Trippin'

Released by: Camp Motion Pictures/Alternative Cinema
Released on: 4/10/2012
Director: Devi Snively
Cast: Zed Wilson, Heathyr Clift, Ken Dusek Jr., Nicole Buehrer, Jake Perry
Year: 2011
Purchase from Amazon

The Movie:
A group of punks go to a secluded cabin in the woods for a weekend of partying and debauchery. One of the guys, the tough one with the criminal record, tells the story of a crazy man who lives in those very woods. One of the girls is a real prissy and doesn't fit in with the rest, and she's the scapegoat for a lot of harassment at the hands of the rest of the gang, minus the guy trying to get into her pants. The third person semi-key to the plot is a stoner, Zed, who is introduced at the beginning in a mock-interview, telling his story to a movie director, saying the story would make a great movie. He's not totally off his rocker, as it's an entertaining one that doesn't quite go where one might expect. At any rate, the asshole in the bunch laces their food with some drugs, causing bad feelings with the prissy, as well as some of the other chicks in the group, and then things start to happen.

Also running around the woods is an apparent pervert, watching some lovers in the woods. Nerdy with glasses for comic brevity. A couple of shit-headed adolescent girls who seem to be insane are doing evil little kid shit now and then too. Once the partygoers start to drop like flies, and these people keep popping up, it becomes a question of who's killing people. The psycho in the woods from the story, the little nut job girls, the pervo in the truck, or the ex-con. Some decent low-budget blood and guts, titty balls, some funny moments, and a story that doesn't quite turn out like typical kids-in-a-cabin-in-the-woods stories tend to turn out, makes for a movie that holds your attention.

The director does a great job at keeping the flick entertaining throughout the majority of its running time, and also manages to keep the film from become the same old mundane slasher stuff that's so easy to emulate. Instead he weaves a tale that strays away from what you expect and gives a bit more intrigue to the whole thing. But the best part of the movie is stoner Zed, played by Zed Wilson. This could be a case of a stoner playing himself (Courtney Love got nominated for playing a junky, so type casting sometimes pays off), but he's got some good lines, a funny boner scene, and is the most likeable of the bunch. Plus you know he survives the story, so there's no concern for his being injured for half the movie and seemingly killed near the end. You know he survives because he's telling the story (though without narration, thank God), and not having to worry about him dying off helps to make his character more enjoyable.

In a sea of shitty low-budget indie movies, it's always nice to see one that tries to do something a bit different. It's also nice to see one that doesn't try to hit you with a big twist ending that we need to wait 85 minutes for. This one doesn't take itself too seriously, but then again doesn't just go for the gross-out gimmicks or over-the-top laughs and stupidity either. It most probably won't be a movie talked about in film lectures, but for what it is Trippin' is entertaining.

Video/Audio/Extras:
The movie appears on this disc with a ratio of 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. It looks good, with colors that stand out, decent detail, and pretty deep blacks. Obviously it was shot for little money, but it doesn't suffer for it. There are no noticeable signs of compression issues or aliasing. The disc delivers a good solid DVD quality image that should satisfy the average-Joe viewer. Choose from a 2.0 Dolby Digital track and a 5.1 Surround track. The 5.1 track serves the purpose but is nothing outstanding. The balance seems proper but most of the sound comes from the front. It's more than serviceable, just not impressive or even noticeable as being in surround sound. There are no issues to report on that end.

This is a two-disc set, with a good amount of extras. Disc one, which also contains the feature, has a behind the scenes featurette that's just 10 minutes long. It's typical, and the chick in the Metallica shirt is a hottie. Disc two contains a seven short films by the director of Trippin' that are a mixed bag. Worth a look, though nothing jumps out as something you just have to see. Also on disc two is a 28-minute documentary called “CZM! The Making of a No-Budget Zombie Flick. It's good if you like BTS stuff. A trailer vault is on the second piece of plastic, with a “play all” function, which should have been available for the short films too. Stuff like that is nice to sit back and zone out too, and it's annoying to have to bother with the remote after every one. Minor complaint, but still a valid one. Take note, Alternative Cinema.

The Final Word:
A fun little movie with some welcomed elements, and a nice batch of extras result in thumbs up from this viewer. Again, not destined to be a cult classic, but it's certainly not one that should be left behind with the forgettable dreck that clutters the DVD market.