Fear Friday ~ Hey there Maaama!

Is it Friday already? Must be because Laughing Vixen Lounge has another Fear Friday ready to go. All of the films featured in May have shared a common theme. The road trip!!! This week's film is a big favorite here at the Lounge and a great example of fear on the road. It showcases a big star before he was a big star and doing one heck of a job at making our skin crawl. A great little thriller that teaches us the importance of carefully choosing our road trip buddies. Enjoy!

Every Friday at the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is Fear Friday. Fear Fridays are a celebration of all films spooky. Horror is a very broad genre and the Lounge loves it all. Each Friday you will find a review of a different film. These can range from Classic Horror (black and white and cheesy), Thrillers (suspense, jumps and a good mystery), outright Horror (chop chop, slash slash, die die) and anything else in between.

So pop some popcorn, kill the lights and enjoy tonight's selection. And please, share your comments on the film. Bad or good let me know what you thought of it. And now, my little ghouls and dolls, the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog is proud to present this week's film.


Fear Friday - Kalifornia

Tagline - Fear never travels alone.
             A state of fear and terror.
          

Directed by Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds and Swordfish) and released in September 3, 1993 by Gramercy Pictures (rated R). Brian (David Duchovny), a journalist, and Carrie (Michelle Forbes), a photographer, set out on a cross country trip. They are stopping at well know murder sites for a new book they are working on. Problem is they need help with the expenses so they advertise for someone to share the ride. Enter Early (Brad Pitt) and Adele (Juliette Lewis). Unfortunately their life will soon imitate their art!!!


I first saw this movie when it came out on video (yes, video) because it has David Duchovny and Brad Pitt in it. Once watched I told my sister about it and we watched it together. The rest is history! This movie is a great favorite of ours. It is creepy, yes. It is violent, yes. A story about two couples traveling across country and stopping at various famous murder sites is certainly going to have a dark tone. But oh my stars, do we laugh too!!!

Now, do not get me wrong. The movie is not a comedy. It's a dark thriller. But the characters brought to life by Pitt and Lewis are some of the best ever on screen. This is Brad Pitt before he was a mega star. Dark haired backwards hillbilly psychopath that is played without any of the recognizable "ah shucks, I'm good lookin'" moments of many other Pitt movies. He is just down right creepy here. And Juliette Lewis does a good job as the very simple Adele. These performances are what drive the movie and make for the most memorable scenes. And quotes! Ah, this is where the giggling and uncontrollable laughing come in on our parts. I mean really, sometimes you just have to see a man about a mule! Ha!

So maybe it is one of those things you have to see to appreciate the humor from their creepiness. If you have not seen it go give it a try.
 

Take a look at the original trailer. ***If you want to not see too much of the later half of the movie I would suggest not watching past the 1:41 mark***



Some trivia about the movie.
1. The locations where the serial killer events take place are related to the names of the actors in the movie. Lewiston Ranch, Mt. Juliet, TX (Juliette Lewis); Forbes, TN (Michelle Forbes; Davidson Mine, Dew Cove, NV (David Duchovny); Bradbury Textile Warehouse in Pittsburgh, PA (Brad Pitt).
2. During the movie, Early Grace sports a chipped tooth. Brad Pitt visited a dentist to have the tooth chipped for the role.
3. Following the release of the movie, DC Comics commissioned a comic book adaptation to coincide with the movie's video release in 1994. The adaptation was to be written Chuck Dixon and drawn by Duncan Fegredo. The adaptation was never finished, except for some coloring work done by Danny Vozzo. It's speculated that this was due to the demise of Gramercy Pictures, who owned the rights to the film. A version of the incomplete comic has been since uploaded to the Internet.