History Film / Karla

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Or perhaps NotGoodWithPeople, Karla loved animals, particularly her dog Buddy, and worked as a veterinary technician.

* CoitusEnsues: Alarmingly, Paul and Karla have sex the first night they meet ''in the room as their friends awkwardly stand by.''

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Karla re-imagined as Bernado's victim.

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* YourCheatingHeart: Paul screws another woman while Karla is upstairs, listening.

* EightiesHair: The "small town" hair with a ball of hair-sprayed bangs didn't really go "out" in Southern Ontario until the mid-1990s. Karla sported a good set of them in all her pictures, and the film delights in this.

* PsychopathicManchild: Paul Bernardo

* TomboyishPonytail: In the scene where Karla meets Paul, she wears her hair in a ponytail, to indicate her youth and freshness. In real life, Homolka was 17 when she met Paul at a veterinary convention. (Note: The age of consent in Ontario is 16, so there was no JailBaitWait).

* BiTheWay: Karla, although the film portrays it in a painfully creepy way.

* PleaBargain : Karla testified against Paul, in exchange for lenience. She was sentenced to twelve years in prison, with the possibility of parole in four. In real life, Karla Homolka served her full sentence and was released in 2005.
* PoliceAreUseless: Bernardo was questioned at least twice in both the Scarborough Rapist case and the murders. (To be fair, in 1992 the technology was not as good as it is now, and even now it's a complex process.)

* SerialRapist: Paul Bernardo
* SerialKiller: Paul Bernardo
* SmallNameBigEgo: Karla believes Paul to be a "musician and filmmaker." His music was terrible, Music/VanillaIce-style rap.

--> Kaitlyn: Some things are worth dying for.
--> Paul : Who am I?
--> Kaitlyn: You're a bastard!

* DomesticAbuser: Paul to Karla.

* BerserkButton: Calling Paul a "bastard." This gives the second victim a tiny CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Karla believes Paul to be a "musician and filmmaker." His music was terrible, Vanilla Ice-style rap.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The story itself is (sadly) quite true to reality, but mistakenly portrayed Homolka as yet another victim of Bernardo's sociopathic antics - despite the fact that it's long-since been established that she was just as culpable as Bernardo. The Canadian media and public were understandably appalled.
** This is arguable, however, as Karla's "victimization" at the hands of Bernardo was her main line of defense during the court case.

* AdaptationNameChange: The murder victims' names have been changed from Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French to Tina Mc Carthy and Kaitlyn Ross, respectively. For obvious reasons.

* BerserkButton : Calling Paul a "bastard." This gives the second victim a tiny CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* BiTheWay : Karla, although the film portrays it in a painfully creepy way.
* BlatantLies : Paul and Karla each accused the other of killing the victims, and claimed no responsibility for the murders.
* CatholicSchoolGirlsRule : The second murder victim was picked up in the vacinity of her Catholic school, still wearing her uniform.

* ClingyJealousGirl : It's been hypothesized that one of the reasons Karla went along with Paul's plan was that she was jealous of the attention he paid towards her sister Tammy. This is downplayed in the film.
* DomesticAbuser : Paul to Karla.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals : Karla sleeps with a teddy bear. In real life, its name was Bunky The Bear, and [[PetTheDog she gave it to Kristen French]] to hold.
* GodivaHair : Kaitlyn's hair covers her bare chest.
* EightiesHair : The "small town" hair with a ball of hairsprayed bangs didn't really go "out" in Southern Ontario until the mid-1990s. Karla sported a good set of them in all her pictures, and the film delights in this.
* FairyTaleWeddingDress : Karla wears one during her wedding to Paul. It even has GiantPoofySleeves, yet is somewhat less elaborate than the real life Homolka wedding dress (which had lace).
* FramingDevice : The film is framed as an interview between Karla and her psychiatrist.
* FriendToAllLivingThings : Or perhaps NotGoodWithPeople, Karla loved animals, particularly her dog Buddy, and worked as a veterinary technician.
* HawaiianShirtedTourist : As they're getting ready to go on their honeymoon to Hawaii, Paul wears a loud Hawaiian shirt.
* HeroicBSOD : Karla shuts down while Paul rapes her sister. It doesn't last long.
* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Karla reimagined as Bernado's victim.
* InelegantBlubbering : After Karla leaves, Paul drunkenly breaks down. In an apparent fictionalization, he seems to be DrivenToSuicide by pointing a knife at his chest. One of the ways you can tell this is set in Canada.
* KinkyCuffs : The first time Karla brings Paul home, she shows him her handcuffs.
* LosingAShoeInTheStruggle : The second kidnap victim loses a shoe.
* LoveMakesYouEvil : Apparently the reason Karla went along with Bernardo.
* MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces : Karla picks up a guy in a bar and they have sex in the washroom.
* ModelCouple : Particularly in their wedding photos, Paul and Karla were unusually good-looking, and seemed to "fit" together.
* NatureAdoresAVirgin : Paul's impetus for raping teenage girls is he wants a virgin. Including Karla's own sister.
* PetTheDog : Karla brushes Kaitlyn's hair out of her face.

* PoliceAreUseless : Bernardo was questioned at least twice in both the Scarborough Rapist case and the murders. (To be fair, in 1992 the technology was not as good as it is now, and even now it's a complex process.)

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil : Bernardo, in addition to the murders he (or the couple) committed, was also The Scarborough Rapist.
* RewindReplayRepeat : Paul insists on watching the video they shot the night Tammy died, including showing it to their friends.

* ScrapbookStory : A mild example. The couple videotaped everything, and reproductions of the tapes are used to tell some of the story. The voiceover also includes letters to Paul.

-->Despite her ability to present herself well, there is a moral vacuity and absence of empathy for her victims..."

* SmallNameBigEgo : Karla believes Paul to be a "musician and filmmaker." His music was terrible, Vanilla Ice-style rap.
* StalkerWithACrush : Paul's obsession with Tammy.
* StockholmSyndrome : Karla to Paul, although it's questionable.
* TomboyishPonytail : In the scene where Karla meets Paul, she wears her hair in a ponytail, to indicate her youth and freshness. In real life, Homolka was 17 when she met Paul at a veterinary convention. (Note: The age of consent in Ontario is 16, so there was no JailBaitWait).
* UrineTrouble : When the puppy pees on the floor and Karla waits a minute to clean it up, it earns her a backhand.

** The names of the victims, except Tammy Homolka, were changed for the film.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse : Buddy the rottweiler. We see him for two scenes, then he disappears.
* {{Yandere}} : Karla and Paul's relationship is intense, co-dependent, violent, and dangerous.
* YourCheatingHeart : Paul screws another woman while Karla is upstairs, listening.

* MoralEventHorizon : Paula's rape of Tammy.

* CaliforniaDoubling: An extreme case of it - it was a Canadian production, but it was shot in America with an all-American cast because no one in Canada wanted ''anything'' to do with the production.

''Karla'' is a 2006 Canadian motion picture drama and thriller. The film is based on the true story of two of Canada's most notorious serial killers, Paul Bernardo (Creator/MishaCollins) and Karla Homolka (LauraPrepon).

* PleaBargain : Karla testified against Paul, in exchange for lenience.
* PoliceAreUseless : Bernardo was questioned at least twice in both the Scarborough Rapist case and the murders, even giving DNA including a blood sample, which was filed away. To be fair, in 1992 the technology was not as good as it is now, and even now it's a complex process.
* RapeDiscretionShot: Several shots of Paul Bernardo grabbing a girl from behind, then stops before the rape.

* TheSociopath: Paul Bernardo. Karla herself, to some extent, given her apparent lack of concern for the victims.

* FairyTaleWeddingDress : Karla wears one during her wedding to Paul. It even has BigPoofySleeves, yet is somewhat less elaborate than the real life Homolka wedding dress (which had lace).