Despite all the brouhaha about Kevin Smith making the unlikely move into horror, it really wouldn’t have occurred to me to call this a “horror film” if it wasn’t listed and described as one everywhere. It is certainly a thriller up to a point, but even this element is dropped pretty quickly in favor of a semi-satirical jab at government hypocrisy and religious extremism. Although it is no more substantial than other Smith films, it is redeemed to a huge extent by something they have never had before; a solid lead dramatic performance. The too-little-seen (and chameleonic) Michael Parks brilliantly portrays a militant Fred Phelps-type Bible-thumper whose whole theology revolves around hating gays. After Parks, the film’s only other real strength is that it keeps moving at a fast clip and takes several surprising turns. All of this is wasted, however, by the bizarre cop-out of a climax that (get this) you don’t see but only hear described after-the-fact by one of the characters. Most movies have too many endings crammed into them, so I suppose we can compliment Smith for the odd move of having no ending at all, but that doesn’t make the film any better unfortunately.
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