Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Kalifornia (1993)

The Snowpocalypse is upon us in New York City, which gives me the perfect excuse to stay inside and catch up on some movie-watching.  I'm not sure how it is that it took me this long to find out about a serial killer movie that features Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, Michelle Forbes, and Fox Mulder.  Talk about a pretty sweet cast.

Years before he was saddled with a day care worth of kids and whipped by Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt was so dirty and sexy.  Juliette Lewis is NBK-era trashy and awesome.  David Duchovny is in his X-Files prime, and Michelle Forbes is nearly unrecognizable with her Pulp Fiction haircut.

Kalifornia is about a couple, Brian and Carrie, who are working on a book about serial killers.  To gather material for the book and take photos, they plan a cross-country trip visiting the sites of serial killers.  In order to save on gas and expenses, they put out a ride share ad.  The people that answer the ad are Early and Adele, a white-trash couple trying to escape prior transgressions and a nosy parole officer.  But little do Brian and Carrie know that beer-swilling hick Early is actually a serial murderer.

As they make their way across the country, Early is killing people left and right, although it takes the fellow passengers a little while to catch on.  Brian seems seriously desperate for a male buddy to distract him from the overbearing Carrie, so it almost seems like he's in a bit of denial about the whole thing.  Poor Adele is an abused and passive victim who goes along with anything Early does just so that she doesn't have to be alone.

This movie dragged a little bit at points, but it was overall a cool movie.  Brad Pitt is awesome as a country-friend psychopath and Juliette Lewis is just warming up for the awesomeness that will take place in Natural Born Killers the following year.  This is more crime thriller than horror, but definitely worth checking out.  Also, fun fact.  Brad Pitt actually went to the dentist and got his tooth purposely chipped for this role.  Bet Angelina wouldn't let him do that today ;o)

3 comments:

Matt-suzaka said...

I really love Kalifornia and just rewatched it again not too long ago. I actually appreciate the slowness of the film, mostly because I see it as the slow build up of what is to happen with all the characters when Early finally snaps on them.

The acting is certainly great, specifically Pitt and Lewis, who both really bring to life white trash like few actors can. They bring a sympathetic aspect to both of their characters, especially Lewis. I also love Pitt's little tick, which is something he brings to so many of his characters, especially from that era in his career.

B Paris said...

I do like this movie> also will have to watch "Natural Born Killers" again..

The Scream Queen said...

@B Paris: I just got Natural Born Killers on Blu Ray and it is amazingggg. Love that movie!