Ted Bundy starts in Seattle 1974 where failed law school student Ted Bundy (Michael Reilly Burke) is studying psychology, at first glance he seems a nice enough guy who has a girlfriend Lee (Boti Bliss) who loves him. However in reality he is a deviant sexual predator who quickly graduates from masturbating outside girls bedrooms to breaking into homes, beating, raping & murdering young women. Eventually Bundy decides to pack up & move on to Salt Lake City in 1975 & he continues his killing spree on the way. After a failed attempt to kidnap a young girl Bundy is caught & tired for his crimes where while in prison he studies law in order to defend himself...
This English American co-production was co-written & directed by Matthew Bright & by all accounts is an extremely faithful dramatisation of the life & times of notorious real life American serial killer Ted Bundy, or at least as faithful as it could be considering Bundy is now dead & ultimately he was the only person who really knew for sure. The script by Bright & Stephen Johnston starts at the (generally accepted) beginning of Bundy's killing spree during 1974 & tells the story of Ted Bundy right up until he was executed by electric chair in 1989 although there are obviously large gaps here as the film tends to focus on major events. Told almost exclusively from the point of view of Bundy himself I think the female character who says that the 'motivation & psychology behind a murderer is fascinating' is absolutely right because it is, there's just something very compelling watching Ted Bundy knowing that the central character was a real guy, the crimes depicted in Ted Bundy actually happened & to most of us we are intrigued as to what would make someone commit such heinous crimes. The film is apparently very accurate to the events which happened, from his early days as a petty thief to tricking girls with a fake cast on his arm to his escape from jail & his eventual execution. I think the only major change is that all of the victims names have been changed, presumably as a mark of respect for the family & friends. One of the frightening things about Ted Bundy is that he actually comes across as quite a charismatic & likable guy especially at the start of the film which again in reality people say he was.
According to the end credits the term 'serial killer' was actually coined to describe Bundy. No-one knows exactly how many people Bundy killed, he confessed to killing thirty people but some say the total may be higher although he was only convicted of murdering four before his execution. The film starts out like a black comedy with Bundy stealing a huge pot plant & stuffing it in his car before driving away with it sticking out of his passenger window but things soon turn a lot grimmer. While not the most graphic of films it can be fairly disturbing at times, the scene when he stabs a woman, rapes her & when she comes round he knocks her out so he can finish raping her before beating her to death with a brick all while another female victim looks on tied up. The film follows Bundy around & every so often he rapes & kills someone, there's no real build up to these scenes as one might see in a teen slasher & the film is played very straight in a very matter of fact sort of way.
With a supposed budget of about $1,200,000 Ted Bundy is well made, the 70's period production values are good & the film looks nice enough although not overly flashy. Real newsreel footage was used during several points, during a montage of his crime spree & how it was reported, courtroom footage of the judge sentencing Bundy to death & footage of people waiting outside the Florida prison for his execution complete with pro execution banners. Although set in Seattle, Utah, Salt Lake City, Colorado & Florida the film was shot in & around Los Angeles in California. The acting is good with a fine performance from Burke as Bundy while genre actress Tiffany Shepis actually tries to act for once & special make-up effects man Tom Savini has a small cameo as a cop.
Ted Bundy is a strangely compelling & often fascinating real life biopic of Ted Bundy & his crimes, I am not sure whether you should be entertained by it or whether the likes of Bundy should have films made about them but I did like it & thought it was well put together.
This English American co-production was co-written & directed by Matthew Bright & by all accounts is an extremely faithful dramatisation of the life & times of notorious real life American serial killer Ted Bundy, or at least as faithful as it could be considering Bundy is now dead & ultimately he was the only person who really knew for sure. The script by Bright & Stephen Johnston starts at the (generally accepted) beginning of Bundy's killing spree during 1974 & tells the story of Ted Bundy right up until he was executed by electric chair in 1989 although there are obviously large gaps here as the film tends to focus on major events. Told almost exclusively from the point of view of Bundy himself I think the female character who says that the 'motivation & psychology behind a murderer is fascinating' is absolutely right because it is, there's just something very compelling watching Ted Bundy knowing that the central character was a real guy, the crimes depicted in Ted Bundy actually happened & to most of us we are intrigued as to what would make someone commit such heinous crimes. The film is apparently very accurate to the events which happened, from his early days as a petty thief to tricking girls with a fake cast on his arm to his escape from jail & his eventual execution. I think the only major change is that all of the victims names have been changed, presumably as a mark of respect for the family & friends. One of the frightening things about Ted Bundy is that he actually comes across as quite a charismatic & likable guy especially at the start of the film which again in reality people say he was.
According to the end credits the term 'serial killer' was actually coined to describe Bundy. No-one knows exactly how many people Bundy killed, he confessed to killing thirty people but some say the total may be higher although he was only convicted of murdering four before his execution. The film starts out like a black comedy with Bundy stealing a huge pot plant & stuffing it in his car before driving away with it sticking out of his passenger window but things soon turn a lot grimmer. While not the most graphic of films it can be fairly disturbing at times, the scene when he stabs a woman, rapes her & when she comes round he knocks her out so he can finish raping her before beating her to death with a brick all while another female victim looks on tied up. The film follows Bundy around & every so often he rapes & kills someone, there's no real build up to these scenes as one might see in a teen slasher & the film is played very straight in a very matter of fact sort of way.
With a supposed budget of about $1,200,000 Ted Bundy is well made, the 70's period production values are good & the film looks nice enough although not overly flashy. Real newsreel footage was used during several points, during a montage of his crime spree & how it was reported, courtroom footage of the judge sentencing Bundy to death & footage of people waiting outside the Florida prison for his execution complete with pro execution banners. Although set in Seattle, Utah, Salt Lake City, Colorado & Florida the film was shot in & around Los Angeles in California. The acting is good with a fine performance from Burke as Bundy while genre actress Tiffany Shepis actually tries to act for once & special make-up effects man Tom Savini has a small cameo as a cop.
Ted Bundy is a strangely compelling & often fascinating real life biopic of Ted Bundy & his crimes, I am not sure whether you should be entertained by it or whether the likes of Bundy should have films made about them but I did like it & thought it was well put together.