There isn't a movie or book made that has adequately quantified the hideous and sickening nature of Ted Bundy crimes. Not even close. Many of the grisly crimes have been glossed over or completely omitted, but it sure has continued to be a subject of intrigue amongst a sizable segment of readers. I won't go into evaluating the types of people who relish this material, but what is offensively noticeable is that they all seem to imbue a Star Power in the infamous criminal and always marginalize the pain and suffering of the victims' families. Yes, it's an exploitative business that consequently lines pockets of authors and film makers. It all started with that dumpy and homely author, Ann Rule, and her novel "The Stranger Beside Me", A poorly written book that launched her career as a Crime author. Due to her fascination and admiration for this scumbag, she built a myth around his legacy making him out to be more brilliant, more humane and more handsome than he actually was. Her book was successful and as a result spawned a series of movies, books and documentaries.
The truth is that Bundy wasn't as brilliant or scrupulous as they made him to be. Law Enforcement, especially in The Colorado Correctional Center, was very inept, allowing him to escape twice. Forensic science was much more primitive, no DNA evaluation, no State-State Police collaboration, no internet, no cellphones and virtually no surveillance was available. Bundy got lucky a few times and was conniving enough to be on the move constantly before being apprehended. Hitchhiking, a very dangerous practice, was commonplace and didn't become illegal in some states until 1977.
As for the movie? It is pure Pop-culture sensationalism garbage. Like previous movies, they always cast a leading man type to play Bundy and never anyone who really resembles him. The Serial killer gets glorified to a Super star status and the storyline almost never focuses on significant incidences that give us insight into what really happened. Most offensive is that we almost never hear about the victims until the faceless names are projected on the screen at the very end. All the actors, John Malkovich, Zac Efron and the female actors are nothing like the actual people and the events aren't truthfully presented. It's really a disappointment for anyone curious to delve into the criminal mind and the whole demented nature of it. But since Bundy was such a uniquely perverse sociopath, it might be too difficult for most actors to capture the true deranged character.
The truth is that Bundy wasn't as brilliant or scrupulous as they made him to be. Law Enforcement, especially in The Colorado Correctional Center, was very inept, allowing him to escape twice. Forensic science was much more primitive, no DNA evaluation, no State-State Police collaboration, no internet, no cellphones and virtually no surveillance was available. Bundy got lucky a few times and was conniving enough to be on the move constantly before being apprehended. Hitchhiking, a very dangerous practice, was commonplace and didn't become illegal in some states until 1977.
As for the movie? It is pure Pop-culture sensationalism garbage. Like previous movies, they always cast a leading man type to play Bundy and never anyone who really resembles him. The Serial killer gets glorified to a Super star status and the storyline almost never focuses on significant incidences that give us insight into what really happened. Most offensive is that we almost never hear about the victims until the faceless names are projected on the screen at the very end. All the actors, John Malkovich, Zac Efron and the female actors are nothing like the actual people and the events aren't truthfully presented. It's really a disappointment for anyone curious to delve into the criminal mind and the whole demented nature of it. But since Bundy was such a uniquely perverse sociopath, it might be too difficult for most actors to capture the true deranged character.