Product Details

• Actors: Michael Angarano, Deborah Aquila, John Goodman, Nicholas Braun
• Directors: Kevin Smith
• Format: Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: October 18, 2011
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B005FUTBV4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,632 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Three teenaged boys are lured to the town of Cooper’s Dell with the promise of a party. But instead of enjoying the night of their dreams, the teens are plunged into the nightmarish world of Pastor Abin Cooper and the Five Points Trinity, a fundamentalist group with a stockpile of weaponry and a deadly moral agenda. When word of the teens’ disappearance reaches the authorities, a military task force is mobiliz ed. With Cooper’s Dell teetering between salvation and damnation, the ATF braces for a furious gun battle with Cooper and his heavily armed followers in this fever-pitched action thriller from writer-director Kevin Smith.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Smith gets serious. October 19, 2011

By DanD VINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

Kevin Smith loves to make movies that alienate people; it's just his thing. His horror/thriller RED STATE isn't quite as potentially-infuriating as DOGMA, perhaps, but it's certainly right up there. The premise is simple: three teens seek sex from a woman who turns out to be the daughter of a Christian fanatic who has taken his religion to extremes. His family cult kills homosexuals, and even though the three teens don't fit the profile, they're close enough for government work. Speaking of which, the A.T.F shows up, and a Wacco-esque standoff ensues. Add in an epilogue worthy of the Coen Brothers, and some wise-cracking that is decidedly Smith's own, and you have an entertaining thriller.

The thing is, religion isn't Smith's target. Yes, Abin Cooper (a superb Michael Parks) and his daughter (Melissa Leo, not quite getting to shine) are religious in the extreme; but the three teens (among whom Michael Angarano stands out) aren't exactly likable either, driven more by their hormones than anything else. On the A.T.F.'s side, we have a morally-confused agent in the form of John Goodman, following orders but not entirely happy about it. None of these characters is entirely likeable (Goodman remains the most sympathetic), but they aren't supposed to be. Smith is exploring humanity's desire for blind belief: in God, in sex, in politics, and every combination thereof. He even divides his cast, in the end credits, into those categories. He condemns, bloodily so, but that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

Parks and Goodman are phenomenal; whatever your political/social views, watch the film for their performances. The supporting cast is solid; look for a great Stephen Root as the local sheriff, and Kevin Pollak as another A.T.F. agent.... The dialogue flows smoothly, and the action is actually pretty cool; Smith knows how to show someone getting shot. The film is admittedly a bit didactic, but that's part of its charm: it's nice to see a filmmaker not hedging his bets, and instead giving us exactly what's on his mind. Make no mistake about RED STATE: Kevin Smith isn't setting his sights merely on religious fanatics. He has all of us, to some extent or other, in his cross hairs. Read more ›

63 of 80 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Movie From Kevin Smith and Co. August 17, 2011

By ryad

Format:Blu-ray

I had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the Red State tour when it made its way to Seattle. John Goodman gives a stunning performance and this tale of morality and the choices we make is a brilliant story. Critics of Smith's visual style will be surprised to see a movie as visually interesting as the story is gripping and the characters well developed and intriguing.
I love the shades of gray within the story. Everyone has their motives for their actions good and bad and much like real life, there are no clear cut good guys and bad guys. It's not that kind of story.
I am really looking forward to seeing it again and sharing it with all my friends who did not have a chance to see it while it was on tour.

30 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More of an Exploitation Film Than a Horror Film; A Welcome Surprise from Kevin Smith September 14, 2011

By Joshua Miller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

Red State has received more attention for the way director Kevin Smith controversially auctioned the film to himself at Sundance and then chose to distribute it, rather than the real novelty of the film; the fact that it's a horror film directed by Kevin Smith. At least, it's billed that way. Truth is, Red State may have elements of a horror film, but it also has the elements of an action film and the elements of a Kevin Smith film which makes it hard to confine it to one genre. This becomes a problem since the film never settles comfortably for a singular vision and all these elements don't mesh together well. It's imperfections as a film must be noted right away, but it remains a refreshing change of pace for Smith and shows that he does possess the capability to surprise people.

En route to his local high school, Travis (Michael Angarano) spots members of the Five Points Trinity Church protesting the funeral of a recently murdered, homosexual teenager. At school, even the teacher talks about the church and how the most ultra of the ultra-Conservatives have distanced themselves from the politics of Five Points Church. Travis and his friends Jared (Kyle Gallner) and Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun) have other things on their mind though. Jared has set up a meeting online with an older woman for all three of them. When they go to meet the woman, they are ambushed by Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo) and the rest of the churchgoers. Brought to the church, the head pastor Abin Cooper (Michael Parks) takes center stage and reveals that the church is much more sinister than anybody believed.

The film begins like a typical modern horror movie. Teenagers, their heads full of the potential for sex, find themselves in a dangerous situation.... Red State abruptly changes gears once its three principal characters are kidnapped and the remainder of the film is basically a standoff between the church compound and ATF Agents, unaware of the kidnapped teenagers inside. There are other familiar faces in the cast, including John Goodman and Kevin Pollak as two ATF agents and Stephen Root as the closeted local sheriff.

Smith's film is inspired by the Westboro Baptist Church and their leader Fred Phelps, the group that the Ku-Klux-Klan dismissed as too extreme in their intolerance. Smith has constructed the Five Points Church and its members from the WBC, but the Five Points Church is a cinematic hybrid of the WBC, the Branch Davidians, and the Manson Family. In watching Michael Parks play Abin Cooper, I'm quite sure he looked to the respective leaders of these groups/cults as there are visible aspects of Phelps, David Koresh, and Charles Manson in the performance. Phelps is the most obvious, but Parks is much more charismatic than that. Smith reveals his presence behind the camera when Abin Cooper enters the film and, with Jared trapped in a nearby cage, preaches to his congregation for nearly fifteen minutes about his extremist views. His dialogue isn't satirical either and besides the kidnapped teenagers on stage him with him, Cooper's preaching is actually less extreme than that of Fred Phelps' clan. I must emphasize again that Cooper preaches for nearly fifteen minutes. Red State is only 80 minutes. From his first scene to his final scene, Parks chews the scenery like gum without ever going over-the-top. A character actor, best known for playing a recurring police officer in several Quentin Tarantino films, he's able to really make an impression here. With his commanding performance at the center, he brings instant prestige to the film. Red State has been putting itself in place for Academy Award consideration. Say what you will about the film itself and Kevin Smith as a writer and director; Parks may have a real chance. It's a bravura performance, flamboyant and brilliant enough to consider Oscar-worthy. These are the best performances that Kevin Smith has ever seen to fruition. No one gives a weak performance and don't let the horror tag fool you; this is a film driven by performances. Melissa Leo, an actress of unbridled talent, is extreme here but great as usual. John Goodman meanwhile is given a really meaty role, bringing unexpected depth to a film that doesn't require it.

There's not a frame of Red State that even remotely resembles anything that Smith has done before, but it's clearly his work. Billed as a horror film, the film is heavy on blood but light on both gore and actual horror. Unheard and unseen of in horror films of late, there's also a strong emphasis on character and dialogue. Red State is much closer in spirit to an exploitation film, as its subject matter is built on the foundation of the exploitation genre; taking a topical subject and exploiting it to extreme lengths. The latter half of the film is a large-scale stand-off sequence, complete with shoot-outs, moral dilemmas, and several onscreen deaths. Smith's forte is character and dialogue, but he's quite good with shoot-outs too. The laziness that marred the action sequences of Cop Out, his previous film, isn't present here. There was obviously more passion behind the camera as well as in the editing room.

Smith has publicly noted that he considers himself more of a writer than a director, yet ironically the biggest imperfections in Red State stem from the writing, with Smith never settling on a particular direction for his film. Smith has a gift for dialogue and it suits the film well here, but the dialogue between the teenaged characters in earlier scenes is heavy-handed; like it's trying to be vulgar, rather than letting vulgarity illustrate the mind-set of these characters. Smith has said that this would be a straight-forward horror film, with no comedy. Well, there is some comedy; there's just no toilet humor. The epilogue especially veers into comedy (of a satirical nature), but doesn't betray what came before it. Since he never settles specifically into the horror genre, the comedy keeps things interesting. One of the best moments in the film is also one of the funniest, with Smith delivering the film's final line off-screen. It's hilarious, but the symbolic nature of him delivering the line works on a much deeper level than just a director cameo pining for laughs.

There's a lack of direction, as Smith's horror film never allows itself to be categorized. It's not horrific enough to be horror, nor is there enough action for it to be an action film. Smith could have made an indictment of religious extremism in America, but chose not to. Perhaps Smith believed that showing the group, who don't do anything in the film that hasn't been perpetrated by real fundamentalists in the name of religion, speaks volumes by itself. While there are no profound statements made here about religion or anything else, Red State is not a failure and is an enjoyable film. It's well directed, with great performances and great dialogue; entertaining and much better than most of the crap that passes for horror/exploitation nowadays.

I admit that it's not the horror film that Smith promised, but it is better than most of the "horror" films audiences have been treated to in recent years. It also proves that Smith isn't the one-note director he's been accused of being. Red State is not a great film, it's not perfect, and I could make suggestions on what could have been improved, but Smith needs to be given credit for making a dark, fun movie. It lacks a profound or even profoundly satirical look at the fundamentalists he's going after, but Smith's final line sums everything up perfectly. When it comes to dealing with religious extremists of this sort, it's really the only thing you can say.

GRADE: B Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Mreh...worth watching once November 22, 2012

By Joseph Ervin

Format:Amazon Instant Video

I am definitely a Kevin Smith fan. That said, this was only so-so. Not horrible by any stretch, and entertaining for the time alotted, but that's it. It doesn't do anything new, and is pretty much a self-indulgent romp through stereotypes with a few troubled navel-gazers thrown in to make it less monochromatic. There are some great performances by Parks and Goodman, and it's pretty well done, but the story is nothing special at all.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars As a born-again Christian, I approve. March 8, 2012

By M. Carpenter

Format:DVD

To begin with, this movie has nothing to do with real Christians, but dangerous cults like the Westboro Baptist Church. That being said, good job Kevin Smith! This film is definitely a tight little thriller at times, along with some of Smith's trademark humor, as crude as it may be at times. Though I'm sure a lot of those offended by this were probably just as offended by Dogma (another one of Smith's better films). I mean, let's face it. Buddy Christ wasn't a slap at Christ, if anything he represents the "message" of "prosperity preachers" like Joel Olsteen.

Of course, Smith puts in a decent amount of nice little extras. I always say that trailers should be a given. However, commentary would be nice. Overall, it's a good little Thriller and Parks and Goodman are both excellent, as well as most of the cast.
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Edit:
3/4 found this helpful? Maybe that one bad vote was an Atheist who wants badly to think all Christians are like Fred Phelps.