Red State Review

Lovefilm's not bad at the moment. There's a reasonable number of films that need watching, and seemingly, not enough time to watch them in...

Red State is Kevin Smith's latest (and it's rumoured last) film, and is so far from his previous works as far as genre goes, that there's even a little intro by him at the start of the film warning off anyone expecting the likes of Clerks, Mall Rats or the brilliant Dogma. An odd addition, and something that immediately causes concern.

Red State is a horror. A horror about the power of cults, particularly in isolated communities in the south of America (of course.) A subject that should make it easy for a director to make a scary film. However, Red State succeeds in not being that scary. And when it does accelerate towards a massive (and potentially cult-film-cementing) twist, it veers suddenly away.

There are three major issues with Red State. It had a huge amount of potential, and Smith's followers and critics alike wished it well. However, firstly, the leader of the cult is, for the majority of the film, incomprehensable. Secondly, the three leads, are pretty unlikable from the start, and then half-way through, the focus of the film changes and they stop being leads! A very odd move, and one that was pretty jarring.

Finally however, Smith let himself down. He's know for embracing the supernatural. Think Dogma and the rediculous but brilliant bits of his films when Bob develops jedi powers. During Red State (potential spoiler warning) Smith veers towards a supernatural conclusion. There is a brief point when it could transpire that the cult was right all along. Despite all of their crimes against humanity, they were right, and will be rewarded in heaven. A truely horrific thought, and an ending that would have earned Smith the title of a horror director, and elevated Red State to the status of a great film. However it doesn't happen. The film was one turn away from salvation, and chickens out. It's such a shame.

It's always nice when an artist tries something new, and it's easy to remember the ones that work. Affleck sitting in the director's chair springs to mind. Tarantino taking on a spegetti-western. Everyone remembers the ones that work. Unfortunately, Smith's effort here will most likely be ignored by the majority.