The Tripper (DVD)

For most of my years as a pop culture obsessive, I always considered David Arquette (a.k.a. Mr. Courteney Cox) to be just another loser from some irrelevant acting family that lived off of his wife's royalty checks. The Tripper, his surprisingly clever directorial debut, is forcing me to rethink my stance. While by no means is this a perfect movie; it is a fun, inventive slasher flick that is actually successful in its inclusion of political humor.

Set against the backdrop of a hippie music festival somewhere in rural California, The Tripper revolves around a group of the aforementioned hippies and a serial killer that wears a Ronald Reagan mask. That's really all we're offered in the way of plot, but that doesn't matter, because this is the kind of movie that would only be slowed by attempts at coherence. This is a movie that is all about paying homage to other movies, and it does so very well. It's obvious that Arquette loves the old slasher films he draws his inspiration from, and nearly every aspect of The Tripper, from its dumb hippie kids in the woods premise to its unstoppable killer, feels like it belongs in some long lost '80s movie. However, the real creativity comes from Arquette's style, which feels much more contemporary. This is a movie that is filmed in a very extreme manner, and its hyperactive design (think Natural Born Killers), while occasionally indulgent, definitely sets it apart from the slew of derivative horror movies that neither you nor I want to waste our time on.

The real pleasures of The Tripper, however, come from its scathing sense of humor. The idea of costuming the killer with a Reagan mask was a stroke of genius, and the jelly beans he leaves at the scenes of his crimes finish the task of perverting all that once seemed pure about that dopey old Republican. If, like me, you once sat in history class and thought, "Hey, that Reagan guy sure was an asshole," The Tripper will prove immensely enjoyable. Watching "The Gipper" hack his way through a group of hippies is one of the funniest acts of violence that I have seen this year, and in the carnage, Arquette seems to be making valid political critiques. That's not to say that the hippies come off as pure, though. The tree-huggers and animal rights in particular get a good shredding, proving that while still very left-leaning (in a good way), The Tripper leaves no sides untouched, playing every scene with snark and a wink.

As far as special features go, The Tripper is not a bad package, but not particularly great either. A smattering of featurettes alternating between interesting and asinine, a few of the deleted scenes are entertaining, the blooper reel is only funny for those who were involved in the production (in other words, not us commoners), and the commentary, while not at all essential to your viewing experience, is at times amusing. You may never get around to watching the features more than once (if at all), but if you give them the fifteen minutes or so that they deserve, you should walk away happy.

The Tripper is a rather clever satire that is much better than its publicity would lead you to believe. Behind its genre trappings lurks a very dark, witty sense of humor that actually feels relevant. This is the kind of movie that is at least worth a rental, and, while it will most certainly not be loved by all, I can see a certain group truly falling for its stylish mix of gore and humor. It's the perfect DVD to rent on Halloween. One of these days, The Tripper will make one hell of a midnight movie.