History Film / Kalifornia

%%* AxCrazy: Early.

* PetTheDog : Subverted when Early surprises Adele with a pair of pretty high heeled shoes...That he stole from his most recent victim.

* NotSoDifferent : Early tries to force Brian into committing violent acts, even suggesting Brian enjoys it. This brings Brian to a few realizations about himself...namely that he's really ''not'' like Early.

* SerialKiller: Early qualifies as one.

Brian Kessler (Duchovny) works as a journalist who specializes in serial killers. He and his long-term girlfriend, professional photographer Carrie Laughlin (Forbes), are anxious to get away from the midwest and move out west. Since they can't afford to do this on their own, Brian posts an ad on a college bullitin board to find someone else to come along and share the expenses. His ad is answered by Early Grace (Pitt), who, along with his girlfriend Adele Corners (Lewis), also want to leave the area and move to California. Early and Adele are polar opposites to Brian and Carrie; the latter are college educated professionals, whereas the former are incredibly uneducated, impoverished, unemployed, and lowbrow. Unknown to Brian and Carrie, Early is, coincidentally, a serial killer himself. The foursome drive cross-country, making pit stops at famous serial killer locations to help Brian with his upcoming book. Meanwhile, Early leaves a trail of blood in their wake.

* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler:And when Brian finds Carrie chained to a bedpost, it's enough to send him in a rage, postpone the rescue and attempt to kill Early first.]]

* AStormIsComing: [[spoiler: Played straight shortly before Carrie sees Early on the news and Early stops hiding his crimes from everyone else.]]

* AxCrazy: Early.
* BerserkButton: [[spoiler: Really, Early? Did you have to hurt Carrie and piss off Brian?]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Subverted. [[spoiler: Early deliberately guns Adele down after she helped one of Early's victim to escape.]]

* GrievousBottleyHarm: "This ain't Lucky Lager!!"
* LackOfEmpathy: Early in general, especially [[spoiler: when he kills Adele, his longtime girlfriend and the only one person who ever loved him.]]
* LargeHam: Early

* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: And when Brian finds Carrie chained to a bedpost, it's enough to send him in a rage, postpone the rescue and attempt to kill Early first.]]

** [[spoiler: Once Early kills Adele in a fit, he dresses up Carrie in Adele's clothing and treats her similarly (by not allowing her to smoke etc).]]

* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: Early tries to get Brian to do this, and to a cop no less. He even quotes the trope name twice.]]

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaliforniaposter_9708.jpg]]

''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 thriller / road film starring Creator/BradPitt, Creator/DavidDuchovny, Creator/JulietteLewis, and Creator/MichelleForbes.

Brian Kessler works as a journalist who specializes in serial killers. He and his long-term girlfriend, professional photographer Carrie Laughlin, are anxious to get away from the midwest and move out west. Since they can't afford to do this on their own, Brian posts an ad on a college bullitin board to find someone else to come along and share the expenses. His ad is answered by Early Grayce, who, along with his girlfriend Adele Corners, also want to leave the area and move to California. Early and Adele are polar opposites to Brian and Carrie; the latter are college educated professionals, whereas the former are incredibly uneducated, impoverished, unemployed, and low-brow. Unknown to Brian and Carrie, Early is, coincidentally, a serial killer himself. The foursome drive cross-country, making pit stops at famous serial killer locations to help Brian with his upcoming book. Meanwhile, Early leaves a trail of blood in their wake.

* ShootTheDog: Early tries to get Brian to do this, and to a cop no less.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Early.

''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 thriller / road film starring Creator/BradPitt, Creator/DavidDuchovny of ''Series/TheXFiles'' fame, and Creator/JulietteLewis.

* FreudianExcuse: Parodied, played straight or defied depending on your interpretation. Its never made all that clear, but Early clearly mocks Brian for bringing it up.

* LackOfEmpathy: Early in general, expecially [[spoiler: when he kills Adele, her longtime girlfriend and the only one person who ever loved him.]]

* ManChild: Adele is incredibly naive and childish. She still plays with a yo-yo, for one, and when Carrie tries to reason with her about Early, [[BlahBlahBlah she turns up the radio.]]
** It is mentioned in the film that Adele was raped as a teenager and spent three months in a coma. She could very likely be brain damaged as a result, which would explain her childish behavior.

* ReplacementGoldfish [[spoiler: Once Early kills Adele in a fit, he dresses up Carrie in Adele's clothing and treats her similarly (by not allowing her to smoke etc).]]
** [[spoiler: RapeAsDrama]]: [[spoiler: And when Brian finds Carrie chained to a bedpost, it's enough to send him in a rage, postpone the rescue and attempt to kill Early first.]]
*** A less terrifying version: when Adele loses her purse-cactus ("Lucy"), she finds another one.

* AutoErotica: Early and Adele with Carrie taking pictures. [[CoitusUninterruptus Early himself doesn't mind after he spots her doing so.]]

* AutoErotica: Early and Adele with Carrie taking pictures. [[CoitusUninterruptus Early himself dosen't mind after he spots her doing so.]]

* PlayingAgainstType: BradPitt as one hell of a creepy southern hick.

''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 thriller / road film starring Creator/BradPitt, Creator/DavidDuchovny of ''[[{{TheX-Files}} X-Files]]'' fame, and Creator/JulietteLewis.

* BobHaircut: Carrie. Adele later gets one in the middle of the film.

''Kalifornia'' is a 1993 thriller / road film starring BradPitt, DavidDuchovny of ''[[{{TheX-Files}} X-Files]]'' fame, and JulietteLewis.

* AdultChild: Adele is incredibly naive and childish. She still plays with a yo-yo, for one, and when Carrie tries to reason with her about Early, [[BlahBlahBlah she turns up the radio.]]
** It is mentioned in the film that Adele was raped as a teenager and spent three months in a coma. She could very likely be brain damaged as a result, which would explain her childish behavior.
*** Thankfully, she starts to realize how fucked up Early has become, but sadly, it's far too late.