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Lionsgate / 88 Minutes / 2011 / Rated R / Street Date: October 18, 2011
"I f**king love this movie!" – Q. Tarantino
It’s on the back of the box. Go look.
I gotta say, I completely agree. I'm sold on Kevin Smith (Hell, I even loved Jersey Girl... but that has as much to do with my man-crush on Affleck as it does with Smith), but it was time for him to go in a different direction.
Red State is loosely based on the teachings of Pastor Fred Phelps and his congregation. Honestly, I had no idea who Phelps was before I learned about this movie, but after reading about him it’s easy to believe that there are churches like his all over the country – unfortunately. In the film, the church and its members preach hate and that homosexuals are the biggest evils on this planet. They are more than willing to protest funerals and even go as far as killing for their beliefs. In their minds, they are sending the evil straight to hell in God’s name.
In my opinion, Kevin’s biggest strength has always been his dialogue. His writing is usually very humorous, but it doesn’t disappoint in this type of film, either. Backing up that writing is a cast with an Academy Award winner, a Golden Globe winner, and cameos by seasoned vets like Kevin Pollak and Stephen Root. But make no mistake, Michael Parks owns this movie. He is brilliant as Pastor Abin Cooper, and portrays a truly horrific human being in a role that is perfectly suited for him.
This movie is classified as a horror flick, but I think the real horror in this movie isn’t the gun fights or the blood, but the real life content on which the film is based. Don’t get me wrong though, some of the deaths are pretty horrific!