FILM

'Red State' (3)

Kevin Smith is best known as the writer/director of multiple comedies, such as Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, to name a few. In Red State, though, he plunges into horror, where Christian Fundamentalism is his plot’s subject matter. Credit has to be awarded to Smith for creating alarming material out of something he could have easily mocked, but to say that he’s made a film that is a triumph in all things gory would be a lie. Loose ends remain loose and corruption appears forced and out of context during the movie’s final moments. However, he is able to create some truly horrifying, bone-tingling imagery - for this he owes a heavy thank you to Michael Parks, portraying the disturbing, bigoted pastor Abin Cooper. His monologue in the church interior is delivered with patronizing and venomous hatred, which can be felt through the screen - his anger provokes anger in those watching (or at least those who disagree with violent treatment of homosexuals, which I assume is the majority of us). Parks is by far the star of the screen, but this is a reasonable step in the right direction for a director new to the genre.