It's been a while since someone's acting has blown me away in a horror film. So long, in fact, that I couldn't come up with a clear-cut example. But I was enthralled recently by the quite grace, the understated delivery, and the raw crazy of one man recently. Now, whether or not the movie,
Red State, is technically horror is a discussion for another day, tomorrow in fact. The inaugural episode of
SlasherCast will delve into the good and bad of Kevin Smith's first foray into darker territory.
But, as I said in
my review earlier, Michael Parks is fantastic in his role. His manner is calm, even while pumping gunfire at ATF agents. He's at once grandfatherly and even tempered and completely, fantastically deranged. He is a great version of the crazed evangelist who is willing to go to extremes for his beliefs.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
There's a moment I describe in
my review where he is casually sipping coffee during a raucous demonstration outside a funeral. His manner is so understated in that scene, that you only realize much later in the film that he was quite likely responsible for that dead body and what his casual manner really means. He is hardcore religious and feels so righteous that this crime means nothing to him except vindication.
Additionally, Parks has a fantastic voice, as he demonstrates in the film and on a separately recorded album of spirituals. His rendition of "Closer Walk to Thee" is ethereal and toe-tappingly heartfelt. I highly recommend
checking it out if you can appreciate that style of music at all.
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