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Review

Certainly not for all tastes – the easily offended or disturbed should steer clear - Red State, an action/horror/thriller/comedy-hybrid that follows a deranged group of frighteningly-fundamentalist, anti-gay “Christian” wing-nuts (inspired by Fred Phelphs and his Westboro “Baptist” Church), is brutal and ballsy.

Since Clerks first started making the rounds in 1994 – and went on to become a groundbreaking, indie film phenomenon – Kevin Smith has always had his detractors. Sometimes anti-Smith arguments have validity (most of his output since 1997’s Chasing Amy has been either overly sappy or sophomoric; his dialog can be overindulgent), but there are two things that cannot be denied: 1) Kevin Smith has always been an outspoken supporter of the GLBT community; and 2) The man has some giant brass cajones.

After a few financial disappointments, and a terrible experience attempting to direct a smug, disinterested Bruce Willis in Cop Out (he hasn't been shy about dishing the dirt), Smith, like Madonna before him, decided to reinvent himself. While his cinematic output has not ceased, he’s garnered a huge following through his SModCast internet radio network – re-branding himself as a talkative entertainment personality and social assassin who isn’t afraid to cut through the bullshit (most people will remember his public battle with Southwest Airlines over their insistence that he was too overweight to fit into their seats).

Red State, however, seems to exemplify the biggest departure from the "Kevin Smith" that cult comedy fans grew to know and love throughout his directorial rise in the ‘90s. Featuring an impressive all-star cast, Red State is a sinister satire that imagines what might happen if the Westboro Baptists took their irrational hatred of homosexuals to the next level.

Michael Angarano (who you might remember as Jack’s son on "Will and Grace"), Kyle Gallner (a horror-regular from Jennifer’s Body, A Haunting in Connecticut, and the A Nightmare on Elm Street remake) and Nicholas Braun (one of the cutest guys we’ve ever seen sporting a ridiculous mullet) play three super-horny straight high-school boys who, after chatting with a consenting older woman on the internet, plan to bond as buddies during a perfectly harmless gangbanging session. Don’t get too excited, voyeurs! While the boys are cute, and we wouldnt mind seeing them in "action," their lady of the evening turns out to be a batshit-crazy version of Academy Award-Winning powerhouse Melissa Leo - visibly having fun in a role that makes her manipulative character from The Fighter look as maternal as June Cleaver.

Soon after chugging some beers at Ms. Leo’s insistence, the boys pass out – waking later to find themselves bound and held captive by notorious cult leader Abin Cooper (played by beloved character actor/Tarantino-regular Michael Parks – who, as an utterly despicable character, delivers a brilliant, chilling performance) and his large family of brainwashed, gay-hating rednecks. The Coopers are out for blood, and unfortunately for our three young protagonists, they’re prepared to do anything to get it. Their only, very slight hope of rescue comes from John Goodman, Kevin Pollack and Kevin Alejandro (Jesus from "True Blood") – ATF agents who get word of the hostage crisis and are instructed to contain the situation at any cost.

Though Smith’s heart is in the right place, and he earns serious points for the film's unpredictability, Red State could definitely have used some positive gay characters to balance out all the carnage. Stephen Root plays a repressed, borderline suicidal sheriff who is first introduced getting a blowjob from a male hustler. The only other (seemingly?) gay character is presented gagged and mummified in cellophane. He has no lines or back-story and exists only as a sacrifice during one of the movie’s most harrowing scenes. Other than that, the film spends the majority of its running time with the Cooper clan. While the entire cast is stellar, not all audience members - GLBT audience members in particular - will be able to stomach spending so much time with these anger-inducing characters. Those who can handle watching the blood splatter, however, might enjoy watching Smith stick it to the homophobic haters of America.

 -- Robert O'Neill