Red State

I'm going to preface this review by just stating that I hated this movie in almost every way possible. This is one of the most depressing movies that I have ever seen and I was really disappointed with this movie overall because of the hype surrounding it. This is a movie that is devoid of actual acting and showcases decent actors overacting to an abnormal degree. Kevin Smith no longer has the ability to write clever dialogue that can fill an entire movie. John Goodman is the only good part of the movie and he is barely involved in the main plot of the movie at all. All of the other actors in the movie overact in almost every way and it really detracts from the movie as a whole. The casting of the characters seems to be spot on but the delivery of the dialogue in the movie is terrible and their interactions with each other seem really forced. This is also just the beginning of the review so strap on you boots and tag along for the ride.

The plot centers around three best friends who go on to an online classified site looking to hook up with women. They end up being taken hostage by a right-wing radical church group and are prepared to be executed by the group. The group is led by Pastor Abin Cooper, who very similar to Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Over the course of the movie there are other side stories that attempt to be played out but they are not fully fleshed out. The political satire in this movie is way too overt and mean spirited that it not effective in any way. The movie is a strange mixture between torture porn and political satire and none are done with any quality whatsoever. Smith's skill level has diminished with each passing movie and that is wildly apparent in this movie. I know that many people may like this movie but I am certainly not one of those people.

There are strange sub plots in this movie that serve almost no purpose in any way such as having a gay sheriff, a troubled ATF agent, and the notion of the upcoming Rapture. The homosexual sheriff is the stupidest part of the movie because his character had no purpose in the movie and all of his actions were meaningless. He was just another spineless character in a movie devoid of characters with common sense or brains for that matter. None of the characters are sympathetic and you feel nothing when they are each killed one by one in true horror movie fashion. By the way this is also not a horror movie in any sense of the word because the only thing that is scary in the movie is the acting. The mood of the movie is depressing and there is no entertainment value in this movie to me in any form. I really recommend that you stay away from this movie at all costs. If you are looking for a really depressing movie then by all means go for it.

This is not a movie for everyone and I was one of the people that this movie was not made for. I found it to be bland, boring, and really devoid of entertainment value. The actors were unlikable, the dialogue was terrible, and the plot was contrived. Kevin Smith made a movie that was actually worse than Cop Out and I thought that was near impossible. I can't believe that I am saying this but I would rather watch FearDotCom than this stinking pile of crap. At least FearDotCom was so bad I could laugh at it. Red State takes itself way too seriously and fails in almost every way. I think this movie deserves a 1/10 and that is only because of the performances of Michael Parks and John Goodman. They each gave good performances but did not have nearly enough screen time. Avoid this movie if you can and thank me later.