When I first heard David Arquette was directing a horror movie, the first thing I thought of was the Scream franchise.  While the first Scream was entertaining, the thing that stuck out in my mind about the franchise was the silliness of the films.  Not to mention the sometimes cheesy dialog/acting and  the bad plots.  My ultimate fear about The Tripper was that it would turn into what Scream was: a silly, over-the-top slasher flick.  And with the possibility of politics being thrown into The Tripper, I was worried that this would be too preachy and  take away from the overall quality.  I am happy to say I was dead wrong about all of this. 

What The Tripper ended up being was a very good throwback to 70's era slashers.   The film sometimes could be goofy, which is expected of a satire style slasher.  However, the goofiness never was over the top and did not make the movie suffer in my opinion.  The movie sets the tone really early, with a pretty bloody opening in the first few minutes.  Before I saw the film I read one or two reviews and one I readsaid the opening scene was reminiscent of the film Pieces.  After watching this film and looking back, I'd say that it is a very favorable comparison. 

After this opening, the plot is pretty basic but well executed.  While a plot of local hillbillies being upset about a hippie music/love fest in the woods nearby is hardly origional, releasing a killer in a Reagan mask with an axe on them spices up this angle.  The killer is very similar to well known Jason Vorhees except with political inspirations.  He lives by himself in the woods and kills those who are having fun.  And these hippies stumbled into his neck of the woods so they could have a good time, which obviously does not sit well with our Reagan obsessed killer.  One by one these hippies start to die much to the dismay local town sherrif named Buzz Hall, who begins to hunt down the killer.  Buzz Hall is played by Thomas Jane of "The Punisher" fame, and in my opinion he is one of the highlights of this film. 

One thing that I enjoyed was that we were able to get some background on the killer and how he became this way.  Often times I am disappointed when you get no backstory as you never know the motives and intent behind the killers actions.

Another thing that made this so enjoyable for me was that the film never takes itself too seriously.  There are some great elements of humor mixed into this film.  The castings are perfect for most the roles, several of which you can tell were cast to purely provide some laughs.  Most notably funny roles were from Paul Reubens playing the sleazy concert promoter, Jason Mewes as a hippy (not much of a stretch from previous work), and a great cameo from David's wife, Courtney Cox.  The killer himself adds some subtle humor, as his Reagan act is quite perfect.  Between his quotes from Reagan era politics, to leaving jelly beans at the crime scene (Reagan was obsessed with Jelly Belly brand jelly beans while in office) the killer is able to remain creppy, yet entertaining.

I am hoping this sounds a little more exciting than it appears on the surface because it was.  It isnt the most origional plot or idea, but David Arquette did a very good job of executing this simplistic idea. His techniques are clearly a throwback to times when slasher films ruled, but he also is able to keep a lighthearded feeling to this film. The humor blends nicely, and the politics are never too in-your-face. Those who arent familiar with Reagan area politics might not get all the tongue in cheek politcal jokes, but that would note take away from the charm of this film. Also everytime a typical horror formula is used or cliche is touched upon, David  is able to make it his own with small twists that provides a fresh and unique feel.  And while the gore and special effects are somewhat cheesy and over the top, this is what helps it keep from being to serious.  I would have enjoyed even more blood, as I felt things could have been a little more intense at times, but seeing as this is a satire of the slasher genre what is provide is more then adequate for your average gorehound. 

Overall, The Tripper was a lot of fun and combined what I love in horror movies; subtle humour, sex, drugs, and gore and used it to make one entertaining film.  The whole crowd was into it as they recieved thrills, laughed, and even cheered. I dont remember the last small, indie horror movie I have seen in theatres that was able to get an audience to scream, laugh and cheer all in one. 

 I think David Arquette has made a great first impression in the horror genre.  I think if he is able to prove to Hollywood he is capable of doing a big budget horror flick that he might find wider success than with a small, independant feature like this. However, I know that this film was not created for box office success.  It was created for David's love of the horror genre and he seems to really put a lot of effort into making his debut a memorable one.  He was able to take a general horror formula and make it his own.   I had a great time watching his film and look forward to the possible sequel that David has mentioned: "The Tripper 2: The Burning Bush"!