Red State (2011 film)
Encyclopedia
Red State is a 2011 American independent
horror film
written and directed by Kevin Smith
, starring Michael Parks
, John Goodman
, Melissa Leo
and Stephen Root
. The film co-stars Ralph Garman
, Kevin Pollak
, Kerry Bishé
, Haley Ramm
, Kevin Alejandro
, Anna Gunn
, Kyle Gallner
, Michael Angarano
, and Nicholas Braun
.
For months, Smith had maintained that the rights to the film would be auctioned off to a distributor at a controversial event to be held after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
, but instead Smith purchased the film himself which, according to analysts, "might have been a difficult sale for any distributor." Smith originally planned to self-distribute the picture under the "Smodcast Pictures" banner with a traveling show in select cities, before officially releasing the movie on October 19, 2011. Kevin Smith listed Mel Gibson
as his inspiration for how he planned to distribute this movie, citing Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
as an example of a successfully self-distributed movie.
On June 28, 2011, Smith announced a one-week run in Quentin Tarantino
's New Beverly Cinema
(making the film and its actors eligible for Academy Award consideration). The film was released via video on demand
on September 1, 2011 through Lionsgate, was released in select theaters again for a special one-night only engagement on September 23, 2011 (via Smodcast Pictures), and was released on home video October 18, 2011.
) notices first a fire station siren being removed from its pole and then members of the Five Points Church, led by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks
) protesting the funeral of a local gay
teenager who was found murdered. During Travis' first class, his teacher talks about how Cooper and his church had their town ridiculed for his actions and beliefs. Later, Jared (Kyle Gallner
), a friend of Travis, reveals he received an invitation from a woman he met on a sex site for group sex with himself, Travis and Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun
). They borrow Travis' parent's car and travel out into the country to meet with the woman.
Along the way, they accidentally sideswipe the vehicle of Sheriff Wynan (Stephen Root
), while he was engaged in a homosexual affair in his car. Afraid, the boys drive off. Sheriff Wynan returns to the station and tells his deputy Pete (Matt L. Jones
) to go and look for the vehicle. Meanwhile, the boys arrive at the trailer of the woman who sent out the invitation, Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo
). She encourages them to drink, and after being drugged by the beer, they pass out while undressing. Jared wakes up while being moved in a covered cage. He realizes he is in the sanctuary at Five Points after he identifies Cooper. Cooper begins a long, hate-filled sermon before identifying another captive, a homosexual they lured in through an internet chat room. They bind him to a cross using plastic cling wrap, execute him with a revolver
and drop him into a small crawl space where Travis and Billy Ray are bound together.
Cooper then begins binding Jared to the cross, but stops when he notices Pete driving up to the church. Travis and Billy Ray use a protruding bone from the corpse to cut themselves free, which is heard by Caleb (Ralph Garman
). He lifts up the trap door just in time to see Billy Ray escape and runs after him. Billy Ray is not able to help Travis out of his tight cling wrap cuffs and leaves him for dead. Caleb chases Billy Ray into a room stocked with weapons, where the two end up shooting each other. Pete hears the gunshots and calls Wynan for back-up, but is shot and killed by Mordechai (James Parks). Cooper then blackmails Wynan, telling him to stay away or he will reveal Wynan's homosexuality to his wife using explicit photos the church has taken of him. In despair, Wynan calls ATF Agent Joseph Keenan (John Goodman
), who begins setting up outside of the church.
While the family mourns Caleb, Travis (who had broken free and feigned death alongside Billy Ray's corpse) arms himself and makes a run for it, eventually making it outside where he is shot and killed by Wynan, who mistook him for a member of the congregation. Keenan tries to reason with the family but a shoot-out erupts instead after one of Keenan's men (played by Kevin Pollak) is shot in the head. In the midst of the shooting, Agent Keenan receives a call from ATF higher-ups ordering him to start a full raid
of the complex to ensure that no witnesses remain of the operation to give details of the events. Another tactical agent named Harry (Kevin Alejandro
) struggles with this decision and argues with Keenan in private against doing this. Keenan dismisses Harry's protests for personal reasons, rationalizing his decision based on personal gain and the reputation of the ATF, and Harry storms off in disgust. During the shoot-out, Cheyenne (Kerry Bishé
) escapes and is captured by an ATF agent who is about to shoot her (per orders) but he is instead killed by another Cheyenne's mother,Sarah. Cheyenne returns to the house and unbinds Jared, begging him to help her hide the congregation's children. Jared refuses due to the fact that the church had killed both his best friends, and her pleas turn into a fight. Sarah notices them and attacks Jared. Cheyenne tries to break up the fight and accidentally shoots Sarah in the process, killing her. Cheyenne send the children up into the attic, and Jared changes his mind and decides to help Cheyenne hide the children. They run outside to plead with Keenan to spare the children but are killed by Tactical Agent Harry, who has come around to accepting Keenan's rationales, though Keenan is now visibly disturbed by Harry's actions. The shoot-out is then suddenly interrupted when a mysterious loud trumpet blast echos across the sky. The remaining Coopers lower their weapons and run outside rejoicing, claiming that "the Rapture" has come upon them as the trumpet continues to play. Abin Cooper calmly approaches a stunned ATF team and confidently taunts them that God's wrath is upon the Earth. He raises his arms and stands in the face of a confused and worried Keenan in a moment of triumph, daring him to defy God as the trumpet blares.
Several days later, during a briefing before high-ranking government officials, Keenan is asked what he did next and he reports that he then head-butted Cooper and took the rest of the congregation into custody. He explains that the trumpet noises were not in fact the Rapture but came from a group of marijuana farmers who lived down the road and were irritated with Cooper. As a prank they rigged up an old fire truck siren to an iPod
with loud trumpet noises, unaware of the shootout taking place over the hill. Keenan is promoted despite disobeying a direct order from his superiors at the time to kill everyone at the compound. Keenan is surprised that he is not punished for his insubordinate actions but his superiors explained that their initial decision to kill the members of the congregation was mostly personal anyway and that they are satisfied with the alternative punishment of taking away the prisoners constitutional rights to due process, locking them up without ever letting them go to trial. They also laugh at the irony that Abin, who views homosexuality as an abomination, will more than likely be raped numerous times by his fellow male inmates. Keenan laments this outcome in a story he shares about a couple of hungry brawling dogs he once knew that taught him about the darker side of human nature and the way simple beliefs can turn humans into bloodthirsty animals.
Abin Cooper is finally seen pacing around his cell singing and preaching to himself until he hears "Shut the fuck up!" being yelled by another prisoner (voiced by director Kevin Smith
). The film cuts to black and credits roll.
. After Cooper tells Keenan to shoot him, Cooper's chest explodes, followed by the remaining family members' chests exploding one by one, and then the remaining agents' chests exploding one by one. During these deaths, the ground shakes and splits, and Keenan curls up on the ground and closes his eyes. When he opens his eyes he sees the last agent killed with a giant sword coming out of his chest, which is being wielded by an enormous armored angel. The angel looks at Keenan, puts a finger to his lips, and says "shhhhh". The angel then flies off into the sky, and as the angel banks out of the picture the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse descend.
, or as Smith claimed, "very much about that subject matter, that point of view and that position taken to the absolute extreme
. It is certainly not Phelps himself but it's very much inspired by a Phelps (like) figure." The first draft was finished in August 2007 with Smith wanting to film it before Zack and Miri Make a Porno
. Setting it apart from the majority of his other films, Smith made it clear that Red State was a horror film, stating that there would be no toilet humor in the film.
While speaking at a Q&A event in London
on October 13, 2009, Kevin Smith stated that funding had been secured for Red State but he is more of the mindset to proceed with Hit Somebody and hold Red State off for a year. Another reason which was also cited was a superstition he holds around dying after his tenth movie, and not wanting to leave an "unpleasant, nasty" film as his last. In February 2010, he talked about his project with CINSSU, saying that the project is currently working out financial challenges and he had also considered obtaining funding through investments from his many loyal fans but this idea was later dropped.
Film producers Bob
and Harvey Weinstein
, who had been involved in the distribution of all Kevin Smith films with the exception of Mallrats
and Cop Out, passed on supporting Red State with necessary funding. The budget was provided from two main private investor groups that raised the $4 million, one based in New York, one in Canada.
On July 24, 2010, it was also reported that actor Michael Parks
had signed on to the film in a starring role, and on September 5, 2010, Smith confirmed that Matt L. Jones
was also cast. On the September 20 edition of his and Ralph Garman's podcast
Hollywood Babble-on, Kevin Smith announced that John Goodman
had joined the cast. Smith edited the film throughout production and showed a first cut at the film's wrap party.
In July 2010, Smith stated on his Twitter
account that "God-willing, Sundance
in Jan for RED STATE." On November 8, Smith announced on Twitter that the movie was viewed by Sundance, to determine if it was eligible for entry in the 2011 festival. On December 1, Smith announced on his Plus One podcast that Red State would be screened at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in the non-competition section.
Although Kevin Smith planned to auction off the rights to Red State to distributors attending his Sundance
screening of the film, he changed his mind and informed his audience that he was unable to continue to use the festival to look for a distributor for the film after the audience's reaction to his film. Smith planned to self-distribute as a traveling roadshow beginning March 5 at Radio City Music Hall
, and would tour the film across North America before releasing Red State directly to DVD and VOD.
. Although Smith had decided to self-distribute the film, according to the film's producer Jonathan Gordon the option of self-distributing the movie wasn't considered at first:
The sudden announcement of self-distribution after initially announcing an auction provoked a backlash from the media and accusations of dishonesty, with some analysts commenting that they watched Kevin Smith "implode" and that he had "lost cred" and one prominent buyer saying, "He stole two hours and insulted every one of us...He was a little like the twisted preacher Michael Parks played in his film. It became life imitating art." The internet community seemed to galvanize in response to the controversy, according to analysts, "...it seems Kevin Smith finally has the Internet critical community united on the same side: against him." Smith countered allegations of dishonesty by saying, "And I told the truth, in my tweet. I said, 'If I get to Sundance, I intend to pick my distributor in the room, auction-style.' Auction-style—did I not do that?...I stood up there and said that I'm gonna take my movie—I'm gonna take it out and try not to spend money doing it."
Kim Masters, editor-at-large for the Hollywood Reporter, interviewed associates close to Smith about his alleged career "implosion" at the Sundance
debut of his film and the events leading up to it:
Smith responded to Masters, saying that it was "a Jerry Maguire
moment. I've got a little fish in a plastic bag and one idealistic secretary on my side, and the Bob Sugars seem to be leaning in doorways, smirking."
The fundamentalist group Westboro Baptist Church
protested the film's release at the Sundance Film Festival because some of the elements of the film were influenced by their group.
reports that reviews of the film have been mixed. The film currently holds an overall approval rating of 59% based on 68 reviews with an average score of 5.9/10. Edward Douglas of Shock Till You Drop panned the movie saying that, "it feels like one of Smith's Twitter rants fleshed out into film with equal portions of bile sprayed at both church and state." Katey Rich of Cinema Blend
reporting in her review, "Messy, overwritten, visually stylish, but kind of a bore. More like Kevin Smith than it looks because nobody ever stops talking. And it's not a horror movie by any usual definition. More like teen horror movie morphs into Waco disaster
. Melissa Leo overacts, Michael Parks is impressive as Fred Phelps figure but the character's meaning and purpose in the narrative (or lack thereof) is fuzzy." Jordan Hoffman in his review for UGO also panned the film, saying, "Kevin Smith, a wonderful public speaker and genuinely fun guy, has yet to master the basics of movie making." According to Drew Mcweeny of "Motion Captured", "Kevin Smith's 'Red State' fails onscreen and off at its world premiere...A shoddy film and a bait-and-switch event fail to satisfy on any level." Raffi Asdourian of The Film Stage wrote that, "While there are glimpses of Smith's wry humor scattered throughout, Red State can't help but feel like a B action movie that started off with ambitious ideas but collapses under it's own preachy weight... it's clear that the smart alec writer still has some things to learn about making a great film." Matt Goldberg of Collider.com wrote that, "Red State is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he's devised."
James Rocchi writing for indieWire
wrote that, "...Smith has gotten as far as he has with his comedies because it is a writer's genre more so than it is a director's. Horror is the genre of a director—pacing, feel, shots, editing—and Smith's skills are not up to the task..."
Amongst the positive reactions to the film, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter
called the movie, "A potent cinematic hand grenade tossed to bigots everywhere." Jeff Sneider of TheWrap.com said, "The truth is that I didn't really know what to expect from 'Red State,' but regardless, I still had high expectations and am pleased to report that the film lived up to them. [...] it brings something new to the genre, and that something is faith." Germain Lussier of /Film
also praised the film, saying, "This is a maturing, confident Smith who proves, after Cop Out, he still has a unique voice. With Red State, that voice isn't saying anything incredibly groundbreaking, and at times it gets a tad preachy, but the director has expanded out of his comfort zone and given audiences a genuine piece of art." Director Richard Kelly
also offered his take on the film and Smith while appearing on Smith's SMovieMakers podcast. He said "I have never seen a filmmaker reinvent himself the way you just have. I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything. It's really really exciting…" Smith blogged on his official film website that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
saw the film and gave him positive feedback about it. Former collaborator Ben Affleck
also loved the film and is casting Goodman, Parks and Bishe in his upcoming film Argo
as a response.
In October 2011, Red State won the Best Motion Picture award at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival, while Michael Parks was named Best Actor.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
written and directed by Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
, starring Michael Parks
Michael Parks
Michael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
, John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
, Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...
and Stephen Root
Stephen Root
Stephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...
. The film co-stars Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
, Kevin Pollak
Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
, Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
, Haley Ramm
Haley Ramm
Haley Michelle Ramm is an American actress. She played a young Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand and appeared in multiple episodes of the CBS drama Without a Trace throughout 2007 and 2008.-Early life:...
, Kevin Alejandro
Kevin Alejandro
Kevin Michael Alejandro is an American actor. Alejandro may be best known for his roles as Nate Moretta in the series Southland and as Jesus Velasquez in the series True Blood.-Early life:...
, Anna Gunn
Anna Gunn
Anna Gunn is an American actress, best known for her roles as Assistant District Attorney Jean Ward on The Practice, Martha Bullock on Deadwood, and, currently, Skyler White on Breaking Bad. She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Glasses" and on the first season of Murder One...
, Kyle Gallner
Kyle Gallner
Kyle Gallner is an American actor. He is possibly best known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the Teen neo-noir television series Veronica Mars, and for guest-starring in teen sci-fi drama Smallville as superhero Bart Allen, an adaptation of the character of The Flash and...
, Michael Angarano
Michael Angarano
- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
, and Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Braun is an American actor.-Life and career:Braun was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Elizabeth Lyle and actor Craig Braun...
.
For months, Smith had maintained that the rights to the film would be auctioned off to a distributor at a controversial event to be held after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, but instead Smith purchased the film himself which, according to analysts, "might have been a difficult sale for any distributor." Smith originally planned to self-distribute the picture under the "Smodcast Pictures" banner with a traveling show in select cities, before officially releasing the movie on October 19, 2011. Kevin Smith listed Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
as his inspiration for how he planned to distribute this movie, citing Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
as an example of a successfully self-distributed movie.
On June 28, 2011, Smith announced a one-week run in Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's New Beverly Cinema
New Beverly Cinema
The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Housed in a theater which dates to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region....
(making the film and its actors eligible for Academy Award consideration). The film was released via video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
on September 1, 2011 through Lionsgate, was released in select theaters again for a special one-night only engagement on September 23, 2011 (via Smodcast Pictures), and was released on home video October 18, 2011.
Plot
Being driven to school by his mother, Travis (Michael AngaranoMichael Angarano
- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
) notices first a fire station siren being removed from its pole and then members of the Five Points Church, led by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks
Michael Parks
Michael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
) protesting the funeral of a local gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
teenager who was found murdered. During Travis' first class, his teacher talks about how Cooper and his church had their town ridiculed for his actions and beliefs. Later, Jared (Kyle Gallner
Kyle Gallner
Kyle Gallner is an American actor. He is possibly best known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the Teen neo-noir television series Veronica Mars, and for guest-starring in teen sci-fi drama Smallville as superhero Bart Allen, an adaptation of the character of The Flash and...
), a friend of Travis, reveals he received an invitation from a woman he met on a sex site for group sex with himself, Travis and Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Braun
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Braun is an American actor.-Life and career:Braun was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Elizabeth Lyle and actor Craig Braun...
). They borrow Travis' parent's car and travel out into the country to meet with the woman.
Along the way, they accidentally sideswipe the vehicle of Sheriff Wynan (Stephen Root
Stephen Root
Stephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...
), while he was engaged in a homosexual affair in his car. Afraid, the boys drive off. Sheriff Wynan returns to the station and tells his deputy Pete (Matt L. Jones
Matt L. Jones
Matthew L. "Matt" Jones is an American actor and comedian best known for his recurring role as Badger on Breaking Bad and for voicing Gunther on the animated series Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.-Life and career:...
) to go and look for the vehicle. Meanwhile, the boys arrive at the trailer of the woman who sent out the invitation, Sarah Cooper (Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...
). She encourages them to drink, and after being drugged by the beer, they pass out while undressing. Jared wakes up while being moved in a covered cage. He realizes he is in the sanctuary at Five Points after he identifies Cooper. Cooper begins a long, hate-filled sermon before identifying another captive, a homosexual they lured in through an internet chat room. They bind him to a cross using plastic cling wrap, execute him with a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
and drop him into a small crawl space where Travis and Billy Ray are bound together.
Cooper then begins binding Jared to the cross, but stops when he notices Pete driving up to the church. Travis and Billy Ray use a protruding bone from the corpse to cut themselves free, which is heard by Caleb (Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman
Ralph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
). He lifts up the trap door just in time to see Billy Ray escape and runs after him. Billy Ray is not able to help Travis out of his tight cling wrap cuffs and leaves him for dead. Caleb chases Billy Ray into a room stocked with weapons, where the two end up shooting each other. Pete hears the gunshots and calls Wynan for back-up, but is shot and killed by Mordechai (James Parks). Cooper then blackmails Wynan, telling him to stay away or he will reveal Wynan's homosexuality to his wife using explicit photos the church has taken of him. In despair, Wynan calls ATF Agent Joseph Keenan (John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
), who begins setting up outside of the church.
While the family mourns Caleb, Travis (who had broken free and feigned death alongside Billy Ray's corpse) arms himself and makes a run for it, eventually making it outside where he is shot and killed by Wynan, who mistook him for a member of the congregation. Keenan tries to reason with the family but a shoot-out erupts instead after one of Keenan's men (played by Kevin Pollak) is shot in the head. In the midst of the shooting, Agent Keenan receives a call from ATF higher-ups ordering him to start a full raid
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
of the complex to ensure that no witnesses remain of the operation to give details of the events. Another tactical agent named Harry (Kevin Alejandro
Kevin Alejandro
Kevin Michael Alejandro is an American actor. Alejandro may be best known for his roles as Nate Moretta in the series Southland and as Jesus Velasquez in the series True Blood.-Early life:...
) struggles with this decision and argues with Keenan in private against doing this. Keenan dismisses Harry's protests for personal reasons, rationalizing his decision based on personal gain and the reputation of the ATF, and Harry storms off in disgust. During the shoot-out, Cheyenne (Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
) escapes and is captured by an ATF agent who is about to shoot her (per orders) but he is instead killed by another Cheyenne's mother,Sarah. Cheyenne returns to the house and unbinds Jared, begging him to help her hide the congregation's children. Jared refuses due to the fact that the church had killed both his best friends, and her pleas turn into a fight. Sarah notices them and attacks Jared. Cheyenne tries to break up the fight and accidentally shoots Sarah in the process, killing her. Cheyenne send the children up into the attic, and Jared changes his mind and decides to help Cheyenne hide the children. They run outside to plead with Keenan to spare the children but are killed by Tactical Agent Harry, who has come around to accepting Keenan's rationales, though Keenan is now visibly disturbed by Harry's actions. The shoot-out is then suddenly interrupted when a mysterious loud trumpet blast echos across the sky. The remaining Coopers lower their weapons and run outside rejoicing, claiming that "the Rapture" has come upon them as the trumpet continues to play. Abin Cooper calmly approaches a stunned ATF team and confidently taunts them that God's wrath is upon the Earth. He raises his arms and stands in the face of a confused and worried Keenan in a moment of triumph, daring him to defy God as the trumpet blares.
Several days later, during a briefing before high-ranking government officials, Keenan is asked what he did next and he reports that he then head-butted Cooper and took the rest of the congregation into custody. He explains that the trumpet noises were not in fact the Rapture but came from a group of marijuana farmers who lived down the road and were irritated with Cooper. As a prank they rigged up an old fire truck siren to an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
with loud trumpet noises, unaware of the shootout taking place over the hill. Keenan is promoted despite disobeying a direct order from his superiors at the time to kill everyone at the compound. Keenan is surprised that he is not punished for his insubordinate actions but his superiors explained that their initial decision to kill the members of the congregation was mostly personal anyway and that they are satisfied with the alternative punishment of taking away the prisoners constitutional rights to due process, locking them up without ever letting them go to trial. They also laugh at the irony that Abin, who views homosexuality as an abomination, will more than likely be raped numerous times by his fellow male inmates. Keenan laments this outcome in a story he shares about a couple of hungry brawling dogs he once knew that taught him about the darker side of human nature and the way simple beliefs can turn humans into bloodthirsty animals.
Abin Cooper is finally seen pacing around his cell singing and preaching to himself until he hears "Shut the fuck up!" being yelled by another prisoner (voiced by director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
). The film cuts to black and credits roll.
Original Ending
During various interactive Q&As for the film, Smith has stated that the original ending actually continued through with the trumpets signaling the RaptureRapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
. After Cooper tells Keenan to shoot him, Cooper's chest explodes, followed by the remaining family members' chests exploding one by one, and then the remaining agents' chests exploding one by one. During these deaths, the ground shakes and splits, and Keenan curls up on the ground and closes his eyes. When he opens his eyes he sees the last agent killed with a giant sword coming out of his chest, which is being wielded by an enormous armored angel. The angel looks at Keenan, puts a finger to his lips, and says "shhhhh". The angel then flies off into the sky, and as the angel banks out of the picture the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse descend.
Cast
- Michael ParksMichael ParksMichael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
as Pastor Abin Cooper - John GoodmanJohn GoodmanJohn Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
as ATFATF- Places :* ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code of French Southern and Antarctic Lands* Chachoan Airport , Ambato, Ecuador- Organizations :...
Special Agent Keenan, a federal agent sent to investigate several disturbances at the Cooper family homestead. - Melissa LeoMelissa LeoMelissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...
as Sarah, Pastor Cooper's daughter, Caleb's wife and Cheyenne's mother. - Ralph GarmanRalph GarmanRalph Garman is an American actor, comedian, and radio host best known as the host of The Joe Schmo Show, for his voice work in Family Guy, and as the entertainment reporter and impressionist for the Kevin and Bean morning show on Los Angeles radio station, KROQ-FM...
as Caleb, Sarah's husband, Abin Cooper's son-in-law and Cheyenne's father - Kerry BishéKerry BishéKerry Bishé , is an American actress, best known for playing Lucy Bennett, the main character in season nine of medical comedy Scrubs...
as Cheyenne, Sarah and Caleb's daughter and Abin Cooper's granddaughter - Haley RammHaley RammHaley Michelle Ramm is an American actress. She played a young Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand and appeared in multiple episodes of the CBS drama Without a Trace throughout 2007 and 2008.-Early life:...
as Maggie - Michael AngaranoMichael Angarano- Early life :Angarano was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Doreen and Michael P. Angarano. He is of Italian descent. His family owns and operates three successful dance studios; two in New York and one in California called Reflections in Dance. His mother is the owner and director of all...
as Travis, one of the three teens who go for the group sex. - Kyle GallnerKyle GallnerKyle Gallner is an American actor. He is possibly best known for his portrayal of Cassidy "Beaver" Casablancas in the Teen neo-noir television series Veronica Mars, and for guest-starring in teen sci-fi drama Smallville as superhero Bart Allen, an adaptation of the character of The Flash and...
as Jared, another teen who replied to the online sex ad. - Nicholas BraunNicholas BraunNicholas Joseph "Nick" Braun is an American actor.-Life and career:Braun was born in Bethpage, New York, the son of Elizabeth Lyle and actor Craig Braun...
as Billy Ray, the third teen. - Stephen RootStephen RootStephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...
as Sheriff Wynan - James Parks as Mordechai, Pastor Cooper's son and Fiona May's father.
- Kevin PollakKevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist, game show host, and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of 10 and touring professionally at the age of 20...
as ATF Special Agent Brooks - Matt L. JonesMatt L. JonesMatthew L. "Matt" Jones is an American actor and comedian best known for his recurring role as Badger on Breaking Bad and for voicing Gunther on the animated series Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.-Life and career:...
as Deputy Pete - Kevin AlejandroKevin AlejandroKevin Michael Alejandro is an American actor. Alejandro may be best known for his roles as Nate Moretta in the series Southland and as Jesus Velasquez in the series True Blood.-Early life:...
as Tactical Agent Harry - Anna GunnAnna GunnAnna Gunn is an American actress, best known for her roles as Assistant District Attorney Jean Ward on The Practice, Martha Bullock on Deadwood, and, currently, Skyler White on Breaking Bad. She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Glasses" and on the first season of Murder One...
as Irma - Betty AberlinBetty AberlinBetty Aberlin is an American actress, poet, and writer.Born as Betty Kay Ageloff in New York City, Aberlin had a regular role on The Smothers Brothers Show. She worked on various TV spots, and played Lady Aberlin on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood...
as Abigail - Marc BlucasMarc BlucasMarcus Paul "Marc" Blucas is an American actor, known for playing Riley Finn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early life:...
as ATF Sniper - Elizabeth Tripp as Melanie, Abin Cooper's granddaughter, Caleb and Sarah's daughter
- Jennifer Schwalbach SmithJennifer Schwalbach SmithJennifer Schwalbach Smith , sometimes credited as Jennifer Schwalbach, is an American actress, former reporter for USA Today, digital broadcaster, and the wife of film director Kevin Smith.-Early life:...
as Esther, Mordechai's wife and Fiona May's mother - Molly Livingston as Fiona May, Abin Cooper's granddaughter and the daughter of Mordechai and Ester.
- Alexa NikolasAlexa NikolasAlexa Helen Nikolas is an American actress. Her most notable is that of Nicole Bristow on the Nickelodeon TV show Zoey 101, in which she appeared from 2005 to 2006.-Career:...
as Jesse - Hoc Sy as Butch
Production
Kevin Smith announced at the Wizard World Chicago 2006 convention that his next project would move in a different direction, and it would be a straight horror film. In April 2007, Smith revealed the title of the movie to be Red State and said that it was inspired by infamous pastor Fred PhelpsFred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
, or as Smith claimed, "very much about that subject matter, that point of view and that position taken to the absolute extreme
Extremism
Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...
. It is certainly not Phelps himself but it's very much inspired by a Phelps (like) figure." The first draft was finished in August 2007 with Smith wanting to film it before Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a 2008 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, distributed by The Weinstein Company, and starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. It is Smith's second film not to be set within the View Askewniverse and the first not set in New Jersey. It was...
. Setting it apart from the majority of his other films, Smith made it clear that Red State was a horror film, stating that there would be no toilet humor in the film.
While speaking at a Q&A event in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on October 13, 2009, Kevin Smith stated that funding had been secured for Red State but he is more of the mindset to proceed with Hit Somebody and hold Red State off for a year. Another reason which was also cited was a superstition he holds around dying after his tenth movie, and not wanting to leave an "unpleasant, nasty" film as his last. In February 2010, he talked about his project with CINSSU, saying that the project is currently working out financial challenges and he had also considered obtaining funding through investments from his many loyal fans but this idea was later dropped.
Film producers Bob
Bob Weinstein
Robert "Bob" Weinstein is an American film and theatre producer, the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Company.-Career:...
and Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
, who had been involved in the distribution of all Kevin Smith films with the exception of Mallrats
Mallrats
Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is the second to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey, although the movie was filmed in Eden Prairie Center and Osowski's Flea Market which are located in Minnesota...
and Cop Out, passed on supporting Red State with necessary funding. The budget was provided from two main private investor groups that raised the $4 million, one based in New York, one in Canada.
On July 24, 2010, it was also reported that actor Michael Parks
Michael Parks
Michael Parks is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in almost fifty films and has made frequent TV appearances, but is probably best known for his work in recent years with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith as well as the 1969 television series Then Came...
had signed on to the film in a starring role, and on September 5, 2010, Smith confirmed that Matt L. Jones
Matt L. Jones
Matthew L. "Matt" Jones is an American actor and comedian best known for his recurring role as Badger on Breaking Bad and for voicing Gunther on the animated series Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.-Life and career:...
was also cast. On the September 20 edition of his and Ralph Garman's podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
Hollywood Babble-on, Kevin Smith announced that John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
had joined the cast. Smith edited the film throughout production and showed a first cut at the film's wrap party.
In July 2010, Smith stated on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that "God-willing, Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in Jan for RED STATE." On November 8, Smith announced on Twitter that the movie was viewed by Sundance, to determine if it was eligible for entry in the 2011 festival. On December 1, Smith announced on his Plus One podcast that Red State would be screened at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in the non-competition section.
Marketing and distribution
Throughout the months of November and December, teaser posters were released featuring characters from the movie in auctions via his Twitter account with the winning bidder hosting the poster exclusively on their website, while the money raised by the auction went to charity. Smith released a teaser trailer for the film on December 23, 2010.Although Kevin Smith planned to auction off the rights to Red State to distributors attending his Sundance
Sundance
Sundance Resort is a ski resort located northeast of Provo, Utah, spanning over on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Range. Snow skiing began on the site in 1944...
screening of the film, he changed his mind and informed his audience that he was unable to continue to use the festival to look for a distributor for the film after the audience's reaction to his film. Smith planned to self-distribute as a traveling roadshow beginning March 5 at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, and would tour the film across North America before releasing Red State directly to DVD and VOD.
Auction controversy
Controversy soon erupted after Kevin Smith's public behavior during the film's debut screening at SundanceSundance
Sundance Resort is a ski resort located northeast of Provo, Utah, spanning over on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Range. Snow skiing began on the site in 1944...
. Although Smith had decided to self-distribute the film, according to the film's producer Jonathan Gordon the option of self-distributing the movie wasn't considered at first:
Hiring longtime specialty exec Dinerstein (whose film marketing consultancy also arranges self-distribution deals), bringing aboard Cinetic Media (which arranged service deals for sale titles like last year's Banksy doc "Exit Through the Gift Shop") with co-seller WME, and slapping the word "March" at the end of the teaser trailer has led many to suspect Smith has a self-distribution backup plan should an attractive offer fail to materialize. But is self-distribution or a service deal even an option they're considering? "No," says Gordon. "We want to have someone who loves the movie, understands it, knows how to handle it and get the most out of it."
The sudden announcement of self-distribution after initially announcing an auction provoked a backlash from the media and accusations of dishonesty, with some analysts commenting that they watched Kevin Smith "implode" and that he had "lost cred" and one prominent buyer saying, "He stole two hours and insulted every one of us...He was a little like the twisted preacher Michael Parks played in his film. It became life imitating art." The internet community seemed to galvanize in response to the controversy, according to analysts, "...it seems Kevin Smith finally has the Internet critical community united on the same side: against him." Smith countered allegations of dishonesty by saying, "And I told the truth, in my tweet. I said, 'If I get to Sundance, I intend to pick my distributor in the room, auction-style.' Auction-style—did I not do that?...I stood up there and said that I'm gonna take my movie—I'm gonna take it out and try not to spend money doing it."
Kim Masters, editor-at-large for the Hollywood Reporter, interviewed associates close to Smith about his alleged career "implosion" at the Sundance
Sundance
Sundance Resort is a ski resort located northeast of Provo, Utah, spanning over on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah's Wasatch Range. Snow skiing began on the site in 1944...
debut of his film and the events leading up to it:
Smith was one of the first in the business to have a website and sell merchandise – pieces of film from his movies and action figures – to fans. But one source who has worked with him thinks Smith might be one of the first filmmakers to exploit and then be undone by social media, and that access to social media has eliminated any filter that might have protected Smith from emotional outbursts that, in this person's view, have undermined his career.
Smith responded to Masters, saying that it was "a Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
moment. I've got a little fish in a plastic bag and one idealistic secretary on my side, and the Bob Sugars seem to be leaning in doorways, smirking."
The fundamentalist group Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
protested the film's release at the Sundance Film Festival because some of the elements of the film were influenced by their group.
Reception
The review aggregation site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that reviews of the film have been mixed. The film currently holds an overall approval rating of 59% based on 68 reviews with an average score of 5.9/10. Edward Douglas of Shock Till You Drop panned the movie saying that, "it feels like one of Smith's Twitter rants fleshed out into film with equal portions of bile sprayed at both church and state." Katey Rich of Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
reporting in her review, "Messy, overwritten, visually stylish, but kind of a bore. More like Kevin Smith than it looks because nobody ever stops talking. And it's not a horror movie by any usual definition. More like teen horror movie morphs into Waco disaster
Waco Siege
The Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
. Melissa Leo overacts, Michael Parks is impressive as Fred Phelps figure but the character's meaning and purpose in the narrative (or lack thereof) is fuzzy." Jordan Hoffman in his review for UGO also panned the film, saying, "Kevin Smith, a wonderful public speaker and genuinely fun guy, has yet to master the basics of movie making." According to Drew Mcweeny of "Motion Captured", "Kevin Smith's 'Red State' fails onscreen and off at its world premiere...A shoddy film and a bait-and-switch event fail to satisfy on any level." Raffi Asdourian of The Film Stage wrote that, "While there are glimpses of Smith's wry humor scattered throughout, Red State can't help but feel like a B action movie that started off with ambitious ideas but collapses under it's own preachy weight... it's clear that the smart alec writer still has some things to learn about making a great film." Matt Goldberg of Collider.com wrote that, "Red State is a radical departure for Smith and yet he lacks the confidence to properly execute the action-horror-thriller he's devised."
James Rocchi writing for indieWire
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...
wrote that, "...Smith has gotten as far as he has with his comedies because it is a writer's genre more so than it is a director's. Horror is the genre of a director—pacing, feel, shots, editing—and Smith's skills are not up to the task..."
Amongst the positive reactions to the film, Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
called the movie, "A potent cinematic hand grenade tossed to bigots everywhere." Jeff Sneider of TheWrap.com said, "The truth is that I didn't really know what to expect from 'Red State,' but regardless, I still had high expectations and am pleased to report that the film lived up to them. [...] it brings something new to the genre, and that something is faith." Germain Lussier of /Film
/Film
/Film is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005.-Podcasts:Two podcasts run on the site. The /Filmcast airs Sunday nights, hosted by David Chen, Adam Quigley, and Devindra Hardawar, in which they and a guest discuss TV and...
also praised the film, saying, "This is a maturing, confident Smith who proves, after Cop Out, he still has a unique voice. With Red State, that voice isn't saying anything incredibly groundbreaking, and at times it gets a tad preachy, but the director has expanded out of his comfort zone and given audiences a genuine piece of art." Director Richard Kelly
Richard Kelly (director)
James Richard Kelly is an American film director and writer, best known for writing and directing the cult classic Donnie Darko in 2001.-Early life:...
also offered his take on the film and Smith while appearing on Smith's SMovieMakers podcast. He said "I have never seen a filmmaker reinvent himself the way you just have. I won't say anything else because I don't want to spoil anything. It's really really exciting…" Smith blogged on his official film website that filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
saw the film and gave him positive feedback about it. Former collaborator Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
also loved the film and is casting Goodman, Parks and Bishe in his upcoming film Argo
Argo (2012 film)
Argo is an upcoming historical drama film about the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Filming began in September of 2011, and it is scheduled to be released in 2012.-Premise:...
as a response.
In October 2011, Red State won the Best Motion Picture award at the 2011 Sitges Film Festival, while Michael Parks was named Best Actor.