For his first foray into the horror genre Kevin Smith (the writer/director of comedy hits such as Clerks and Mallrats) has written and directed Red State; a movie which is partially modelled on one of his favourites (the 1975 thriller Race With the Devil) and focusses on wheat happens when a few kids get on the wrong side of some religious fundamentalists.
Unlike the satanic cultists in Race with the Devil, Smith’s Red State flips the coin and exposes the horrors at the other end of the scale; where fundamentalist Christians can turn out to be every bit as creepy, dangerous, and downright terrifying, as devil worshippers; and are based on the real-life leader of the Westboro Baptist Church.
While Smith has so far released few key plot details, it is known that the film follows the exploits of three high-school kids that go on a road trip in search of a woman who’s been promising sex on a website, before they come into contact with the cult run by Red State’s extremists preacher; who’s being played by Michael Parks (Kill bill).
John Goodman (Roseanne), Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Melissa Leo (21 grams), Michael Angarano (Almost Famous), and Stephen Root (Dodgeball), will all be joining Parks in the film which wrapped at the end of October, but unfortunately still lacks an official release date, but is due to have its official premiere on January 23rd at the Sundance Film Festival, before the rights to the film are auctioned off.
But for now, the film’s first teaser trailer can be seen below, and Kevin Smith’s Twitter feed, and official website are regularly updated places to find more information on his upcoming projects.
