In August 2007, writer-producer Fritz Jünker sued the Arquettes' production company Coquette Productions, Inc. for copyright infringement, claiming Jünker's 2001 film, The Truth About Beef Jerky, was the basis for The Tripper.[verification needed] The case never went to court, and was eventually dropped, because there was no evidence to support the claim.
The release date of the film, April 20, or 4/20 is a reference to 420, a number of prominence in cannabis culture.
The film is a nostalgic homage to the exploitation films of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper that follows a group of free-loving hippies who escape to a modern-day Woodstock for a weekend of debauchery, only to be stalked by a radical-minded psychopath dressed and talking like Ronald Reagan.
Director Wes Craven makes a cameo in the film as a hippie wearing a top-hat.
Release
The premiere was held in the Del Mar theater in Santa Cruz (the predominate location of the picture). David Arquette and fellow cast members were there to answer questions. The Canadian premiere of The Tripper was at Fantasia Festival in 2007. Arquette was there to answer questions.[1]
DVD release
The DVD was released on October 23, 2007. The DVD is Unrated and runs for 97 minutes; 4 minutes longer than the original cut. The DVD includes:
The film has received negative reviews. The movie has received a 25% fresh rating by the review aggregators Rotten Tomatoes[3] and 2 negative reviews on Metacritic[4] respectively.
