The Tripper (2006)

A Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer targets a bunch of hippies who are heading to a weekend-long concert.

Director:

David Arquette

Writers:

David Arquette, Joe Harris

Stars:

Jaime King, Thomas Jane, Lukas Haas

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Arquette	...	Muff
Richmond Arquette	...	Cooper
Courteney Cox	...	Dog Lover Hippie (as Courteney Cox Arquette)
China Crawford	...	Paramedic (as China Raven Crawford)
Paz de la Huerta	...	Jade / Summer (as Paz De La Huerta)
Alan Draven	...	Kid #1
Norwood Fisher	...	Band (as John Norwood Fisher)
Ben Gardiner	...	Wilson
Rocky George	...	Band
Balthazar Getty	...	Jimmy
DeAndre Gipson	...	Band
Redmond Gleeson	...	Dylan / Father
Richard Gross	...	Cop
Lukas Haas	...	Ivan
Josh Hammond	...	Tyler

Storyline

In the 80's, after seeing his father and lumberjack foreman being hit by a protestor against the deforesting and arrested by the police, the boy Gus kills the protestor with a chainsaw. In the present days, Samantha, who is traumatized after being abused by her former boyfriend Jimmy, travels with her pothead friends in a van to the American Free Love Festival, a rock-and-roll concert in the woods. Near the location, they are assaulted by three local hillbillies, but they succeed to arrive in the festival. Meanwhile, Mayor Hal Burton and Deputy Buzz Hall try to give a minimum of organization to the event. However, a deranged psychopath serial-killer wearing a mask of Ronald Reagan uses an ax to kill the pacific stoned hippies.

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Plot Keywords:

ronald reagan mask | slasher | stoner comedy | sexy | axe wielding maniac | 

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Taglines:

Move Over Jason, Look Out Freddie. HEEERE'S RONNIE!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, drug content, language and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Its title in Germany is "President Evil".

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Goofs

The US flag behind the stage is an old 48 star version.

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Quotes

Frank Baker: Gentlemen, there's a saying - Rome wasn't built in a day. I got a little saying of my own - Fuck Rome. This is America! We can do what we please. Some of you look a little worried. Don't be. We'll be out of here first thing Monday, and your precious little forest won't be any the worse for wear.
Mayor Hal Burton: Well, Mr. Baker, yours is certainly an impressive enterprise.
Frank Baker: Please, call me Frank!
Mayor Hal Burton: Well, it's just that... there's a couple of concerns regarding, uh...
Frank Baker: What? Gate receipts, profit sharing?
Buzz Hall: Fatalities.

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Crazy Credits

No hippies or republicans were harmed in this film

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Alternate Versions

The R-rated version is cut in the US.

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Connections

Referenced in Robot Chicken: President Evil (2008)

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Soundtracks

101 North
Written by Duane Denison (BMI), Mike Patton (Mal Di Gola Music, ASCAP), Kevin Rotmanis (BMI) and John Stanier (BMI)
Performed by Tomahawk
Courtesy of IPECAC Recordings ©2001

User Reviews

David Arquette should stick with acting...

...because based on the evidence of "The Tripper" he's an average-at-best director and a distinctly second- or even third-string screenwriter, though no doubt hamstrung by the scripting contributions of Joe "Darkness Falls" Harris. I'm sorry, I admire good intentions as well as the next guy, but only when they rise above mundane infernal construction projects, if you catch my drift. "The Tripper" is essentially a vanity project, and suffers accordingly.

The production values are alright for a relatively low-budget affair, especially the at-times lovely DP work from Bobby "Arlington Road" Bukowski, and the acting varies from earnestly professional (particularly leads Lukas "Mars Attacks" Haas and Jaime "Sin City" King) to egregiously self-conscious (most notably the ever-moronic-but-somehow-likable Jason "I owe Kevin Smith everything" Mewes and Paul "I AM Pee-Wee!" Reubens), with various shades in-between, including a slumming Thomas "The Mist" Jane as a local sheriff doing his best to keep a straight face. No one, though, collectively or individually, is able to redeem the sophomoric script.

I won't bore my gentle reader with yet another synopsis; you can find that in profusion elsewhere. "The Tripper" is, at best, a slasher film pseudo-parody that plays things too seriously to be genuinely funny, and too tongue-in-cheek to be remotely scary. Arquette should have gone for one or the other, not both. It's a watch-once film that I'm quite relieved I found at the library instead of wasting money buying or renting it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Tripper

Filming Locations:

Big Basin Redwoods State Park - 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,840, 22 April 2007

Gross USA:

$20,840

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,840

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coquette Productions, NaVinci Films, Raw Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1