Although Trippin’ is labeled a horror comedy I felt it was more of a drama. Sure, the title is off-putting, leading one to expect drug-fueled horror schlock (which it is) but it’s the different levels of drama that speak of the picture’s true theme. And that would be the breakdown of friendships and a lethal outcome.

We are introduced to Zed, a long haired pothead at a bar who is willing to tell us his incredibly bizarre experience he had while camping out in the woods with his pals. Three couples in their twenties embark on a road trip towards a remote cabin where they proceed to drug and drink themselves into a happy stupor and simply have a great vacation. Joe is the man with the plan who has organized a great hoax for his unsuspecting companions. This guy is an ex-con with a dangerous sense of humor. Also on board is Jeremy and his understandably wary girlfriend Jezebel, who just happens to have a heart condition.

The first half of the film explores the groups interpersonal relationships through their interactions in the "hippie van" they are traveling in. Joe drives through the open country downing one beer can after the other. His girlfriend is in the front seat taking photos of road kill for her scrapbook. The other two couples lounge in the back smoking pot and playing truth or dare. I can’t say I hated these guys. They’re a much more tolerable bunch than the obnoxious characters we usually find in a drug-themed comedy.

The van breaks down a couple of miles to the cabin and they have to push it there. Once inside they start more drugs and boozing. Joe prepares a spaghetti dinner in which he laces the sauce with even more drugs. Jezebel loosens up initially but becomes irate when she finds out what was in the sauce. At nightfall they gather in the living room where Joe tells a creepy tale of the locations haunted history. Several years ago a reclusive hunter accidentally shoots his wife dead and is locked up for manslaughter. It’s been said that upon his release he returned to haunt these woods hunting for human prey to devour their flesh. Is this just another urban legend or are these group of friends in danger of horrible death?

I had a couple of gripes with this film. The establishing scenes where we get to know the group went on for far too long and although it wasn’t terribly annoying it wasn’t fun either. Their jokes and conversations were bland and unoriginal. So if your going to give us over an hour of relationship exposition please make it more entertaining. Then the horror element, involving the psycho hunter, does not advance as expected. The filmmaker gives us something different, which I don’t want to give away, but that angle is awkwardly developed and causes some confusion. In the end I liked this film because it ventures off the common path. The plot is a little shaky here and there and there are many edges to smooth out but the surprise third act, although somewhat uneven, is a whole lot of fun. I believe that if the script were given a few more drafts and fine tuned then we could have had a much better and more satisfying movie.

- Jorge Antonio Lopez