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Movies like Kalifornia

Key Features:
Serial killer, Road trip, True crime, Psychological thriller, Violence-high, Naivete, Journalist, Class differences, Escalating tension, Cat and mouse, Survival, Moral decay, Human nature, Disturbing, Nudity-moderate
Tone:
gritty, cynical, serious
Target Audience:
Thriller enthusiasts, True crime fans, Fans of dark cinema, Viewers interested in psychological studies
Emotional Arc:
Intrigue → Dread → Terror

Kalifornia

1993-06-24
Kalifornia Poster - Find Similar Movies

A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.

Genres
Thriller, Crime
Cast
Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Juliette Lewis, Michelle Forbes, Sierra Pecheur, John Dullaghan, Kathy Larson, David Milford, Judson Vaughn, John Zarchen
Crew
Dominic Sena, Stephen Levy, Tim Metcalfe
Rating
6.579(830 votes)
KaliforniaKalifornia
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The Sadist
6.269

Three people driving into Los Angeles for a Dodgers game have car trouble and pull off into an old wrecking yard where they are held at bay by a bloodthirsty psycho and his crazy girlfriend.



Hitch Hike
6.844

A bickering couple driving cross-country pick up a murderous hitchhiker who threatens to kill them unless they take him to a sanctuary. In return he agrees to split some bank loot he has on him.



Freeway
Freeway(1996)
6.447

Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.



Choose
Choose(2011)
4.5

Fiona Wagner, a journalism student, tracks a cold-blooded killer with the help of her detective father and a therapist.



Rest Stop
Rest Stop(2006)
5.4

In Texas, the aspirant actress Nicole Carrow runs away home to Los Angeles with her boyfriend Jess Hilts. They drive through a shortcut in an old road, and when they park in a rest stop, Jess is abducted by the sadistic driver of an old yellow truck. Along the night, Nicole is threatened by the sick maniac, while mysterious things happen to her in the place.



Fender Bender
5.1

In a small New Mexico town, teenager Hilary gets into a fender bender and innocently exchanges her personal information with the other driver, a terrifying and bizarre serial killer who stalks the country’s endless miles of roads and streets with his old rusty car, hungrily searching for his next unsuspecting victim.



Nightcrawler
7.706

When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.



Nature of the Beast
5.891

Two men, both hiding a deadly secret, are on a murderous rampage through the desert.



The Strangers: Prey at Night

A family's road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked killers pay them a visit to test the family's every limit as they struggle to survive.



Killers
Killers(2014)
6.5

A psychotic executive triggers a journalist's dark side, and they begin to form a strange bond through the internet.



The Hitcher
5.9

While driving through the New Mexico Desert during a rainy night, college students Jim Halsey and his girlfriend Grace Andrews give a ride to a hitchhiker. While in their car, the stranger proves to be a psychopath threatening the young couple with a knife, but Jim successfully throws him out of the car. This sets off a chain of events that will change all of their lives forever.



The Hitcher
6.961

On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.



Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.



Wrecker
Wrecker(2015)
4.122

Best friends Emily and Lesley go on a road trip to the desert. When Emily decides to get off the highway and take a "short cut," they become the target of a relentless and psychotic trucker who forces them to play a deadly game of cat and mouse.



The Canyons
4.4

The discovery of an illicit love affair leads two young Angelenos on a violent, sexually charged tour through the dark side of human nature.



Trauma
Trauma(1993)
5.79

A young Romanian woman and a recovering drug addict launch an unlikely investigation after her parents are murdered by a vicious serial killer known as The Headhunter.



True Crime
6.5

Boozer, skirt chaser, careless father. You could create your own list of reporter Steve Everett's faults but there's no time. A San Quentin Death Row prisoner is slated to die at midnight – a man Everett has suddenly realized is innocent.



Quarries
Quarries(2016)
4.95

To escape her abusive boyfriend, Kat joins a wilderness expedition with a group of women, all of whom are struggling with the uncertainty of life. What was supposed to be an opportunity for personal discovery quickly becomes a fight for survival, forcing each one to discover the strength within themselves that they didn't even know they possessed. While being brazenly chased by a pack of predators, the strong quickly set themselves apart from the weak. In a battle of will, stamina, and heart, these very virtues present themselves at the most crucial moment. With death looming, each is left with what is truly important - the strength within oneself.



Killing Ground
6.1

A couple's camping trip turns into a frightening ordeal when they stumble across the scene of a horrific crime.



The Craigslist Killer
5.106

Based on a true story. Philip Markoff, a charismatic and popular med student at Boston University, leads a double life as a brutal and cruel sexual deviant who abuses prostitutes he finds via Craigslist.



Monster
Monster(2003)
7.214

An emotionally scarred highway drifter shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her, and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer.



Zodiac
Zodiac(2007)
7.526

The Zodiac murders cause the lives of Paul Avery, David Toschi and Robert Graysmith to intersect.



Reptile
Reptile(2023)
6.662

Following the brutal murder of a young real estate agent, a hardened detective attempts to uncover the truth in a case where nothing is as it seems, and by doing so dismantles the illusions in his own life.



Traffik
Traffik(2018)
6.114

A couple off for a romantic weekend in the mountains are accosted by a biker gang. Alone in the mountains, Brea and John must defend themselves against the gang, who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.



Wild at Heart
7.035

Young lovers Sailor and Lula hit the road to start a new life together away from the wrath of Lula’s deranged, disapproving mother, who has hired a team of hitmen to cut the lovers’ surreal honeymoon short.



FearDotCom
3.8

When four bodies are discovered among the industrial decay and urban grime of New York City, brash young detective Mike Reilly teams with ambitious Department of Health researcher Terry Huston to uncover the cause behind their violent and inexplicable deaths. The only common factor shared by the victims? Each died exactly 48 hours after logging onto a website called feardotcom.



Mulholland Drive
7.804

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.



Long Weekend
5.137

Peter and Carla, a couple whose marriage is faltering, decide to go on a camping weekend. When they become lost, the pair sets up camp on a remote beach that doesn't seem to be on any map. At first the trip is the romantic getaway they imagined – then slowly things begin to go wrong. After Peter disrespects the unspoiled habitat, it seems as if the surroundings are exacting revenge on the couple, as insects, animals, and then nature itself become the enemy.



Silver City
6.1

The discovery of a corpse and the ensuing probe by an idealistic journalist threatens to unravel a bumbling local politician's campaign for governor of Colorado.



Alone
Alone(2020)
6.4

A recently widowed traveler is kidnapped by a cold blooded killer, only to escape into the wilderness where she is forced to battle against the elements as her pursuer closes in on her.



The Crucifixion
5.7

When a priest is jailed for the murder of a nun on whom he was performing an exorcism, an investigative journalist strives to determine whether he in fact murdered a mentally ill person, or if he lost the battle with a demonic presence.



Without Warning
5.259

Sandy and Greg are teenagers who go camping, despite warnings not to, with their friends. They soon encounter aliens, who are using the area as a hunting ground.



Wild
Wild(2014)
7.006

A woman with a tragic past decides to start her new life by hiking for one thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail.



Cop
Cop(1988)
6.2

An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.



Bordertown
6.3

American corporations are using the North American Free Trade Agreement by opening large maquiladoras right across the United States–Mexico border. The maquiladoras hire mostly Mexican women to work long hours for little money in order to produce mass quantity products. Lauren Adrian, an impassioned American news reporter for the Chicago Sentinel wants to be assigned to the Iraq front-lines to cover the war. Instead, her editor George Morgan assigns her to investigate a series of slayings involving young maquiladora factory women in a Mexican bordertown.



Badlands
Badlands(1974)
7.5

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.



The Mean Season
6.23

A routine investigation of a shocking murder takes a bizarre twist when the killer contacts the reporter and appoints him his personal spokesman. As the killer's calls and clues increase, the reporter is lured into a deadly trap.



Rabid Dogs
7.5

Following a bungled robbery, three violent criminals take a young woman, a middle-aged man, and a child hostage and force them to drive them outside Rome to help them make a clean getaway.



Joy Ride
Joy Ride(2001)
6.5

Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer.



Carriers
Carriers(2009)
6.1

A deadly virus has spread across the globe. Contagion is everywhere, no one is safe, and no one can be trusted. Four friends race through the back roads of the American West on their way to a secluded utopian beach in the Gulf of Mexico where they could peacefully wait out the pandemic. Their plans take a grim turn when their car breaks down on an isolated road starting a chain of events that will seal their fates.



The Night Strangler

After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?



The Boys Next Door
6.2

Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.



Satanic
Satanic(2016)
4.321

Four friends on their way to Coachella stop off in Los Angeles to tour true-crime occult sites, only to encounter a mysterious young runaway who puts them on a terrifying path to ultimate horror.



The Farm
The Farm(2019)
5.4

The young couple Nora and Alec are on their way back from a long road trip. In a desert town they want to take a break, but when they wake up the next morning, they are no longer in the motel where they had actually checked in. Overnight, the by a group of crazed killers wearing animal masks, have been abducted. What would happen if people were treated like cattle for slaughter? On the farm, this horrific idea comes true. As Nora and Alec soon find out, they are not the only ones locked in cages, fattened up and fed only to be slaughtered, disemboweled and eaten as a delicacy by their torturers. For the young couple begins a fight for bare survival.



Resurrection
6.1

A jaded homicide detective has been put on the case of a ruthless killer in the city of Chicago, who leaves a trail of horribly mutilated and dismembered corpses along with perversely ironic biblical quotes.



Civil War
Civil War(2024)
6.852

In the near future, a group of war journalists attempt to survive while reporting the truth as the United States stands on the brink of civil war.



Significant Other
6.027

Ruth and Harry decide to take a romantic backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but amongst the beautiful scenery, Ruth makes an unexpected discovery that sets her off on a strange, frightening new path. The couple aren't alone in the woods, and they might not be the same when they come out...if they come out.



Rest Stop: Don't Look Back

One year after running away from home, Nicole and Jesse are still missing. When Jesse's brother, Tom, returns home from active duty, he sets out with his friends Marilyn and Jared to locate the lost couple. Their search leads them to the stretch of old highway with a mysterious Rest Stop, where they find themselves in the same predicament as Nicole and Jesse: confronting a madman.



The Strange Ones
5.216

Mysterious events surround the travels of two brothers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets. This is the feature film version of the 2011 short film going by the same name.



Zero Day
Zero Day(2003)
7.3

Two troubled adolescents chronicle the events that ultimately lead up to a terrifying assault on their school.



The Midnight Meat Train

A photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.



Autopsy
Autopsy(2008)
4.908

Emily Johnson, her boyfriend Bobby and their friends Clare and Jude are recent college grads driving cross-country, taking a last vacation together before they face the "real" world. An accident leaves them hurt and stranded on a lonely Louisiana road. When the ambulance arrives, it whisks them to Mercy Hospital.



Zabriskie Point
7.021

Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.



Borderland
5.433

Three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself a captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers who kill tourists and whom are looking for a group of new ones to prepare for a sacrifice.



The Lost
The Lost(2006)
5.281

A charismatic psycho suspected of killing two innocent campers in a cold-blooded double homicide grows increasingly unstable as his suburban empire starts to crack at the foundations.



Entertainment
5.594

Set in the Mojave Desert, the film follows a broken-down comedian playing clubs across the Southwest, working his way to Los Angeles to meet his estranged daughter.



Cop Car
Cop Car(2015)
5.982

Two kids find themselves in the centre of a deadly game of cat and mouse after taking a sheriff's cruiser for a joy ride.



Bully
Bully(2001)
6.7

A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Kent, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.



Hostel
Hostel(2006)
5.9

Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them.



Michael
Michael(1996)
5.7

Tabloid reporters are sent by their editor to investigate after the paper recieves a letter from a woman claiming an angel is living with her.



Psycho
Psycho(1998)
5.1

A young female embezzler arrives at the Bates Motel, which has terrible secrets of its own.



Killer Movie
5.573

A reality TV director copes with a spoiled celebutante and a show gone haywire when a masked killer starts bumping off the crew in this slasher-movie satire.



True Story
6.256

A drama centered on the relationship between journalist Michael Finkel and Christian Longo, an FBI Most Wanted List murderer who for years lived outside the U.S. under Finkel's name.



No One Lives
5.988

A gang of ruthless highway killers kidnap a wealthy couple traveling cross country only to shockingly discover that things are not what they seem.



Vile
Vile(2011)
4.976

A group of people awaken to find themselves prisoners in a mysterious house with no means of escape. They are each outfitted with electronic devices attached to the base of their skulls. The chemicals that the brain produces when in pain are collected by the devices, and when it collects a predetermined amount, the doors will be opened. In order to escape, they must hurt themselves and each other.



The End of Violence
5.291

In Hollywood, the lives of a successful film producer, his wife, a police detective and a surveillance agent intersect after a botched abduction.



Murder-Set-Pieces
3.878

A ferocious, misogynistic, and morally deprived serial killer is active in Las Vegas. Obsessed with the collapse of the Twin Towers, and with Nazi tendencies, he even targets underage girls.



Bones and All
7

Abandoned by her father, a young woman embarks on a thousand-mile odyssey through the backroads of America where she meets a disenfranchised drifter. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.



Hold the Dark
5.4

In the grim Alaskan winter, a naturalist hunts for wolves blamed for killing a local boy, but he soon finds himself swept into a chilling mystery.



Turistas
Turistas(2006)
5.476

A group of young backpackers' vacation turns sour when a bus accident leaves them marooned in a remote Brazilian rural area that holds an ominous secret.



A Perfect Getaway
6.3

For their honeymoon, newlyweds Cliff and Cydney head to the tropical islands of Hawaii. While journeying through the paradisaical countryside the couple encounters Kale and Cleo, two disgruntled hitchhikers and Nick and Gina, two wild but well-meaning spirits who help guide them through the lush jungles. The picturesque waterfalls and scenic mountainsides quickly give way to terror when Cliff and Cydney learn of a grisly murder that occurred nearby and realize that they're being followed by chance acquaintances that suspiciously fit the description of the killers.



Dark Ride
Dark Ride(2006)
4.62

Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called Dark Ride. About to crash his path are a group of college kids on a road trip who stumble across the park.



The Bunny Game
4.691

A prostitute looking for her next meal hitches a ride with a trucker that leaves her praying for her next breath.



Hick
Hick(2012)
5.708

A pistol-packing teen meets an unstable rebel and a cocaine-snorting drifter as she hitchhikes her way out West.



Zola
Zola(2021)
6.194

A waitress agrees to accompany an exotic dancer, her put-upon boyfriend, and her mysterious and domineering roommate on a road trip to Florida to seek their fortune at a high-end strip club.



Body Count
5

A bodybuilder, a junk-food addict and a wild blonde nymph and their friends are stalked by a terrifying figure. An horrific tale of murder as a fun-loving group of college students explore the Colorado wilderness.



Ravage
Ravage(2020)
5.181

When a nature photographer explains to the Police how she fought her way out of the Watchatoomy Valley, they dismiss her crazed and violent story as a meth-induced nightmare. But when they discover that she's telling the truth, it's too late.



Lowlifes
Lowlifes(2024)
6.362

The survival instincts of a road-tripping family are put to the test when they have no other choice but to stay the night at a remote homestead.



Lover, Stalker, Killer

In this twisting documentary, a mechanic tries online dating for the first time and meets a woman who takes romantic obsession to a deadly extreme.



Katalin Varga
6.7

In the beautiful, otherworldly Carpathian Mountains a woman is traveling with a small boy in a horse and cart, looking to punish those who once abused her. For years, Katalin has been keeping a terrible secret. Hitchhiking with two men, she was brutally raped in the woods. Although she has kept silent about what happened, she has not forgotten, and her son Órban serves as a living reminder.



Frank and Penelope
7.3

A tale of love and violence when a man on his emotional last legs finds a savior seductively dancing in a run-down strip club. And a life most certainly headed off a cliff suddenly becomes redirected - as everything is now worth dying for.



Race with the Devil

Two couples vacationing together in an R.V. from Texas to Colorado are terrorized after they witness a murder during a Satanic ritual.



True Crime
5.661

Mary Giordano is a bright, intelligent student who goes to a catholic school. She also has an addiction to mystery novels and detective magazines, which inspire her to do her own detective work. When she starts snooping around on the case of a murderer of teenage girls, it gets her in hot water with her mentor Detective Jerry Gunn. But it also starts a team up with police cadet Tony Campbell. The two work together to find the murderer. But the closer Mary gets to solving the murder, the more danger she puts herself in of being the next victim.



Highwaymen
5.7

James Cray watched as his wife was killed by Fargo, a hit-and-run serial murderer. After severely injuring Fargo and going to prison for several years, James is now determined to avenge his wife's death. He drives across the country looking for Fargo's 1972 Cadillac Eldorado, which the now-disabled killer has turned into a rolling death trap. James' search is helped by a state traffic officer and a singer with her own agenda.



Bottom of the World

On their road trip through the southwestern desert, Alex and his girlfriend Scarlett arrive in a town in the middle of nowhere and take a room in a mysterious hotel so that Scarlett, who is feeling increasingly ill, can get some rest.



Macabre
Macabre(2009)
6.2

Six friends are captured and tortured by a murderous family after giving a ride home to a desperate stranger.



Near Dark
Near Dark(1987)
6.9

A farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars.



The Park Maniac
5.8

An infamous serial killer who assaulted and killed several women in the '90s, gets on a collision course with a young journalist eager for the truth and a career-changing article.



House
House(2008)
4.4

Trying to recover from the nearly marriage-breaking stress following the death of their child, Jack and Stephanie spontaneously take off on a road trip. But when their car breaks down in a remote area, they find themselves in a horrific nightmare. Seeking shelter in a house, they soon realize that more danger lurks inside than outside in this spine-chiller based on Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti's best-seller.



Heatstroke
5.089

On a family trip in the African desert, a research scientist unintentionally travels off course and is brutally murdered by an arms dealer. His girlfriend is put to the ultimate survival test as she attempts to evade the killers and protect his teenage daughter.



Wind Chill
5.8

Two college students share a ride home for the holidays. When they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they're preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.



Dark Country
5.385

Two honeymooners rescue a mysterious car crash survivor in the Las Vegas desert. But their decision to save the man becomes increasingly regrettable when he turns on them, forcing the newlyweds to do the unthinkable.



Sisters
Sisters(2006)
3.865

A reporter witnesses a brutal murder and becomes entangled in a mystery involving a pair of twins.



Rogue River
4.839

When a young woman takes a trip down Rogue River, her car mysteriously disappears. Lost without transport or communication, she accepts the hospitality of a stranger who offers her shelter for the night at his cabin. With no other options available, she reluctantly accepts only to forever regret it. The ensuing hours yield nothing but torture, indescribable pain, and horrific agony. If you've seen Misery, you've seen nothing. This movie starts where horror films end and leaves viewers paralysed by fear and disgust.



Companion
Companion(2025)
7

During a weekend getaway at a secluded lakeside estate, a group of friends finds themselves entangled in a web of secrets, deception, and advanced technology. As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, they uncover unsettling truths about themselves and the world around them.



Hush
Hush(2008)
5.6

A young couple on a motorway journey are drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a truck driver when they see something disturbing in the back of his vehicle.



Leatherface
5.597

A young nurse is kidnapped by a group of violent teens who escape from a mental hospital and take her on the road trip from hell. Pursued by an equally deranged lawman out for revenge, one of the teens is destined for tragedy and horrors that will destroy his mind, moulding him into a monster named Leatherface.



Wild Things
6.361

When teen-socialite Kelly Van Ryan and troubled bad girl Suzie Toller accuse guidance counselor Sam Lombardo of rape, he's suspended by the school, rejected by the town, and fighting to get his life back. One cop suspects conspiracy, but nothing is what it seems...



Double Threat
6.613

With ruthless mobsters on her tail, a young woman with a split personality becomes entangled with a man on a pilgrimage across the country to scatter his brother's ashes.

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