deborah Aquila	...	Mrs. Vasquez
Nicholas Braun	...	Billy-Ray
Ronnie Connell	...	Randy
Kaylee DeFer	...	Dana
Joey Figueroa	...	Route 9 Friend
Kyle Gallner	...	Jarod
Anna Gunn	...	Travis' Mother
Matt Jones	...	Deputy Pete
John Lacy	...	Travis' Father
Catherine McCord	...	News Reporter
Alexa Nikolas	...	Jesse
Stephen Root	...	Sherrif Wynan
Cooper Thornton	...	Plastic Wrap Man
Betty Aberlin	...	Abigail

Storyline

The teenager Jarod invites his best friends Travis and Billy-Ray to have a foursome with a thirty-eight year-old woman. While driving to meet the woman, Travis hit a car parked on the road. When they meet the woman, she gives spiked beer to them and they pass out. When the three friends wake up, they find that they are trapped in the fundamentalist Five Points Trinity Church of the infamous Pastor Abin Cooper and that they will be killed. Meanwhile the church is under siege by ATF agents led by Agent Joseph Keenan that have been ordered to destroy the terrorist cell. Will the teenagers be saved by the agents of the law enforcement agency?

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Plot Keywords:

church | atf agent | pastor | police officer shot in the head | police officer shot in the chest | 

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Taglines:

Love thy neighbor

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Crvena država

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harvey Boys, The, NVSH Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sound effect used for the horn heralding the arrival of the apocalypse was also used in the 2010 film Legion to herald the arrival of the archangel Gabriel, bringing with him the apocalypse.

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Goofs

The boys are served Miller Lite beer, in green bottles with white labels. The label color is correct, but Miller Lite bottles are brown, not green.

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Quotes

Joseph Keenan: Who fired? *Who fired*, goddamn it?
ASAC Brooks: Local Agent Three!
Sherrif Wynan: [Keenan storms over to Wynan and grabs him by ear] Ah! Goddamn it! What is-?
Joseph Keenan: [sweeps Wynan's hat off] Who the fuck are you?
Sherrif Wynan: I'm...
Joseph Keenan: Did he fire at us?
Sherrif Wynan: No, he-he was armed...
Joseph Keenan: Did he open fire on us?
Sherrif Wynan: That son of a bitch had a machine gun!
Joseph Keenan: They got *kids* in there, asshole!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The cast listing is divided in three parts labeled "Sex", "Religion" and "Politics", representing the respective characters' roles in the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40! (2010)

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Soundtracks

Savior
Written by Christopher Kurdes, Marina Kurdes, Bill Reseter, Alessandra Tartivita
Performed by Artikay

User Reviews

Fantastic Work, Mr. Smith!

So, a friend of mine won tickets to catch a screening of "Red State" followed by a Q&A session with Kevin Smith and the cast, which included Melissa Leo, John Goodman, and more. The show was at the stunning Radio City Music Hall, which felt strange considering the elegance of the venue when pitted against the griminess of the film.

The film was wonderful. In Smith's own words, "A nasty-ass little horror flick with few (if any) likable characters". Three young men encounter a cult-like church (modeled after the ever-so-famous Westboro Baptist Church), whom they discover is up to more than simply protesting funerals. That's about as much as you need to know.

This is easily Smith's best work to date. From a visual/directing standpoint, the camera is so effectively used to capture the unsettling tone. He makes an extensive use of the shaky-cam, which, but in more creative ways that I've seen in recent times. The shaking is definitely more subtle than say "the Bourne Identity", which adds just the perfect amount of tension during dialogue heavy scenes, and just the right intensity during the more violent ones. Both are which are in great quantities. The quality of the picture was also very good (shot of Red Cinema cameras).

The sound is also a high point of praise. The real charm of the movie is its unsettling tone, which pervades throughout most of it. There is no real score here, either. Every song you hear is within the film itself, mostly sung by Michael Parks, the man playing the villainous preacher. And speaking of him, I must say that his performance was Oscar worthy. Absolutely terrifying.

The writing itself might be where my few criticisms lie. The film has many twists, a few too many for my liking. These "surprises" impress a lot of people, but to me, they come off as cheap and make the film feel really inconsistent at times. Also, whereas the first half of the film is a genuinely frightening horror film, the second half feels most like an action/thriller. It was all very good, but only until the film nears its conclusion does it really feel scary again. But, the writing is also rather impressive. When I look back on it, nothing in the film feels superfluous, it all flows and connects greatly. The opening few scenes set the rest of the film up awesomely. And, of course, there's a small dose of humor in it, much of it compliments of Mr. JOHN F-ING GOODMAN. The Cast was all fantastic, but particularly Parks, Melissa Leo, and John Goodman come off as shining stars here.

The Q&A was fun, mostly because I got to see such awesome people in person, but I never got to ask my question, and some of the questions asked were so bad they got boo's all around from the rest of the audience.

All in all, when Red State hits theaters this October, you really need to see it. It's all around a wonderful piece of indie cinema, and will satisfy horror-fans, and casual movie goers alike. My rating, 8/10.

I have every intention of seeing this again when it's actually released.

P.S. Best Opening credit sequence ever!!!