Like many films of true crimes and murders there is a tendency for them to be overtly analyzed when the full details are not quite certain of e.g. When events are acted in a assumed manner without direct commentary, all with a touch of artist license for dramatic or chilling effect.
However Karla falls into another pit full of these films an uneasy depiction of the killer appearing as a victim. Whether intention or not I couldn't work out, its possible that in trying to show the very complex nature of Karla Homolka and her destructive and abusive relationship with Paul Bernado, they inadvertantly overlooked a few issues and figured the "character" would be liked more.
Laura Prepon stars as Karla, young beautiful and blonde woman who falls for Paul (Misha Collins) an egotistic, masogonistic, serial womaniser and rapist (all unknown to karla). the two quickly enter a troubled relationship of kinky, violent sex, jealose rows over paul's obsession with Karla's younger sister Tammy. Which leads to Karla offering her sister to Paul after drugging her 2 days before X-mas, the two then film themselves sexually assaulting Tammy but she chokes on her vomit due to the drugging and dies. Karla and Paul freak call and ambulance with a hastily made up story about Tammy being drunk and they get away with it. But Paul liked it so much that in the following years he proceeds to kidnap, abused film, raped, brutalize, beat and kill more teenage girls all with Karla's willing participation.
The film shows that very abusive relationship between karla and paul, and no doubt she was a beaten spouse, her mind was affected and she willingly admitted that she would do anything to please him and keep him. but this film doesn't balance that with the troubles that plague the courts: the evidence of video's showing karla without fear or intimidation abusing many of the victims including her own kid sister, and also that she helped to kidnap the girls and was fully aware in later years of paul's serial rapist behavour and failed to prevent further attacks.
Prepon and Collins are greats as leads, she provides the beauty, vunverbility and little bit of sass that the role calls for but with a sterness and clearity to the acting that provises a great performance and Collins is superbe as Paul Bernardo, twisted, Pyschotic highly abusive, manipulative and extremely charming and easy to eleviate peoples fears.
The couple were called the Ken and Barbie Murderers, a young good looking sweet couple next door. but behind closed doors there was a whole horrid world. This is their story and serves as a fairly good movie on the real life case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
This movie is disturbing in its every extend. It's violent, graphic and at the end you're not sure whether you watched something that has a hidden social meaning or a bad splatter.
This movie actually impressed me. It was surprisingly close to the actual case. They did however make Karla look a little more innocent than she really was. The real Karla knew what she was doing. Laura Prepon did a good job tho. The guy that played Paul cracked my shit up with his "musical skillz".
Having expected something horrendously disturbing, I was a little disappointed. For me, it being based on a true story in no way affects its quality as a film, and as far as serial killer films go, we've all seen better, there's no doubt about that. The acting is actually excellent (even though Laura Prepon sounds confusingly identical to Scarlett Johansson) and the script has its moments, but fact is, it's just about a guy who kills people, and there needed to be more to it if this was to be a really good film. Whilst the murders are brutal (though not particularly graphic), they are unoriginal and tactless, and no matter how shocking the content is meant to be, watching a man commit rape after rape is just not all that entertaining. Totally watchable but I wouldn't call it thrilling or life-changing...
Criminally dishonest, Karla is basically the headlines shot with zero inspiration and acted on auto-pilot. There's nothing very scandalous in all of this, except, of course, the whole purpose of the damn film. It barely offers any insight on Bernardo and Homolka's psychology, and prefers to show us some sickeningly unecessary sexual torture scenes only to satisfy those who simply couldn't get enough of what they heard on television. Simply put, when a studio picks such a horrifying story and ends up having it filmed with such banality, both sides are downright wrong the result is a film that shouldn't exist, period.
Over all, I thought it was very sexual, and did not give much story between the crimes. But the acting was good, and the story was true, I just wish it was more of a story, and not just crime to crime.
To me, any accomplice to murder is just as guilty as the person committing it. That's why I am so repulsed by this movie, because it portrays Karla Homolka as a tragic heroine, a victim. Anyone who knows how tragic and sensitive this case was knows that Karla is no victim. There is no reason that a movie should be made of it, especially not one like this.
This is surely an intense movie. I'm not sure of the othenticity of all that's shown in the film but if you don't know Karla homolca's story you'l have a reason to be perturbed.
Il y a trop un clash entre la réalité, ce qui nous est dit à la fin du film à la va-vite et ce qu'on nous montre dans le film. Laura Prepon joue aussi Karla Homolka de manière très ordinaire.
I guess I'll give this 3 stars -- though it's not a "good" movie -- in fact, even given the already-disturbing subject matter, something about this is quite sick. There seems to be a kind of relish with which the director portrays, painfully and in detail, the sadistic acts of the movie's 2 main characters. The "heroine," Karla, portrays herself as a victim to her megalomaniacal husband, the bona fide sexist (to say the least), sadist, murderist, and rapist Paul Barnardo, a cigarette smuggler from Canada. To hear her tell it, he just kind of went around doing vile, heinous acts, and she just sort of followed him, whimpering and cowering in terror, picking up his pieces, and video taping it all, afraid for her life, a victim of domestic abuse. I don't buy that. I mean, I buy that he beat her; but I don't buy that she was quite as passive and helpless and as she presents. She killed her own sister to fulfill her husband's (and her own?) sexual fantasy. And tapes it.
The director spares no details. And in fact some parts are so over the top we enter the realm of Mommy Dearest, with every punch, rape, and act of human depravity captured with a kind of fascinated glee by director Paul Bender. A few parts devolve into unintentional comedy: Murderer-rapist Paul's composing his own music (he wants a career as a songwriter and/or musician, hilariously) on a Casio keyboard and PC, then later playing his rockin', cheeseball jams to a murder victim, glaring as his cornball music blasts away, dancing to it before he kills her. Here we enter "American Psycho" territory. Also, he busts into an impromptu rap song about himself when he's in his "root cellar" (Canadian lingo? Haven't heard the term "root cellar" in ages) intimidating his poor, helpless, murdering, videotaping, abused, victimized wife, Karla. And some of the dialog is atrocious: At a pivotal domestic abuse scene near the end, Paul shouts at Karla, "You're fat! You're stupid! You're ugly! I HATE YOU!"
That dialog is up there with some of the worst, ever. However, the movie is like a sickening, nauseating slow-motion trainwreck, maybe like how audiences perceived Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer when it was released, a movie that shocked and disturbed people at the time but which I think seems relatively tame today. As Paul gets more haggard towards the end of the film, he comes to resemble Jon Bon Jovi. And his music is about as bad.
not bad but in reality Karla is nothing like that! she should deserve life-long sentence!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OTHER THAN THAT,it's ok... more intensive than ZODIAC...
This is a sick and sad TRUE story...the movie shows Karla as completely passive during the whole thing, but I would question if that's true. She would definately have to have something mentally wrong with her to let this happen.
This is first and foremost one of the most depressing and disturbing movies I have ever seen. Coming from me that is saying a SH*TLOAD. How people can act this terrible to each other is just sick, literally. I can't stop thinking about Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. It's a brutal film to watch and know that this did happen.
The true story of Canada's two most wanted serial killers, Karla delivers in the eerie truth of what transpired from the viewpoint of Karla (wonderfully portrayed by Laura Prepon...who we all know as the comedic woman on "That 70's Show") as she paints a picture of being trapped in a marriage to Paul (Misha Collins) as he has affairs, murders women and treats Karla like dirt. You wonder if it's really the truth, and the eerie seemingly uncaring tone of Karla's voice sends shivers down your spine. Major kudos go to Prepon for being able to step out of a comedic role into a deadly serious one with seeming ease.
This movie made me feel weird... Very deep and actually disturbing in that the girls are so young and mostly naked in a couple parts... And Jesus does she resemble Karla Homolka, it's fuckin' nuts...
really...upsetting. i knew it was based on a true story, so seeing it played out was a little disturbing. but the acting was good... and overall it was a well done movie.
Controversial film about two killers in Canada..based on true events. Laura Prepon was convincing as Karla. Sick and disturbing film as its true but Prepon and Collins played a good part...at times you'd think you were actually watching the real killers
MCT:July 16, 2008
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