Ted Bundy
Reviews
John Chard
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
Wuchak
**_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
Movie Recommendation
Ed Gein2000-11-17The true story of Edward Gein, the farmer whose horrific crimes inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. This is the first film to Gein's tormented upbringing, his adored but domineering mother, and the 1957 arrest uncovered the most bizarre series of murders America has ever seenMore...
Deliver Us from Evil2006-06-24Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.More...
At Middleton2013-10-09George is an uptight surgeon with a rebellious teenage son. Edith is a free spirit with an overachieving teenage daughter. When they meet during an admissions tour with their kids at the small, idyllic Middleton University, they decide to ditch the group. Though adversaries at first, they soon discover that the only thing better than the college tour, is the detour.More...
Avengers Grimm2015-03-17When Rumpelstiltskin destroys the Magic Mirror and escapes to the modern world, the four princesses of "Once Upon a Time"-Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel-are sucked through the portal too. Well-trained and endowed with magical powers, the four women must fight Rumpelstiltskin and his army of thralls before he enslaves everyone on Earth.More...
Shiver2008-02-08Santi, a young high-school student with a serious physical reaction to sunlight, is forced by his health to move with his single mother to a shadowy, isolated village in the mountains of Spain where the inhabitants begin to reveal themselves as strangely xenophobic. When terrible, violent events begin to occur, Santi becomes first a pariah at school and then strongly suspected by the police of hideous murders. Santi himself, however, wonders if he is not the next victim.More...
Amici come prima2018-12-19Cesare Proietti is the esteemed manager of the Relais Colombo, a luxury hotel in Milan. When a group of new Chinese business partners want to revolutionize everything, the hotel owner's daughter, Luciana, decides to fire Cesare. When Cesare discovers Luciana is looking for a caregiver who can look after her father, he decides to dress up as a charming woman to apply for the role.More...
Rust Creek2019-01-04When an overachieving college senior makes a wrong turn, her road trip becomes a life-changing fight for survival in rural Kentucky.More...
Boiler Room2000-02-18A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm and is on the fast track to success—but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds.More...
Sissi1955-12-22The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.More...
Home2009-06-03In 200,000 years of existence, man has upset the balance on which the Earth had lived for 4 billion years. Global warming, resource depletion, species extinction: man has endangered his own home. But it is too late to be pessimistic: humanity has barely ten years left to reverse the trend, become aware of its excessive exploitation of the Earth's riches, and change its consumption pattern.More...
Timeline2003-11-26A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.More...
Sorry if I Love You2008-01-25Alex Belli is a 37 year old advertising executive whose fiancée Elena has just left him, and who is having difficulty at work trying to think of a good advertising campaign for a new Japanese product. Niki is a bubbly 17 year old student. She has three best friends with whom she shares all her problems, and an annoying ex-boyfriend Fabio who is set on getting her back, but Niki's not interested. One day on his way to work, Alex collides with Niki on a city street. They soon begin a romance, despite their 20-year age gap.More...
Teen Wolf1985-08-23When a shy teenager's new-found powers help him score at basketball - and with the popular girls - he has some pretty hairy decisions to make.More...
Bad Santa2003-11-26You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Wille's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.More...
Christiane F.1981-04-02This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 70s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14 years old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-storey apartment building in Berlin. She's fascinated by the 'Sound', a new disco with most modern equipment. Although she's legally too young, she asks a friend to take her. There she meets Detlef, who's in a clique where everybody's on drugs. Step by step she gets drawn deeper into the scene.More...
Land of Mine2015-12-03In the days following the surrender of Germany in May 1945, a group of young German prisoners of war is handed over to the Danish authorities and subsequently sent to the West Coast, where they are ordered to remove the more than two million mines that the Germans had placed in the sand along the coast. With their bare hands, crawling around in the sand, the boys are forced to perform the dangerous work under the leadership of a Danish sergeant.More...
Shaft2019-06-14JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.More...
Thirteen2003-08-20When average 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, Tracy's world is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.More...
Les Misérables2019-11-14Stéphane has recently joined the Anti-Crime Squad in Montfermeil, in the suburbs of Paris, France, where Victor Hugo set his famed novel “Les Miserables”. Alongside his new colleagues Chris and Gwada – both experienced members of the team – he quickly discovers tensions running high between local gangs. When the trio finds themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone captures the encounter, threatening to expose the reality of everyday life.More...
Alibi.com2016-12-08Greg founded a company called Alibi.com that creates any type of alibi. With his associate, Augustin, and Medhi his new employee, they devise unstoppable stratagems and stagings to cover their clients. But meeting Flo, a pretty blonde who hates men who lie, will complicate Greg's life, which begins by hiding the true nature of his activity. During the presentation to parents, Greg understands that Gérard, the father of Flo, is also one of their clients.More...
Similar Movies
Psycho
1960-06-22When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.Frenzy
1972-05-25London is terrorized by a vicious sex killer known as The Necktie Murderer. Following the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, down-on-his-luck Richard Blaney is suspected by the police of being the killer. He goes on the run, determined to prove his innocence.Silent Hill
2006-04-21Rose, a desperate mother takes her adopted daughter, Sharon, to the town of Silent Hill in an attempt to cure her of her ailment. After a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose begins a desperate search to get her back. She descends into the center of the twisted reality of a town's terrible secret. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic disaster that burned the town 30 years earlier.City of God
2002-08-30In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.Catch Me If You Can
2002-12-16A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.Belly of the Wolf
2013-05-11Dark and disturbing adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Brought forward into the modern day it tells the story of a young boy, Daniel Parker, who finds himself wandering alone on an old abandoned army airbase. When Daniel stumbles across a blood stained jacket it triggers a chain of events that he could have never imagined and sends him on a journey into the darkest depths of human nature and beyond.Simon
2016-07-16An investigative Journalist thinks she's found a killer, and breaks into his place to find the evidence. Only when he come's back it becomes a game of cat and mouse with deadly consequences.A Clockwork Orange
1971-12-19In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenile crime, gives an incarcerated Alex the option to undergo an invasive procedure that'll rob him of all personal agency. In a time when conscience is a commodity, can Alex change his tune?Arsenic and Old Lace
1944-09-01Mortimer Brewster, a newspaper drama critic, playwright, and author known for his diatribes against marriage, suddenly falls in love and gets married; but when he makes a quick trip home to tell his two maiden aunts, he finds out his aunts' hobby - killing lonely old men and burying them in the cellar!Saw II
2005-10-28The chilling and relentless Jigsaw killer returns to terrorize the city once again. When a gruesome murder victim emerges with unmistakable traces of Jigsaw's sinister methods, Detective Eric Matthews is thrust into a high-stakes investigation. To his surprise, apprehending Jigsaw seems almost too easy, but what he doesn't realize is that being caught is merely another piece of Jigsaw's intricate puzzle.Boys Don't Cry
1999-09-02A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.Natural Born Killers
1994-08-26Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.Saw IV
2007-10-25Despite Jigsaw's death, and in order to save the lives of two of his colleagues, Lieutenant Rigg is forced to take part in a new game, which promises to test him to the limit.Pink Flamingos
1972-03-17Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".Face/Off
1997-06-27In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.GoodFellas
1990-09-12The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.Overlord
2018-11-01France, June 1944. On the eve of D-Day, some American paratroopers fall behind enemy lines after their aircraft crashes while on a mission to destroy a radio tower in a small village near the beaches of Normandy. After reaching their target, the surviving paratroopers realise that, in addition to fighting the Nazi troops that patrol the village, they also must fight against something else.White Boy Rick
2018-09-14The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.The Stalking of Lauri...
2000-12-12A teenage girl becomes entangled in a volatile relationship with a pair of high-school lovers.The Silence of the La...
1991-02-14Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.