Caffeinated Clint
He couldn’t even spell Freddy – as in Freddy Krueger, he spelt it ‘Freddie’! – on the poster for his film (and it is his film since he also distributed the thing himself so he should’ve been spellchecking the advertising materials before they went out), so just how much of a horror fan can David Arquette be?
Jason Mewes, Jaime King, Balthazar Getty, Thomas Jane, Lukas Haas, Paul Reubens, Courteney Cox
He couldn’t even spell Freddy – as in Freddy Krueger, he spelt it ‘Freddie’! – on the poster for his film (and it is his film since he also distributed the thing himself so he should’ve been spellchecking the advertising materials before they went out), so just how much of a horror fan can David Arquette be?
The answer lines in his directorial debut, “The Tripper”.
The flick tells of a Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer (his back-story is told at the beginning of the film) who targets a bunch of hippies (Jamie King plays the heroine, of sorts) who are heading to a weekend-long concert.
Thrown in a few nudists, oodles of drug references, a dig at President Bush, Thomas Jane as a gung-ho sheriff and Paul Reubens, as, well, Paul Reubens and you’ve got quite the concoction – albeit, a rather curious blend.
A guessing man would calculate that Arquette’s not exactly versed in the world of horror films. From the stale storyline to the jokes-we’ve-all-seen-before, “The Tripper” is an effort that scores points for effort, but lacks the drive and execution it really needs. Though I’m sure Joe Harris (“Darkness Falls”) assisted greatly with the script (he co-wrote it with Arquette), it’s Kevin Williamson – writer of “Scream” – who really needed to be advised here.
Not that the actor (“Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”, “Ready to Rumble”) doesn’t show promise with his first flick, he just could’ve done with a few more trips to the horror aisle of his local Blockbuster before beginning work on a movie that seemingly wants to do salute the genre. Having said that, anyone that can come up with such a creative and fun lead villain as ‘a killer in a Ronald Reagan mask’, deserves a certain degree of praise.
The film also proves Arquette’s got a bunch of famous friends willing to help him out at a moments notice (this is a cameo orgy).
Arquette’s been around long enough to grow an opinion about the film industry and the political climate and successfully weaves some cheeky digs into the movie. He tries to take the mickey out of the horror road movie – your “Wrong Turn”or “Texas Chainsaw” type film – and at times it works, but Arquette seems much more at home when he’s making his ticklish but true facts about the state of society. There’s some moments in this that are truly inspired – predominantly anytime of the lead characters speaks out about President Bush or his policies.
Though the production values don’t do the film any justice – doesn’t look like Dave had much of a budget to shoot it in, which is surprising considering how much his wife Courteney Cox (who has a cameo in the film) must have in the bank from her “Friends” days – the writing, imaginative storyline and vivacious but overplayed performances make up for the lack of genuine thrills here.
Not a bad stab – just dig it in a little deeper next time, Arquette.
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clint Morris
