History Film / TheKillerInsideMe

This film is unflinchingly violent and deliberately disturbing. It begins when the polite, seemingly normal Lou Ford is sent to encourage local prostitute Joyce Lakeland to leave town. The confrontation leads to him beating her with a belt, and their romance begins. Together they concoct a plan to scam money from the wealthy Chester Conway. But Lou secretly had an even darker plan for Joyce. He beats Joyce unconcious and shoots Chester's son, making it appear as if the two of them got into a fight. From there he must keep commiting more murders to cover up his crimes, and also, because he enjoys it.

* KinkySpanking: This is a sexual fetish for Lou and he engages in spanking with a local prostitute as well as his fiancé.

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Creator/JimThompson. It stars Creator/CaseyAffleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).

* YourCheatingHeart: Lou, multiple times towards Amy.

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Creator/Jim Thompson. It stars Creator/CaseyAffleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Jim Thompson. It stars Creator/CaseyAffleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).

* BondageIsBad: Subverted, despite Lou being a sociopathic and sadistic killer, having sadomasochistic fantasies is in no way described as wrong. The only times it is is when Lou spank Joyce without her consent and [[spoiler:during a sequence showing Lou as an underage kid beating his babysitter]]. Otherwise, Lou BDSM relationships with Joyce and Amy are shown as loving and perfectly sane.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Lou is shown as having genuine affection for Joyce (although it doesn't stop him from beating her to a bloody pulp and use her for his revenge plan) and is show as partly regretting his action multiple times in the film. Later when [[spoiler:he has been arrested and sent in a mental institution, he hallucinates films being shown in his cell, showing a smiling Joyce]].

* ManipulativeBastard: Lou, giving his reputation as a perfect SouthernGentleman in the town, have people to have total faith in him and so they naturally tend to confide to him. He manages to pull off a scheme that got everyone right where he wanted them to be: Elmer plans to run off with Joyce, using the money his father gave him, Chester wants Joyce to get out of town to leave Elmer alone and ask Lou to help him with it; Joyce for her part believes that Lou is going to join her after she leaves Elmer in the lurch, when Lou really convinced ''him'' that he would help them get away quietly. In the end, he has killed [[spoiler:Joyce and Elmer]] has everyone believed that [[spoiler:the two killed each other]] without no one suspecting him as no one involved believed he had contact with the others. So he made everyone believe he was working for them without ''any'' of them knowing he was using ''all'' of them.

* SerialKiller: Lou qualified as over the course of the film he kills [[spoiler:Joyce, Elmer, Johnnie, Amy and even several police officers when he blow up his house with him in it]].

* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Implied by tis quote (although it sounds more like a crappy justification that Lou is trying to come up with):

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Creator/Jim Thompson. It stars Creator/CaseyAffleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Jim Thompson. It stars Creator/CaseyAffleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).

* TheKillerInMe: Interestingly, averted. Despite the name, it isn't an example of this trope, as it's told from the first-person perspective of a character who knowingly and admittedly is committing the murders in the story, and isn't hallucinating or hiding anything. [[spoiler: Or is he?]]

* DomesticAbuser: Lou has to be one of the worst in cinema history.

* ManipulativeBastard: Lou, giving his reputation as a perfect SouthernGentleman in the town, have people to have total faith in him and so they naturally tend to confide to him. He manages to pull off a scheme that got everyone right where he wanted them to be: Elmer plans to run off with Joyce, using the money his father gave him, Chester wants Joyce to get out of town to leave Elmer alone and ask Lou to help him with it; Joyce for her part believes that Lou is going to join her after she leaves Elmer in the lurch, when Lou really convinced ''him'' that he would help them get away quietly. In the end, he has killed [[spoiler:Joyce and Elmer]] has everyone believed that [[spoiler:the two killed each other]] without no one suspecting him as no one involved believed he had contact with the others. So he made everyone believe he was working for them without ''any'' of them knowing he was using ''all'' of them. Give this bastard a cookie!

* BondageIsBad: Averted, despite Lou being a sociopathic and sadistic killer, having sadomasochistic fantasies is in no way described as wrong. The only times it is is when Lou spank Joyce without her consent and [[spoiler:during a sequence showing Lou as an underage kid beating his babysitter]]. Otherwise, Lou BDSM relationships with Joyce and Amy are shown as loving and perfectly sane.

* FreudianExcuse: The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He immediately takes a Bible off the same shelf, opens it, [[spoiler:and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene. She sexually abused Lou when he was young as well, instructing him to hit and spank her, telling him that she "likes it when he hurts her", likely planting the seeds of his sociopathy in him]]. He also mentions later that his mother died when he was young.

* FreudianExcuse: The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He immediately takes a Bible off the same shelf, opens it, [[spoiler:and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene. She sexually abused Lou when he was young as well, instructing him to hit and spank her, telling him that she "likes it when he hurts her", likely planting the seeds of his sociopathy in him]].

* BondageIsBad: Averted, despite Lou being a sociopathic and sadistic killer, having sadomasochistic fantasies is in no way described as wrong. The only times it is is when Lou spank Joyce without her consent and [[spoiler:during a sequence showing an underage Lou as an underage kid beating his babysitter]]. Otherwise, Lou BDSM relationships with Joyce and Amy are shown as loving and perfectly sane.

* FreudianExcuse: The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He immediately takes a Bible off the same shelf, opens it, [[spoiler:and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene. She sexually abused Lou when he was young as well, instructing him to hit and spank her, telling him that she "likes it when he hurts her", likely planting the seeds of hs]].

* RapeAsBackstory: Lou's backstory is that he was the victim of sexual abuse and a sexual abuser
* Sadist: Lou.

* YourCheatingHeart: Lou, two times to Amy and Joyce.

* FreudianExcuse: The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He immediately takes a Bible off the same shelf, opens it, and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene. She sexually abused Lou when he was young as well.

* YourCheatingHeart: Lou two times Amy and Joyce.

* FreudianExcuse: The camera pans over the main character's bookshelf, lingering prominently on a volume of Freud. He immediately takes a Bible off the same shelf, opens it, and finds forgotten photographs of his father's sadomasochistic relationship with the housekeeper, Helene.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_killer_inside_me_poster_1595.jpg]]

->''"Name of Joyce Lakeland. Lives about four or five miles out on Derrick Road past the old Branch place."''
->''"Oh, I know the old Branch place. She a hustling lady, Bob?"''
->''"Well, I guess so, but she's - she's been pretty decent about it."''
-->--'''Sheriff Bob Maples and Lou Ford'''

''The Killer Inside Me'' is a 2010 psychological horror film by Creator/MichaelWinterbottom based on the novel by Jim Thompson. It stars Casey Affleck (Lou), Creator/JessicaAlba (Joyce) and Creator/KateHudson (Amy).