REVIEW: Kevin Smith turns away from comedy with ‘Red State’

Kevin Smith, the love ’em or hate ’em director of such comedies as Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma, takes a bold step away from his usual stomping ground and tries his hand at suspenseful horror. The result is Red State, an interesting, albeit frustrating, attempt to comment on conservative social beliefs. The movie begins with an engaging premise but soon spirals into a western-style gun commercial where characters on one side of a fence shoot at characters on the other side of the fence.

Travis (Michael Angarano), Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun) and Randy (Ronnie Connell) are typical teenagers with nothing to do on the weekend. They live in the middle of nowhere and, except for some local religious fundamentalists who cause trouble every once in a while, nothing happens of great importance in the near vicinity. So what’s a group of young guys supposed to do when boredom reigns? These three answer an online advertisement for some hot sex in a nearby town.

When they show up at the designated meet-up spot, they are met by Sara (Melissa Leo), a member of the Christian splinter group that recently protested the funeral of a local gay man. After drinking her beer and prepping for sex, Travis, Billy-Ray and Randy realize they’ve been drugged. With no chance at escape, they fall fast asleep.

When the three open their eyes they are being held prisoner by cult leader Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) and his group of brainwashed believers. It doesn’t take long for the sadistic killing to begin.

John Goodman turns up as an ATF agent who has been following the religious group for some time. With the help of the local sheriff (Stephen Root), the government agency plans an all-out siege of Abin’s compound.

Although Red State has several elements common to horror films (unsuspecting teenagers, blood, hillbilly villains), the movie plays more like a thriller than anything else. And, perhaps that’s why it feels so minor an artistic work. The action of Abin and his colleagues is downright evil, but Smith never explores these characters with anything except a bird’s-eye view. We have one lengthy sermon sequence from Abin, but much of the dialogue is apocalyptic mumbo jumbo.

Leo and the rest of the actors playing the believers are lost in the shuffle. They merely come across as Kool-Aid drinkers with not much of a background. What makes this demented segment of society tick? Red State doesn’t offer any answers.

Goodman’s Joseph Keenan is the only character that feels fleshed out. We see him at home working the case and then fretting over the decisions that his higher-ups lay on his plate. In a movie vacant of characterization, Goodman builds an interesting role.

The movie is never boring, and at 88 minutes, it flies by without taking too much time. It’s just difficult to find the point behind the entire exercise once the credits begin to roll. The last 45 minutes of the film are made up of uninteresting gun shots between Kennan’s men and Abin’s believers. There are long stretches where the characters simply shoot, duck and cover. Then we go to the next character, who shoots, ducks and covers. After so many bullets, we forget that this whole scenario began with a kidnapping and social commentary on homosexuality and modern-day c0nservatism.

Smith, who has always been a better writer than director, sets up several shots within Red State that are worthy of praise. Although the movie largely doesn’t work, several of the scenes are expertly staged. I appreciated the endless complexity of Abin’s compound, with its trapdoors and dark tunnels. The director is able to build a sense of menacing claustrophobia, but it stands as an atmospheric element that he could have exploited a little more.

There’s enough appreciable work in Red State for Smith fans to feel confident that their director may have a captivating future in non-comedies. For a first try, he doesn’t fail, even if he doesn’t succeed.

• Red State
• 2011
• Written and directed by Kevin Smith
• Starring John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Michael Angarano, Nicholas Braun, Ronnie Connell and Michael Parks
• Running time: 88 minutes
• Rated R for strong violence/disturbing content, some sexual content including brief nudity, and pervasive language
• Rating:
• Click here to purchase Red State on DVD.