SENSITIVE souls move along, there's nothing to see in Red State, Kevin Smith's new action-horror movie.

For the rest of us, however, Red State is a guilty pleasure in the blood-soaked tradition of Grindhouse.

Apparently inspired by the Waco siege and the controversial Westboro Baptist Church, Smith largely plays it for laughs, as three sex starved teens looking to sleep with an older woman who are lured to a creepy rural retreat by Melissa Leo's promises of a good time. The retreat is run by the Five Points Church, who turn out to be a bunch of right wing nutters that plan to show the boys the error of their ways.

With a barnstorming performance by Michael Parks, as the crazy preacher Abin Cooper, Red State is by turns provocative, uncomfortable and laugh-out-loud funny.

Smith has written comic strips which might be the explanation for several abrupt changes of pace but, overall, this is a good movie which makes some serious points about right-wing religious bigotry without forgetting it's supposed to be a fun time.

It might be a bit uneven but Red State is Smith's best movie since Chasing Amy.

In fact, after this I could almost forgive him for Cop Out. Almost.

* Red State is out now on DVD and Blu Ray from Entertainment One.