Kalifornia

Two couples hit the road on a tour of famous murder sites in this 1993 serial-killer thriller. Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis receive top billing as Early Grayce and Adele Corners, a greasy trailer park ex-con and his cowering child-woman girlfriend, but they're just along for the ride. David Duchovny is the ostensible protagonist, Brian Kessler, a writer with a fascination for outlaws who charts a road trip from Pittsburgh to California through America's mass-murder landmarks, and Michelle Forbes is Carrie Laughlin, his photographer-girlfriend who reluctantly agrees to illustrate his freelance project. The latter pair advertise for riding partners to split costs and end up with gun-toting parolee Grayce, whose recklessness attracts the non-confrontational Kessler. Pre-stardom Pitt channels his scruffy charm from Thelma and Louise into the ferociously magnetic and intimidating Grayce, while Lewis brings a terrifying sense of victimization to her poor dumb character. Dominic Sena directs with cool remove—never really penetrating Grayce's simmering psyche—but he does fashion an effective little nail-biter out of the tensions brewing in the restless quartet. This new Blu-ray/DVD combo pack release offers no extras, but carries the unrated version of the film on the Blu-ray disc, and the unrated and R-rated theatrical release on the DVD flipper disc. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)