Title: Karla

Starring: Laura Prepon, Misha Collins, Patrick Bauchau, Kristen Swieconek and Sarah Foret

Directed by Joel Bender

It's no secret I approached this movie with some anxiety. The story -- a true-crime drama about two attractive preppies, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo, who tortured, raped and murdered three young girls -- has been major news in Canada for the last 15 years. Most Canadians feel as strongly about these crimes as many Americans feel (or felt) about 9/11.

Knowing all the details about the real events, I didn't know how I would feel about any GIMP-worthy scenes in this movie. How much guilt would I suffer if I did enjoy them?

Well ... I don't think I saw anything that would send me off the deep end. But there were some moments of discomfort. Oddly, for those who aren't familiar with the story, those same moments -- involving the young victims -- may prove to be the best parts of the film.

Having said that, it must be stated that the GIMP scenes in Karla -- and there are a number of them -- are all quite brief. Also, I must stress that while there are scenes where women are forced to remove their clothes, we never get to see anything.

The whole story is told in flashbacks, as prison inmate Karla (Laura Prepon, from television's "That '70s Show") tells her grisly tales to a psychiatrist who is analyzing her for the parole board (by the way, the psychiatrist has an accent that makes him sound like Victor Maitland, the lead villain in Beverly Hills Cop). This dramatic device allows the movie to cut in and out of scenes pretty quickly when it wants to -- that is often how they keep the GIMP scenes to a minimum.

For example, early in the movie, Karla presents a gift to her fiancee, Paul Bernardo -- a pair of handcuffs. Bernardo cuffs Karla and gets ready to fuck her from behind (although both are fully dressed). She is saying something like, "I want you to fuck me," while he says "What if I raped you?" It's kinda hot -- but the scene only lasts a few seconds.

Same thing for some of Bernardo's early rape scenes, which he commits in a small suburb east of Toronto. We see scenes of him attacking girls who are out jogging or walking in the evening. But there's really nothing here. Bernardo will grab a girl, throw her to the ground (still fully dressed), and the scene ends.

The scenes with the three school girls who are kidnapped, raped and murdered have some potential -- but only if you can separate your mind from the real incidents.

The first victim was Karla's sister, Tammy Homolka. There wasn't much here. A form of chloroform (I forget what it was called) is used to knock Tammy out and at one point, Bernardo has Karla suck on Tammy's tits. But we don't see anything other than the top of Karla's head.

However, the scenes with the next victim, Tina McCarthy (played by Kristen Swieconek), are more interesting.

Fortunately -- at least for this reviewer -- Swieconek doesn't look anything like the real teenage victim she is portraying, Leslie Mahaffy. Even better, Swieconek doesn't actually look like a 14 year old, despite the schoolgirl uniform she is wearing. In fact, this actress is clearly of legal age (see picture).

The McCarthy character is locked out of her home one evening, allowing Bernardo to trick her into coming over to his car. He reaches into his car, pretending to look for cigarettes, and grabs a knife, which he then uses to threaten McCarthy and abduct her. He covers her mouth with his hand and forces her into his car.

Back at Bernardo's home, the McCarthy character is squatted on the floor in Bernardo's basement. She is blindfolded and is forced by Bernardo to strip open her clothes, while Bernardo videotapes this. She completely opens her blouse but continues to wear it, showing a bit of her tits but no nipples.

Bernardo brings in his wife, Karla, and has Karla strip down to her bra and panties (for the record, Ms. Prepon has a nice body). Bernardo has Karla kneel down beside McCarthy, remove McCarthy's blindfold, and start kissing her face, while Bernardo videotapes it.

This scene is good, but it probably works best for those who aren't troubled by the true story of the crimes involved. And, of course, the scene only lasts a few seconds.

There are also scenes where Bernardo rapes McCarthy, but the audience doesn't see it. Instead, we hear some of it, as the film focuses on Karla, who is listening to the rape from the next room. Rather than loud cries, McCarthy mostly whimpers as she is raped.

The other victim, Kaitlyn Ross (Sarah Foret), is kidnapped by Paul and Karla in a similar fashion. Kaitlyn is tricked into coming over to their car, and Paul then abducts her at knifepoint.

The best GIMP scene featuring the Ross character as the victim occurs just after she has defied Bernardo. He slaps her around and, as he is holding her head by her hair, she apologizes and calls him "master." He throws her down to the floor and, as the camera pans over to Karla, who is standing against a nearby wall, we hear -- and only hear -- Ross get raped. She is forced to call Bernardo "the king" as the rape occurs. Unfortunately, this scene had some of the most memorable lines from Bernardo's real trial (the Ross character is supposed to be Kristen French), ruining the effect for me.

The Ross character is later brought into Paul and Karla's bedroom, to watch a news conference on TV where her parents are begging the girl's abductors to release her. My recollection is that Ross was nude here, but covered up with her arms.

As Karla, Prepon had a potentially good scene near the end of the movie, although it was visually flawed. In this scene, Bernardo decides to punish her by forcing her to put on a gag and get fucked from behind (anally, I think). As usual in this movie, we don't get to see any nudity, as this scene is shot with an extreme close-up on Karla's face. As Bernardo is fucking her, he pulls out an electrical cord and also starts strangling her.

Unfortunately, while this sounds good, the picture was blurry and dark. I couldn't even tell what type of gag Prepon had in her mouth.

For those who like to see women roughed up, rest assured that Karla, the movie, has plenty of scenes of women being punched and beaten -- particularly some scenes with Bernardo beating Karla. Not my thing, but some may enjoy it.

As well, it should be repeated that the mainstream reviews of this movie are pretty accurate, in terms of the movie's cinematic value. The movie has its moments, but the filmmakers' storytelling skills seem kinda weak. Also, this is a low-budget flick, and it shows -- you can't help but chuckle at the roadside check stop that's supposed to be the U.S.-Canada border.

One last side point -- the website for this movie includes a still picture that depicts the courtroom watching one of Bernardo tapes. In fact, there is no actual scene like this in the movie.