Red State
http://letterboxd.com/jmc/list/kevin-smith-project
Joseph Keenan: People just do the strangest things when they believe they're entitled. But they do even stranger things when they just plain believe.
After the dreadful Cop Out comes Red State, the film you didn't think Kevin Smith had in him, everything about this film is right, John Goodman is insanely good, Michael Parks is even better!
It's not an easy film to watch, it's very intense, I felt very uncomfortable during the sermon scene, it's hard to listen to that stuff when you really don't believe it, but that's not to say it isn't convincing! Kevin Smith proving once again he's a master scriptwriter, it's not quotable like his back catalogue but the monologues are awesome.
Recommended.
Addendum, regarding the ending, it seemed to work better on this repeat viewing, I still hate the whole idea of the Rapture, but there would have been no other way to end that thread of the story other than killing everyone in the house. About the scene with the agents at the end, and the comments about prison rape, it does, and doesn't seem out of place in the film, I'm suggesting that it doesn't because in my opinion, these guys are pen-pushers and are supposed to be unlikable, it's not in tone with Goodman's character and his actions throughout the film, but he doesn't condone or even react to the comments, I didn't find it particularly jarring.