by: KFear
Posted on 11.10.09 in All Horror Films
Release Date: 2006

Political horror is a trip. George Romero combines the worlds of political downfall, social satire, and zombie outbreaks quite well, while still supplying his audience with enough gooey carnage to keep his films entertaining and somewhat thought provoking on many different levels. Now, before I even popped The Tripper into my DVD player, I have to admit, that I already had a preconceived notion of the ways that David Arquette might go about making a film that is not only politically charged, but also quirky, gruesome, and ludicrously over the top. While I was watching the film, I wanted nothing more than for Arquette to have a firm grasp on all the material that he was delivering. Unfortunately, he does not, and the Tripper constantly looses step throughout its entire running time. What we’re left with is a film that is barely politically thought provoking, due to its approach of the controversial issues, only the opening scene is at all frightening, and lastly, we’re left with a film that grows tedious in the ways that it once tried to shock its audience.

***A bit of a spoiler here***

Best not get ahead of one’s self. The Tripper is about a bunch of nature-loving individuals who get together, in the beautiful forest of California, for a groovy little concert and the celebration of peace, love, and tranquility. Each group comes to this annual festival with a car load of drugs, bongs, and every intention to have lots of fun that may or may not include an adequate amount of clothing. Little do they all know, a maniac is loose in the woods and he is hell-bent on slaying every one of these hippies until he can somehow, at least, in his own mind, bring justice to the death of his mother and have his revenge on the very tree hugging individuals that resulted in his families separation. Oh yes, and while he does his slayin, the killer wears a Ronald Reagan mask. How fitting! Well, the fact is, everyone in the area is very objective to the hippie festivities, and the films intent is to have you somewhat guess who the killer will be at the end of the entire massacre, but if you think about it just a little, it’s no big mystery at all; however, it doesn’t seem that the film is really centered around the mysterious identity of the killer either. Perhaps the film wouldn’t have been nearly the mess that it unfortunately is if the plot was more aimed at the killer’s true face. Instead, Arquette seems to aim the film more towards the exploitation of a culture that has already been exploited one too many times. In the end, you’ll be saying…”who really cares anymore?”

***End spoiler***

Despite the films many downfalls, there are some redeeming qualities to David Arquettes directorial efforts, and along with some truly amazing cinematography, The Tripper, at times, can be a very rewarding film to gaze upon. It’s set in a gorgeously dense forest, and each shot that is taken is well populated with lush greenery and beautiful mountain streams. Is there a better place to slay a bunch of hippies? Probably not, and I must say, it’s a good time to be had while watching some of the more explicit scenes of gory hippie hacking, but by the end of the film, it tends to lose its impact. This is due to the silliness of the characters (including the Reagan slayer) and the brutal killings never mending well within the film itself. It’s as if Arquette was trying to combine too much together at once. In the end, you’ll find yourself looking at the pretty redwoods more so than the loads of intestines that tend to freely hang out of our main characters, on more than one occasion.

In the end, what made The Tripper so dissatisfying, was me realizing how much I wanted to thoroughly enjoy the film, but did not in almost the slightest. Its humor could have saved the film, by saying that the picture was more of a comedy first and a horror film second, but the film is hardly at all humorous. You can almost picture David and Courtney laughing hysterically behind the camera, as if they too were on drugs, but of course nobody else on crew, along with the films future audience, is unfortunately laughing with them. Maybe the humor was just not my cup of tea…but my girlfriend didn’t chuckle at least once either.

Now, the actors in the film all do a credible job, the cinematography is fantastic, and the camera work is all fine and good….but if you don’t find the anti-republican humor to be the least bit funny, and it’s not, you will find yourself to be completely disappointed with the outcome. In order to understand the rest of the political attributes to the film, you’d also have to have further knowledge of Reagan’s administration. If you do understand the references and such, you also might let out a big yawn and wonder why the story was ever created decades after Reagan’s presidency. Ugh!

The DVD is packed with many excellent extras, including interviews, commentary, bloopers, and everything else that makes this an otherwise essential package to have in your collection, however; If I had to give you one word to describe this film it would be…”unnecessary.” Especially after reading a lot of positive reviews, from critics I admire, I was even more disappointed with this film. Sad but true.

* Acting – 4
* Blood – 4
* Violence – 4
* Partying – 5
* Language – 5
* Humor – 3
* Predictability – 4
* Girls – 4
* Gore – 5
* Sexuality – 5
* Torture – 3
* Overall – 4

• ★★★★★

  Acting:

• ★★★★★

  Blood:

• ★★★★★

  Violence:

• ★★★★★

  Partying:

• ★★★★★

  Language:

• ★★★★★

  Humor:

• ★★★★★

  Predictable:

• ★★★★★

  Girls:

• ★★★★★

  Gore:

• ★★★★★

  Sexuality:

• ★★★★★

  Torture:

• ★★★★★

  Overall: