History Film / RedState

* {{Expy}}: Subverted. Initially, it seems like the Five Points Church is an Expy for the Westboro Baptist Church, but close to the end of the movie, the actual WBC is mentioned as a way of emphasizing exactly how dangerous Five Points is.

* WriterOnBoard: An interesting case. While it's certainly a straight example, WordOfGod is that Kevin Smith considers ''Red State'''s religious and sexual politics to have been a misstep, as they caused viewers to put [[OvershadowedByControversy too much focus on the those aspects]] rather than taking the film on its own merits. His next attempt at horror, ''Film/{{Tusk}}'', has no political influences at all.

* SentencedWithoutATrial: [[spoiler:Using the Patriot Act, the ATF imprison the surviving Cooper's for life without a trial.]]

* DeathBySex: Happens to [[spoiler:the Sheriff]], who gets killed during the first firefight between the ATF and the Five Points Trinity Church.

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The Coopers, overlapping with ChurchMilitant, above. [[UpToEleven So far to the right]], in fact, that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even]] the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-Nazis]] think they're "[[GoshDangItToHeck nucking futs]]."

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the twi agents interviewing Keenan justify locking the surviving Coopers up forever this way. "Because fuck people like this." "They're animals."]]

--> '''Agent Keenan''': ''[on the phone]'' "No, that's the Westboro Baptist Church. You know, 'God Hates Fags'? They're suers, not doers."

* [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday Have I Begged For My Life By Screaming That I'm Heterosexual Today?]]: After being captured by the FPT Church, the boys scream that they're not gay, assuming that that's the only reason the Chruch wants to kill them, in the hopes that they'll be let go.

Writer/director Creator/KevinSmith's first foray into {{horror}}. After the disappointment of his last big studio film ''CopOut'', Smith decided to finally shoot the script he had written years ago during the shooting of ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' for the smallest budget he's had since ''Film/ChasingAmy''. Stars Creator/MichaelParks, Creator/JohnGoodman, Creator/MelissaLeo, and Creator/StephenRoot, and features a few more heavy weight issues than Smith's previous work.

* CruelMercy: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Keenan's superiors point out that they don't have to kill Cooper to keep him quiet. Instead they'll lock him away in a federal prison forever under the pretext of terrorism, where there is a high chance [[PrisonRape he'll be raped]] by the homosexuals he despises so much.]]

* InfantImmortality: Although Keenan's superiors wish to avert this, Cheyenne's actions (combined with a lot of dumb luck) manage to play it straight. [[spoiler:As long as you don't count the main trio and Cheyenne dying...]]

Writer/director Creator/KevinSmith's first foray into {{horror}}. After the disappointment of his last big studio film ''CopOut'', Smith decided to finally shoot the script he had written years ago during the shooting of ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' for the smallest budget he's had since ''Film/ChasingAmy''. Stars Michael Parks, Creator/JohnGoodman, Melissa Leo, and Creator/StephenRoot, and features a few more heavy weight issues than Smith's previous work.

* YourCheatingHeart: Regardless of [[FlameBait one's view of homosexuality]], the sheriff ''is'' cheating on his wife, and is physically displaying signs of being tormented by guilt over it.

* EvilVersusEvil: Sure, what the Five Points Trinity Church is doing is sure as hell wrong and immoral, but deciding to execute every last one of them, including the children, just to save face is a really screwed-up thing to do on the ATF's part.

* EvilVsEvil: The Five Points Trinity Church is killing gays and promiscuous teens out of religious mania. Then the ATF shows up, decides they are ''all'' terrorists, and decides to murder every single parishioner, including the children.

* BlackAndBlackMorality: Sure, what the Five Points Trinity Church is doing is sure as hell wrong and immoral, but deciding to execute every last one of them, including the children, just to save face is a really screwed-up thing to do on the ATF's part.