Ted Bundy has been immortalised in countless movies, documentaries, podcasts, books, the list goes on. So, it’s important to keep an open mind when reviewing yet another re-telling of the serial killer’s grisly crimes. And with that said, Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman is perhaps the most pointless and pathetic Ted Bundy portrayal to ever disappoint our screens.
Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile sees Ted Bundy (played by Zac Efron) from the perspective of his unbelieving girlfriend, Liz (Lily Collins), the Netflix documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, also directed by Berlinger, focuses on audio recordings from the infamous killer’s interviews with author Stephen G. Michaud, so what’s the angle of Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman? Well, it stays true to its title and casts Bundy as a creepy, goes-bump-in-the-night bogey man.
Everything we know about Bundy: a calculated, psychotic killer who lured women to their deaths with his nice-guy charm and good looks, goes out of the window with Daniel Farrands’ Boogeyman. Chad Michael Murray’s Ted Bundy is sloppy and inadequate, and we see him fail to kidnap young girls more times than he succeeds. Bundy’s supposed good looks – which he notoriously used to gain the trust of his victims – is replaced with sorority girls naming him “creepy Chris”. Then, in an attempt to include as many horror movie tropes as possible – look, he’s behind you! – Murray’s Bundy is portrayed as a stalker, who chases his victims through dark, eerie greenhouses (we know…).
In addition to the movie’s factual inaccuracies, the acting is wooden, and who on earth decided to cast Chad Michael Murray (of One Tree Hill and A Cinderella Story fame) as Ted Bundy, and, even worse, thought he’d be believable? The man who texted Hilary Duff ‘PRINCETONGIRL818 where have u been? We haven’t talked in ages’ – really? There’s only so much acting an actor can do.
However, the biggest failure of this 2021 movie is its insensitivity. Ted Bundy confessed to murdering 36 women, and it’s estimated he kidnapped, raped, and killed 100 more. It’s a disgusting chain of events that should be handled with extreme care should anyone be possessed to tell them. Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman is offensive with its portrayal of Bundy’s victims. In one scene, we see Ted – using the fake name Chris – having a nightmare about women dressed in latex hitting him with sex toys. This reduces his acts to at the very most sexual violence; there is absolutely no need to draw the comparison of his abhorrent crimes against women to him feeling like a ‘victim’ of women in his nightmare.
It’s important to watch a film with few expectations and an open mind. Except for this one, expect that it’s going to be shit.
Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman is available via digital outlets now.
