Who would of thought that a film about a serial killer who not only is obsessed with Ronald Regan but dresses just like him would be so dam good. That’s the case with The Tripper. Directed by actor David Arquette (Scream, Riding the Bullet) whom also co-wrote the film with Joe Harris (Witchwise, Darkness Falls), The Tripper is one of those smart horror films that not only has the blood and gore, but a good story a sense of humor and most importantly deals with many social issues that we deal with on a daily basis here in the U.S. today.
The Tripper follows a group of young adults who can be considered modern day hippies. They are on their way to a festival in the redwood forest that’s very much like Woodstock. When they get there however, a bizarre series of murders begin to happen. A man named Gus running around with conservative point of views dressed like Ronald Regan lives in the forest where the festival takes place. Without giving too much of the plot away, we are given a back story on the killer who dons the Regan look and the reason why he hates hippies so much. For the most part the story is nothing original, as it is a film that does have one killing after another, but what it does have is a very solid story.
Arquette and Harris’s script was very well researched. I’ve always been into horror films that are more than just the gore and blood that always expected when a film is labeled as “horror”. What Arquette and Harris are telling us with this script is that history tends to repeat itself. The film begins with young Gus watching television, images of the Vietnam war are being displayed on the screen we see protests of the war and film of Ronald Regan whom at the time was governor of California giving speeches and so forth. Then the film cuts to the reality of today, where we are at war with Iraq and the negativity toward our current president for his actions. The script compare the two time era’s as almost being identical to one another. I don’t want to get too deep into the political swirl of things that is present in the script for this film, however I always throw my support behind a horror script that stands out as being more than just a horror film. I think Arquette and Harris wrote the perfect script.
The acting in the film can be taken in many different lights. I’ve read some fan reviews that ripped the acting apart in this film. However I disagree in that I think that the overacting helped give the film that great seventies horror feel that this film threw off. The film has a very big cast with many talented actors. The friends are played by Jamie King (Sin City) whom plays our main focus in the film as a shy young girl named Sam. Her new boyfriend Ivan played by Lucas Haas (Lady in White) and four other friends one of which is played by Clerks star Jason Mewes. Tomas Jane ( The Punisher) plays a big role in the film as the sheriff Buzz Hall. Jane’s performance was what I thought was the best in the film. To be honest when he first appeared on screen I had no clue it was him. The make-up department did such a great job with his look, that I was not really sure it was him throughout the whole film. Jane did a great job acting. The rest of the cast includes Arquette himself in a small role as a local red neck, his wife Courtney Cox in a cameo role as a hippie, Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) as the festival organizer Frank Baker and Balthazar Getty as Sam’s crazy ex-boyfriend.
I loved the production value in this film. The way in which David Arquette chose to shoot this film really worked well for me. The feel and style was very reminiscent of a horror film shot during the seventies, but threw off a b-movie feel of a horror film of the eighties. The film also gives off a style that also follows with the title of the film. The movie is based around one of the characters bad experience with LSD and Arquette brings you into the trip as it happening by using a lot of multi- colored effects and blurry shots. The film is filled with many different styles of shots which really helps with getting the story across. The film was mainly shot on location in the Red Woods forest, so set design was minimal with the exception of the killers home which I would compare to the likes of the house in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The costume design and effect were also pretty good. The make-up effects were pretty decent, but there were a few things that did look fake. Mostly it was the severed heads that looked plastic, but other than that we pretty much get some basic effects in the film.
In closing I have never really been a big fan of horror films that involves excessive drug use and nudity, however the lifestyle of a hippie involves just that, being free to do whatever you want. So in this rare case I didn’t mind it at all, as it was used as more of an expression of the type of culture that people who classify themselves as hippies are like. What I really saw in this film that I feel many have failed to see is the political satire and the message that the film has about our society today. Behind all the smoke and fog that is the comedy and horror that this film brings to table, there is a real message here. It’s a smart horror film, that uses the many elements of entertainment to get the real message of the film across. I for one think its one of the best horror films of 2007. A true gem of horror.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
