I never thought I'd see a filmmaker reinvent themselves so much that the entire length of movie, I forgot who directed it. But Kevin Smith has absolutely done that with his new film Red State. Smith, who is best known for his wildly vulgar and geek friendly comedies such as Clerks, Dogma, and Chasing Amy, decided to take on some very dark material and has created a very bleak, unsettling movie that is much like an exploitation movies of the 70s. It took over four years for him to get this made, and in a way I can see why. But any studio who would have picked it up would have ruined what Smith was trying to do. Making this as an independent film was absolutely the way to go. Even more impressive was the cast he was able to assemble for this. You have Michael Park as Pastor Abin Cooper, leader of the Five Points Church, Academy award winner Melissa Leo as his daughter Sarah, John Goodman as ATF Agent Keenan, and a whose who of young up and coming Hollywood actors.
