The Tripper

Fox
Street: Oct. 23
Prebook: Sept. 26
> Directing debut from David Arquette is an oddball mix with cult appeal.

One part slasher film that seems to have emerged from an ’80s time capsule, another part ’60s drug feature à la The Trip and still another part anti-Republican rant, this movie by neophyte director David Arquette is something you just don’t see every day. The story concerns a group of contemporary hippies who take their van to a Free Love Festival in Northern California. But between magic mushroom intakes and bong hits, those attending the groovy love-in are terrorized by a group of local rednecks and a maniac wearing a Ronald Reagan mask. It all adds up to a wild mish-mash of gore, psychedelic effects and political asides that damn the conservatives of the past and present. Those into weird cinema will have a field day with this and the enjoyable cast, which includes Paul Reubens as a sleazy promoter, Arquette’s wife Courteney Cox and Jason Mewes of Jay and Silent Bob fame as one of the counterculture leaders. What’s most interesting—and, ironically, the film’s chief problem—is that the hippies are almost as dislikable as the film’s villains.

Shelf Talk: The Tripper received an abbreviated theatrical release after some play at horror festivals, but those who know Arquette—co-star of the Scream films, pro wrestling enthusiast and WCW champ—know to expect the unexpected from him. And that’s what they’ll get with this endeavor. Arquette does show talent in the technical side of things and has a sure hand with the bloody sequences, which should help bring in the horror fans who like their gore scores high, especially in the unrated DVD edition.