24 January 2008

Actors turned directors, fan-boy homages to movies styles of years past, guest appearances from friends in the acting community... It all sounds like the recipe for over-indulgence, but word on The Tripper, actor/director David Arquette's full blooded nod to the slasher movies of the 70s and 80s, is actually rather good.

Co-written and directed by Arquette, who co-produced with his wife Courtney Cox, The Tripper certainly has an eye-opening cast list, who apart from Arquette include Thomas Jane (The Mist, The Punisher), Balthazar Getty (Alias, Lost Highway), Lukas Haas (Last Days, Brick), Jaime King (Sin City, Pretty Persuasion), Jason Mewes (Clerks), Paul Reubens (Blow, Mystery Men, Batman Returns), Richmond Arquette (Zodiac) and Courteney Cox (Friends, Scream), as well as featuring cult LA ska-rockers, Angelo Moore and Fishbone. Over to the PR:

En route to a counter-culture rock festival being held in a remote California redwood forest, a van load of drugged-up neo-hippie friends find themselves harassed by both the local rednecks and the conservative law enforcers. Also on their tail and out for revenge is the ultra-Republican and psychotically jealous ex-boyfriend of hippie chick Samantha. But these minor downers on the planned weekend of sex, drugs and rock n' roll pale into insignificance when it becomes apparent that an axe-wielding, Ronald Reagan-obsessed serial killer, complete with "Gipper" mask and a pet dog called Nancy, is stalking the forest intent on finishing a killing spree he started years earlier. As the debauchery commences, only one thing is certain – before the weekend is over, hippie heads are definitely gonna roll.

Clearly aiming to make the kind of movie he loves to watch, David Arquette pulls out all the stops to ensure The Tripper delivers in terms of gore, humour, profanity and manic inventiveness. A no-holds-barred slasher that also manages to pack in the laughs, The Tripper will not only delight horror fans but will also appeal to cult movie aficionados with a taste for offbeat comedy-shockers.

We shall see, but we can at least hope. Either way, The Tripper will be released on UK DVD on 31st March 2008 by Momentum Pictures at the RRP of £12.99. There's a small clue in that low price - it looks like there won't be any extras.