FAQ

Although it was initially suspected that it would be a slasher film, it is actually more like an action thriller. The horror is derived from real life hatred and the violence that people are capable of committing. Also unlike most slasher films, all violence and death in Red State is done with firearms. The movie however does feature numerous horror genre tropes where comparisons can be made between it and The Devil's Rejects and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It is not based on an actual story but is inspired but various real life events. The Five Points Church is loosely based on the real-life Topeka, Kansas church/cult Westboro Baptist Church. The villain Abin Cooper is a composite of Fred Phelps, Jim Jones, David Koresh and other leaders of religious cults. The events of the story are also quite similar to the Branch Davidian tragedy in Waco, Texas in 1993.

During the shootout with the ATF and Five Points Church, the congregation's children are hidden in the attic. Later the teenage church member Cheyenne tells them to escape out the back and they are not seen in the film again. During many of Kevin Smith's Q&A appearances for the film he has said that if you listen to the background audio there is the sound of children screaming in the distance soon after the scene when Cheyenne and Jared are killed. Smith said he intentionally chose not to reveal the exact fate of the children.

Kevin Smith's first drafted ending for Red State was to have the climactic shootout at the church end when the true apocalypse begins: Trumpet blasts herald from the sky which turns blood red and is filled with angels, one of which impales Pastor Cooper with a flaming sword. Given the film's $5,000 special effects budget this ending was logistically impossible yet elements of it inspired the film's final ending.

No. This movie is a stand alone story. It does not contain (ex: Jay and Silent Bob) any characters or overt references to previous Kevin Smith films.