The Tripper (2006)

Directed by: David Arquette | 93 minutes | horror, comedy | Actors: Thomas Jane, Jaime King, Paz de la Huerta, Ben Gardiner, Balthazar Getty, Lukas Haas, Josh Hammond, Jason Mewes, Brad Hunt, Stephen Heath, Christopher Allen Nelson, Paul Reubens, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Richmond Arquette

‘The Tripper’ is the directorial debut of David Arquette (Agent Dewey from ‘Scream’). He is also responsible for the screenplay. The result is a slasher in which a man in a Ronald Reagan mask and his ax wreaks havoc at a hippie party in the woods. ‘The Tripper’ is not just another slasher, Arquette has given his film a political overtone that allows him to distinguish his film from other horror films. Arquette opens his film with a funny quote from Ronald Reagan himself. “A hippie is someone who looks like Tarzan, walks like Jane and smells like cheetah.” The comic tone has been set, and thanks to the gory opening scene in which a chainsaw plays an important role, the viewer immediately knows what kind of film you are dealing with.

‘The Tripper’ has political references, drugs and lots of nudity. Not unimportant in a horror film is the number of victims and the gore content. Fortunately, that’s fine. Especially at the end of the film there is a lot of chopping and sawing by Reagan. Many will not survive the party. The gore fans will certainly get their money’s worth with this film. To break the tension, horror scenes are alternated with comic moments. For example, most hippies are so stoned that they don’t even realize what exactly is going on.

There are a few well-known names in the cast. For example, Thomas Jane (“The Punisher”) plays the role of a police officer who wants to ban the party in the woods after the first victim is found. Jason Mewes, better known as Jay from a number of Kevin Smith films, such as ‘Clerks’, plays a drug-addicted hippie who will recover from addiction rather quickly. Also in a small supporting role we see Courteney Cox-Arquette (Monica from the Friends series). David Arquette has also cast himself as a local country bumpkin who, along with his buddies, fights with the group of hippies.

Apart from the political references, the story has little to say, but that is exactly as the director intended. ‘The Tripper’ is a gory slasher that provides a lot of entertainment. You will certainly pass the movie with a smile. Curious what else David Arquette has in store for us as director in the future.