Red State

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Red State

R

Released Oct 19, 2011

1h 29m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

89 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Three horny teenagers -- Travis (Michael Angarano), Jarod (Kyle Gallner) and Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun) -- can't believe their luck when they meet a woman online who says she wants to hook up with all three of them at once. But the promise of sex is a trap, and the boys find themselves in the hands of Abin Cooper (Michael Parks), a lunatic preacher who spews so much hatred that even neo-Nazis stay away. Cooper means to kill the trio for their sins, prompting a desperate bid for escape.

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Critics Consensus

Red State is an audacious and brash affair that ultimately fails to provide competent scares or thrills.

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Justin Chang

Variety

Calculated to outrage and executed to underwhelm, Kevin Smith's Red State is like a dull blade slashing wildly, predictably and ineffectually at its target.

Dec 13, 2011

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Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

It's a charming if conspicuously unfinished film, a half-riotous, half-idiotic send-up of the teen horror genre with a vaguely hip political twist.

Oct 20, 2011

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

Kevin Smith fans will be curious about Red State, but few others will be able to endure its tub-thumping attempts at topicality or its lack of storytelling skill.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 18, 2011

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

A tense, politicised and socially relevant thriller.

Rated: 7/10

Sep 2, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

With elements of horror and ham-fisted social allegory, Kevin Smith’s Red State has a lofty set of goals that go unreached.

Rated: 1.5/4

Mar 8, 2023

Full Review

Joey Magidson

Awards Radar

Red State is one of Kevin Smith's best and smartest films, as well as his most nihilistic.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 26, 2021

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Patrick C

It was pretty effective as a horror movie and the acting was great, story was okay. I would never watch it again though and I probably wouldn't recommend it either. It wasn't much fun for me to watch. I liked the ending though. I've heard about the alternate ending and I think that would've been even better.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/04/25

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Stephen M

I had no idea what to expect, started off as a teen romp of some kind, then goes all religious zealotry, akin to the Waco tragedy of the 90s. Michael Parks is absolutely amazing as the "David Koresh" type of extreme Christian preacher. The firefight was a bit overdrawn if I have any criticism, I see other reviews as being lacklustre, but I thought this was a banger of a movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/19/25

Full Review

thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é mais ou menos, esse filme tem uma história não tão interessante, mas as cenas de ação são bacanas e salvam o filme, teve um cena que o policial pediu para não atirar, aí veio o outro do nada atirou e matou as duas pessoas sem elas fazerem ameaças e foda-se, de resto é mais ou menos.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

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Greg D

Wild movie. Worth of a watch for Michael Parks alone.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/25

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A M

Excellent casting and phenomenal acting in literally every roll. Both exploitive yet probing, plays with tropes and realism in a mix that makes it truly unpredictable. Nothing else like it, honestly.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/15/24

Full Review

Josh M

This was a very weak attempt at shhh on the far-right. As some one who considers themselves a conservative I'm all for talking bad about the far-right, the real far-right but this was just a very bad attempt at it. Not the worst Kevin Smith movie I've seen and I do love a lot of his movies but this one shall be forgotten.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

Full Review

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Kevin Smith

Director

Michael Parks

Abin Cooper

John Goodman

Joseph Keenan

Melissa Leo

Sara

Kyle Gallner

Jarod

Michael Angarano

Travis

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Synopsis

Three horny teenagers -- Travis (Michael Angarano), Jarod (Kyle Gallner) and Billy-Ray (Nicholas Braun) -- can't believe their luck when they meet a woman online who says she wants to hook up with all three of them at once. But the promise of sex is a trap, and the boys find themselves in the hands of Abin Cooper (Michael Parks), a lunatic preacher who spews so much hatred that even neo-Nazis stay away. Cooper means to kill the trio for their sins, prompting a desperate bid for escape.

Director: Kevin Smith
Producer: Jonathan Gordon
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith
Distributor: Smodcast Pictures
Production Co: The Harvey Boys
Rating: R (Disturbing Content|Brief Nudity|Pervasive Language|Some Sexual Content|Strong Violence)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 29m
Sound Mix: Dolby

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