Trippin’ tells the story of three young couples who rent a cabin in the woods and decide to cut loose, get drunk, get high, and screw their respective brains out. The usual creepy figures start to pop-up right from the beginning, including a deranged hillbilly with what looks like a bloody corpse stashed in the back of his truck, and a ghostly hunter who wanders the woods, bereft of all humanity and potentially practicing cannibalism.
But what really makes Trippin’ stand out from the pack, is that once the bodies start piling up, and blood starts to get spilled, it’s never quite for the reasons you’d expect, and the surprises are more numerous than the beers being chugged. Director Devi Snively does an outstanding job of creating a film that constantly keeps you on your toes, entertains with witty dialogue and captivating characters, and never falls too close to any filmmaking cliches.
The whole experience of Trippin’ is very reminiscent of Kevin Smith’s earlier work. There’s a ton of dialogue happening between the main figures of the film, but it never seems to drag on too long, or take up too much time, because it’s always interesting and fun to listen to. The people populating our little adventure are clearly defined, excellently cast, and do an admirable job of bringing their characters to life. The resident stoner/philosopher of the bunch, Zed (Zed Wilson) is of particular note. He brings a metric ton of personality to the screen, and never fails to entertain during the scenes he participates in.
Trippin’ was filmed over the course of sixteen days, with a budget of $10,000, but despite it’s low-budget sensibilities, it actually comes off looking pretty damn sharp. The blood and guts look suitably gruesome, night scenes (which b-movies often have trouble with) actually ended up looking good, and the cast assembled all did a great job looking scared, horny, stoned, or whatever the scene called for.
In fact, I’m hard pressed to find anything to complain about when it comes to this movie. I had a blast watching it, and despite it’s main focus being on character interaction and caustic dialogue, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself fully engrossed. It’s rare for a director to be capable of entertaining an audience without some kind of blatant, in-your-face action happening every five minutes on screen, but Devi Snively manages to pull it off.
Trippin’ is a damn good flick. Check it out folks. You won’t regret it. And as an added bonus, the movie comes packaged with a second disc that contains seven short films made by Devi and her crew. So there are plenty of extras to keep you busy after you finish watching the movie.
Director: Devi Snively
Production: Deviant Pictures
Distribution: Camp Motion Pictures / Alternative Cinema
Release: April 24th, 2012
This film receives a score of:
8.5 out of 10
