Ted Bundy

The worst kind of Teddy Bear.

Tricky. As always with serial killer films, you hope that the subject is handled in such a way so as to justify you having invested time in it. Matthew Bright’s instalment into the hall of shame legacy left by one Theodore Robert Bundy, is uncompromising and unforgettable. Could the charge of exploitation be levelled at Bright and his backers? No, I don’t think so.

The advent of time where film is concerned has seen film makers now be able to tackle difficult subjects for maximum impact. Bright, in the main, follows the real life of Bundy and his vile crimes. His home life and trail of destruction are covered graphically, so if anyone was in any doubt about the measure of Bundy’s evil via previous film, TV or literary interpretations? Then this is the gaping wound of Bundy tellings, with salt poured in.

It’s nigh on impossible to recommend as an essential viewing experience, I myself haven’t been able to get some of the images out of my head some 5 days after watching it. But that’s the point, surely? Some minor fabrications aside (we cheer the events just prior to the electrocution, but it didn’t happen), this is one of the best films of the bloody sub-genre of horror it sits in. For impact and Michael Reilly Burke’s bold and scary performance as Bundy, it has artistic merit. If you have the stomach for it that is. 8/10

The fascinating case of Ted Bundy

“Ted Bundy” (2002) was the second movie rendition of the infamous 70’s serial killer, after the 2-part “The Deliberate Stranger” from 1986 television. A third would debut on TV the next year, "Ann Rule Presents: The Stranger Beside Me." Several more were to manifest up to the present day.

The phrase "serial killer" didn't exist before Bundy. His first suspected victim was when he was a paper boy in Tacoma at the age of 14. He finally officially confessed to 30 murders in 7 states from 1974 to 1978, but later said there were several others and respectable estimates range from 60-100. He was first locked-up in Utah in 1975 for kidnapping and assault. Bundy subsequently became a suspect in an increasing list of unsolved murders in several states. Imprisoned in Colorado for homicide, he amazingly enacted two successful escapes and committed further attacks, including three more homicides in Florida, before his ultimate apprehension in 1978. He received three death sentences in two separate trials for the Florida murders. Bundy was electrocuted in Starke, Florida, on January 24, 1989. He was 42 years-old.

What's strange about the Bundy case is that he was a highly educated, charismatic man with Hollywood good looks. Combined with his likable gift of BS he was able to dupe those closest to him, including Ann Rule, until the evidence against him piled up. This explains why one Washington woman allowed him to stay with her after he was released from confinement in Utah as a prime suspect, not to mention a clueless woman’s marriage to him from 1980-1986 while he was in prison in Florida for 11 years.

I’ve only seen this movie and the next one from 2003, “Ann Rule Presents: The Stranger Beside Me” (which obviously views the story through the lens of the true-crime writer, a woman Bundy befriended at the suicide crisis hotline). Both flicks successfully show how the affable killer made himself appear harmless to his victims. Despite alterations, like name-changes and such, the gist of these movies is true and each film is compelling. This one includes a hint of black humor, not that the disturbing murders are funny, but it’s almost absurd how this genial, attractive, educated man was able to effortlessly dupe so many intelligent people and get away with gross crimes for so long, not to mention his two successful escapes.

Moreover, these movies inspire you to look up the facts. They also show how women in general, and particularly nubile ones, need to be aware when dealing with strangers and use their innate intuition, even if the person is thoroughly charming, smart and seemingly harmless. Each movie shows the true incident of how one potential victim was able to see the proverbial writing on the wall and escape, later identifying Bundy in a lineup.

People say that the 1986 TV movie "The Deliberate Stranger" more closely adheres to the facts, but that one ran over three hours and was released almost three years before the murderer's execution. This one and “The Stranger Beside Me,” by contrast, fittingly show Bundy's just wages. What a sick fool and what a waste of humanity, both him and, especially, his myriad tragic victims, not to mention the dozens of naïve souls he hoodwinked into believing his pathological lies thru his amiable mojo.

The movie runs 1 hour, 39 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (including Los Angeles City College), as well as north of there in Santa Clarita and Castaic Lake State Recreation Area.

GRADE: B