Editorials
Kevin Smith’s First Horror Movie ‘Red State’ is Even More Terrifyingly Relevant 10 Years Later
From Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later to Scorsese’s Shutter Island, some of the most entertaining genre films are made by established directors attempting to challenge themselves by trying something new. Mostly known for his indie comedies, Kevin Smith might not be the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of legitimately chilling movies, but I’d argue that his 2011 thriller Red State is proof that the director has more up his sleeve than vulgar humor and comic-book references. Now that the film is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and with Smith set to return to horror with the Creepshow-inspired Kilroy Was Here, I think this is the perfect time to look back on his surprisingly effective take on religious terror.
If you haven’t seen it, Red State follows a group of teenagers who drive out to meet an older woman after being enticed with the promise of group sex. Naturally, the arrangement turns out to be a trap, and the teens find themselves kidnapped by the Five Points Trinity Church, an extremist Christian sect hell-bent on making an example out of these young sinners. Meanwhile, the authorities are alerted to the church’s suspicious actions and decide to pay a visit, with the investigation soon escalating into all-out carnage in an unpredictable thriller.
There’s a lot more to the film than this setup, with the story heading into unexpected directions as bodies begin to pile and the situation becomes more desperate. In fact, Red State‘s constantly evolving script means that it feels like a different movie every 15 minutes, even making you question who’s the real protagonist and making it impossible to predict where this bonkers plot is headed as it defies genre expectations. The movie can go from Hostel to The Wicker Man without a second’s notice, and that manic energy is precisely what makes it so entertaining.
Kevin Smith at his most versatile.
Like most of Smith’s output, Red State undeniably has a sense of (mostly dark) humor, with moments like Sheriff Wynan’s near-slapstick levels of incompetence and the general absurdity of watching middle-aged church-folk arming themselves with assault rifles, but it’s certainly not a comedy. These brief laughs are mostly used to establish character traits and keep viewers on their toes as they anticipate the next disturbing scene. This general weirdness and the breakneck pacing might not be to everyone’s liking, but I see it as the film’s greatest strength, allowing Smith to play around with genre tropes in new and exciting ways
Despite the overall insanity, it’s clear that the director is borrowing from real world horrors when telling this eerie fable, taking inspiration from notorious figures like Jim Jones and Fred Phelps while also referencing infamous events like the Waco siege of ’93. Even back in 2011, Smith intended to show how excessive publicity can push some of these far-right groups to even more heinous acts, which is something that would only get worse in the following years with the rise of social media politics and fake news.
The believable script isn’t Red State‘s only asset, with Smith taking a lo-fi approach to filmmaking that only enhances the story’s chaotic elements. Featuring messy digital photography and quick and dirty cuts mostly done on the spot (as the director edited most of the movie during shooting), the film makes you feel like you’re really trapped alongside these characters in a terrifying and confusing situation. It was also mostly shot in sequence, allowing performances to escalate naturally from an acting perspective.
Speaking of acting, John Goodman stands out with his portrayal of a jaded federal agent who’s been ordered to silence all witnesses, and Michael Angarano, Nicholas Braun and Kyle Gallner make for a charming trio of fun-loving teenagers. However, there’s no denying that Michael Parks‘ fanatical Abin Cooper is the main attraction here, lighting up the screen with his compelling fire-and-brimstone sermons and a fatherly demeanor in a performance that highlights just how easy it is to fall into cults of personality. Channeling real world preachers (with some inspiration from fascist leaders for added flavor), Parks is equally charming and imposing as the leader of this deadly community, and you understand why his followers are ready to die for his beliefs. It’s no wonder that Smith would once again partner up with the late actor in the underrated Tusk, which features another powerhouse performance by Parks.
Church versus State.
Having grown up in an extremely religious household, I can appreciate how Smith perfectly encapsulates the dangers of cult-like thinking and how these groups can become an echo chamber of hatred when they’re convinced that their harmful beliefs are morally justified. Having the government’s incompetent response escalate the situation into something worse actually makes Red State more believable. The movie’s even more relevant now than it was back in 2011, with online outrage culture making these communities louder and more dangerous.
Kevin Smith is no stranger to religious controversy, especially after Dogma sparked outrage from several religious groups back in ’99, and Red State was no different. A small group of Westboro Baptist Church members even showed up to protest the premiere only to be mocked by the director, who joined in on the fun. Of course, the film’s religious elements were even more pronounced in the original script, which featured an even crazier deus ex machina once heavenly trumpets interrupt the climactic showdown. While the finished film ends on an ironic coincidence, Smith initially meant for the film to conclude with the literal apocalypse. While that might have been a step too far, it’s still fun to imagine a wilder cut of this already-bonkers picture.
At the end of the day, Red State isn’t a perfect movie, suffering from bizarre tonal shifts and a few action sequences that could have benefited from a larger budget, but it’s still a terrifying exploration of weaponized faith and a refreshing change of pace for Kevin Smith as an artist. While the film might not fulfill the horrific promises of its first act, it remains a unique example of religious horror that’s even more thrilling 10 years down the line.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
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