Trip

“We are therapists.  Nuts are our specialty.”

This is what despair looks like.  It is cold and hollow, freezing its victims to the very core of their being.  For one mother, it is her daughter’s unnatural suicide which invites this unwelcome visitor in, and she can’t seem to shake its grip.  No bottle.  No pill.  No tear is ever enough to escape the feeling of dread and aloneness in the wake of her daughter killing herself.

"an independent horror film that hits a confident stride in spite of its budgetary limitations"


Welcome to the Trip.  This movie won’t soon be forgotten.  With heavy themes and a stand-out performance from Last Girl Standing’s Akasha Villalobos as Ally, the grieving mother, Trip is definitely worth checking out.

Desperate for answers to why Samantha (Jill Young) gouged out her own eyeballs, Ally finds herself unable to cope or even return to work.  While her clients are being farmed out to others, she sits alone in her house crying her eyes out.  But an adventurous therapist, Jan Rollins (Peggy Schott), has a better idea for Ally.

With the help of a hallucinogenic drug - in the form of tea - Ally can see her daughter again. But is she brave enough to walk through that door?  Because, once it is opened, the door can never be closed again.  

Full of powerful moments of grief and tension, Trip proves to be a supernatural thriller that dares to venture into the unknown.  What lies beyond?  Well, for Samantha and Ally, the Hereafter doesn’t seem to be very pleasant as - thanks to the hallucinogenic - THAR BE GHOSTS in this house!Trip

Memories aren’t the only thing wandering these dark nightmarish halls.  Much to the chagrin of Michael (Major Dodge), Ally’s husband.  She’s gone, he yells at her.  Yet, still Ally pursues the ghosts she sees in and around the house.  All of them - even the frightening ones wearing masks, but just what is actually happening is anybody’s guess.  

From writer/director Neil McCay and starring “Chucky” star Björgvin Arnarson, Trip is an independent horror film that hits a confident stride in spite of its budgetary limitations and proves to be unsettling, thanks to a great sound design, a solid handling of grief, and an assortment of ghostly images which often had the hair on the back of my neck rising in response to their flickering mannerisms.  They are solidly put together and offer a creative way to handle a microbudget.  

Ally’s search for answers is going to lead her straight into a web of mystery as the same things that haunted her daughter start to fill her own head.  Just what is going on with these identical experiences?  

Sorrow and despair are the villains in the frightening Trip, on Terror Films AVOD Channel Friday, May 13th before a wide digital release on Friday May 20.  While it might be made for the indie-going crowd out there, this one packs a lot of solid scares along the way.

3/5 stars

 Film Details

Trip

MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime:
94 mins
Director
: Neil McCay
Writer:
Neil McCay
Cast:
Akasha Villalobos; Major Dodge; Peggy Schott
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
Give Me Your Eyes.
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor:
Terror Films AVOD Channel
Official Site:
Release Date:
May 13, 2022
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:

Synopsis :Following her daughter’s suicide, a grief-stricken mother is visited by an unconventional therapist who offers a hallucinogenic drug that will allow communion with the dead. Desperate to understand her daughter's psyche she accepts the offer, and soon finds herself terrorized by her daughter's identical experiences.

Art

Trip