Born Bad

In 1958, garbageman Charlie Starkweather, accompanied by his jailbait sweetheart Caril Ann Fugate, embarked upon a killing spree which shocked America. Modelling himself on James Dean, Starkweather took teen rebellion to its logical and bloody conclusion, killing first Caril’s disapproving father and then a succession of other victims before being apprehended and executed in the electric chair. Born Bad tells the story of the star-crossed bluejean lovers and their violent stand against the world, including quotes from Starkweather to illuminate his twilight creed of flaming youth unleashed. The book also investigates the cinematic legacy of the archetypal gun-crazy killer couple, including such films as Terrence Malick’s “Badlands”, David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart”, the Tarantino-scripted “True Romance” and Oliver Stone’s notorious “Natural Born Killers”.