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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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 23, 2026

Red State = a *3* star Movie!

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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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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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