On the surface, horror and Kevin Smith  don't go together. But that hasn't stopped the indie director best known for Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob from trying. His first effort, Red State , was so-so. I'd say it falls more into thriller territory than horror. His latest effort, Tusk, sounds a lot more like a straight-up genre picture, with a little bit of Smith's humour thrown in for good measure.

Kevin Smith is no stranger to the strange, as anyone familiar with the conversational antics of the SModcast Podcast Network will be aware.  His departure from the comedic realms of New Jersey -based misfits, Red State , was no less strange, but far more creepy than I would have felt him capable of. His follow-up, Tusk, is the second film in what is to be a horror trilogy by the potty-humoured writer/director/(silent actor?)/entrepreneur, and it is his strangest effort to date.

Red State Shaw: Kevin Smith had fun with this and I’m glad he did. He danced around some serious issues under the guise of a bunch of fanatical religious good 'ole boys. I think he stabbed at the increased security, the "increased protection” the U.S. government is slowly tightening around America’s neck in the name of Homeland Security. He just dressed it up with a great shoot out, some good comedic moments and a pretty good cast. I have to say, if I just pay attention to the surface movie, the entertaining "dress up", and don’t dive into the meanings I think he was really trying to hint at, I give it a Good. But I don't want to look beyond that. Jason: One of the few movies where, once the end credits rolled, I sat in stunned silence for about a minute before going “huh.” Parts of this are very much like a traditional Kevin Smith movie. It's very talky, the camera is rather static, and a lot of the language is crude and focuses on dicks and cocksucki...

The themes might be in the realm of pure exploitation, but the way tonight's films execute them (if you'll excuse the pun) is decidedly different than most genre pictures. And count on Kevin Smith to bring some controversy to the double bill with his first foray into non-goofball cinema, Red State. Smith, best known for films like Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, stirred up Hollywood when he announced he was auctioning Red State during the movie's debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Then, at the last minute, he decided to distribute it himself. By doing this, Smith seemed to piss off pretty much everyone.But is his movie worthy of all the hubbub? Stick with us! And stick around for The Basement Dwellers' thoughts on Adam Wingard's serial killer movie A Horrible Way To Die. On the surface it sounds like a typical horror film: killer escapes from prison and cuts a path through everyone he meets as he pursues his ex-girlfriend. But, as with Smith and R...

I know Kevin Smith is not usually associated with horror. Correction, he's the last person I'd associate with the genre. But the writer/director known best for dick and fart jokes and Jay and Silent Bob is making just that . . . a horror film. Below are a couple of stills from the film, which is scheduled to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival early next year. They don't show much, but I have to admit I'm kinda jazzed to see if Smith can expand beyond the juvenile humour he's best known for. Over at Arrow In the Head , director Richard "Donnie Darko" Kelly, who has watched the film, is quoted as saying he's never seen such a reinvention for a filmmaker. Sweet. Has me psyched. Red State is about a group of misfits who run afoul of an extreme group of fundamentalists in Middle America. The pics below feature what I believe are said misfits, John Goodman sitting on a bed, and cutie Kerry Bishe looking scared. No word on when Red State will be r...