Red State

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Red State

R

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

Dec 13, 2011

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.

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Andrew O'Hehir

Salon.com

Oct 20, 2011

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.

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Jim Schembri

The Age (Australia)

Oct 18, 2011

2/5

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.

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Sep 2, 2025

7/10

A tense, politicised and socially relevant thriller.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Mar 8, 2023

1.5/4

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

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Joey Magidson

Awards Radar

Sep 26, 2021

3.5/4

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

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Gi S

@Gistevenn Mar 6, 2026

I've never seen a movie quite like this one. Surely one of michael parks & john goodmans best acting jobs ever.

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fobro T

@Philratez Jan 14, 2026

Despite the reviews I really enjoyed the film, it’s a critique on both ends, the religious groups that take everything to the extreme and the ATF and how they poorly handle situations, killing innocent people in the process. While I found the film to be a bit lackluster, I can appreciate that it allowed there to be a view on how not everyone is the villain of the story, everyone is doing what they think is right. Either way, it's a good film, 8.5/10.

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Jelisije J

@jjosifovic Nov 23, 2025

Michael Parks is the standout in this movie and without him this film goes from barely passable to downright skippable. D+ or D with the main actor without the main actor its an F.

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Oaklee D

@ODie63 Nov 10, 2025

Michael Parks and John Goodman are the clear highlights in this strange film with a somewhat anticlimactic ending.

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Patrick C

@RT66308151 Sep 4, 2025

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.

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Stephen M

@RT46057910 Aug 19, 2025

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.

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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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