Red State

R

Released Oct 19, 2011

1 hr. 29 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

61%

92 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Aleks

61% from critics? Really? I thought this was one of the dumbest films I've sat through. Wish I hadn't watched it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

Full Review

jacob b

While the ending is so anticlimactic it's hilarious how disappointing it is (the original ending would eventually be released in 2015 in animated form and yeah, it's out there but definitely memorable in just how gloriously insane it was), it's hard to get attached to any of the characters and the dialogue isn't that great when compared to the likes of the View Askewniverse but some unpredictable turns in the plot, good performances turned in by the likes of John Goodman and Michael Parks and a decent combination of scares and catharsis make Red State an okay attempt for Kevin Smith to make a movie completely unlike his other works. His attempt at making a more grown-up film with a serious tone, no comedy save for some morbid jokes that don't really provide a lot of levity and being completely bereft of pop culture references (even Cop Out, the movie he DIDN'T write, couldn't resist namedropping The Untouchables and Die Hard) might not have worked out quite as well as he might have hoped for but this isn't terrible and it's honestly quite nice to hear that this movie paved the way to making him fall in love with filmmaking all over again, following more than his fair share of headaches working in the mainstream. A better horror movie from Kevin Smith than Tusk, that's for sure.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Crazy, over the top, but entertaining movie that received praised from Quentin Tarantino himself! And I can see why. Horny teenagers meet fanatic Christian Waco-like lunatics. Brutal violence and some well casted actors, but the storyline is a bit too poor. I see some critics label it Kevin Smith's failed attempt at serious movie, but they have clearly missed the point.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With a plot that is about as ridiculous and believable that your third cousin twice removed just happened to show up after you won the lottery, Red State tries hard to bring Waco type cultism into a thriller/horror that fails to deliver on both of these subjects.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A weak and childish jab at republicans. Low effort. He probably wasted his time more than mine, so there's that.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

John Goodman was great, and I liked the idea of the original ending .. But the attitudes and conspiracy about the ATF was nonsense..

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Naila Scargill

Exquisite Terror

A disappointing film with a script that is too basic for any kind of social commentary Kevin Smith may have been aiming for.

Feb 28, 2019

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Elyse Seiden, Nhaelan McMillan, Victor Choy, Jason Clark, Philip Elway, Shea Kammer
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
Sound Mix: Dolby

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