A modern slasher with a heavy dose of political commentary, "The Tripper" was the brainchild of actor / co-writer / director David Arquette (whom you probably know best as the dopey Deputy Dewey from the "Scream" franchise). It's got plenty of gore, and a fair amount of sex, but it's noteworthy more for its satirical approach, as it skewers the entire hippie generation and conservative Americas' response to it.
The plot is nothing special. You have an air headed gaggle of kids - played by, among others, Lukas Haas and Jaime King - heading for the woods to attend a "Woodstock" type rock festival organized by Frank Baker (Paul Reubens). Everybody's good time is ruined by the appearance of a savage psychopath who clearly admires Ronald Reagan, and who even keeps a pack of nasty dogs, the worst one being named Nancy.
Arquette does have some cutting things to say about his targets; he refers to the fact that a bunch of mental inmates had once been unleashed upon the world due to budgetary cutbacks engineered by Reagan. Overall, one would have to say that his commentary is heavy handed, but it does make this grind house-style horror picture a cut above a lot of other current genre fare.
Moodily shot by Bobby Bukowski, "The Tripper" is not totally without humour, but plays itself straight a good deal of the time. Since so many of the characters are not really fleshed out, you don't much care for them and will likely cheer when they meet their demise.
Some of the cast give it 100%. It's fun to watch "Pee-wee Herman" actor Reubens drop tons of F bombs and play a generally sleazy moron. Thomas Jane is also pretty amusing as a local yokel cop. Other familiar faces include Jason "Jay" Mewes, Rick Overton, and Balthazar Getty. Arquettes' brother Richmond plays the police officer Cooper; his then-wife Courtney Cox produced the film with him and has a cameo as an animal-loving hippie.
Definitely worth at least one look for genre fans.
Seven out of 10.
The plot is nothing special. You have an air headed gaggle of kids - played by, among others, Lukas Haas and Jaime King - heading for the woods to attend a "Woodstock" type rock festival organized by Frank Baker (Paul Reubens). Everybody's good time is ruined by the appearance of a savage psychopath who clearly admires Ronald Reagan, and who even keeps a pack of nasty dogs, the worst one being named Nancy.
Arquette does have some cutting things to say about his targets; he refers to the fact that a bunch of mental inmates had once been unleashed upon the world due to budgetary cutbacks engineered by Reagan. Overall, one would have to say that his commentary is heavy handed, but it does make this grind house-style horror picture a cut above a lot of other current genre fare.
Moodily shot by Bobby Bukowski, "The Tripper" is not totally without humour, but plays itself straight a good deal of the time. Since so many of the characters are not really fleshed out, you don't much care for them and will likely cheer when they meet their demise.
Some of the cast give it 100%. It's fun to watch "Pee-wee Herman" actor Reubens drop tons of F bombs and play a generally sleazy moron. Thomas Jane is also pretty amusing as a local yokel cop. Other familiar faces include Jason "Jay" Mewes, Rick Overton, and Balthazar Getty. Arquettes' brother Richmond plays the police officer Cooper; his then-wife Courtney Cox produced the film with him and has a cameo as an animal-loving hippie.
Definitely worth at least one look for genre fans.
Seven out of 10.