Red State (2011)

I'm not a Kevin Smith fan.  He just doesn't do it for me.  That said, he's improving and this his first good film shows that making four or five practice films does make one better.   I'm glad I didn't watch this for my horror film marathon because this is not a horror film.  It tricks you, starting out as a horror film (with a nightmarish scenerio of three young men kidnapped by a religious cult) but quickly turns into something else.  In many ways it's two films compressed into one and it's entertaining and inventive because of this structure.  Some of the heavy-handed commentary that Mr. Smith paints on is as thick as usual but it didn't bother me this time around.  John Goodman is great like always and there are many surprises worth waiting for.  Grade: B+.