With the Ted Bundy primer covered off (listen), it’s time for Jenn and I to dig into our first Ted Bundy adaptation.
Writer/director Matthew Bright is…an acquired taste. The man behind the Freeway films (which Trace Thurman and I have covered on Horror Queers) has a tendency to blur the boundaries of “good taste” with his mix of comedy, violence, sex and exploitation.
This is certainly applicable to Ted Bundy (2002), which Bright co-wrote with Stephen Johnston. The film is part of a glut of fictionalized true crime films of the early aughts (including 2000’s Ed Gein, which Johnston also wrote).
In the case of Ted Bundy, there’s a *partial* attempt at covering the real story. Aside from Bundy, all of the names have been changed, but several key incidents, including the Lake Sammamish double murder, as well as the attempted mall abduction, are recreated here.
But Bright and Johnston can’t help indulging in the violence while also focusing on Bundy (Michael Reilly Burke)’s relationship with Lee (a variant of real life girlfriend Liz, who is here played by Boti Bliss). The issue is that investigating how Lee was duped by Bundy for so long just isn’t that interesting, nor are the recreations of the murders, which are played for laughs as often as they are presented as horrific.
The killing spree spans decades and claims 30+ victims, but the film ultimately tries to evoke sympathy for Bundy as he faces the death penalty. It’s a bizarre, unsuccessful attempt at flipping the narrative.
Ted Bundy doesn’t ultimately work, but it does provide interesting fodder for discussion on the podcast!
Episode 17: Ted Bundy (2002)
Jenn and Joe kick off our first Ted Bundy text with a look at Matthew Bright’s 2002 Ted Bundy.
It’s…messy: a collage of style and tone. It’s not quite severe enough to be exploitation, but the mix of comedy, violence and true crime don’t always mix.
Plus: the most successful sequence, how faithful is it as a true crime adaptation, and Burke and Bliss’ respective performances.
Next week: Our coverage of Bundy continues with former Disney star Zac Efron’s take on the serial killer in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
And if you want even more Murder Made Fiction, be sure to check out the pod’s Patreon feed, where we have ~23 hours of bonus content, including full-length primers on Bundy and The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, as well as individual episodes on Prime’s The Sticky, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour and the Jude Law/Nicholas Hoult terrorist title, The Order.