Ann Rules' books including the Stranger Beside Me offers a detailed complex and complicated version of the events around Ted Bundy. Who would have thought that even a seasoned policewoman turned writer would be sitting next to a serial killer on Tuesdays nights for a Suicide hot line. There is no wonder that Ted Bundy got away with so much. He was brilliant and conscious. He graduated college and was attending law school. But there was a dark side behind the image of a charming, intelligent political promising young man and that is what Ann Rule tries to bring forth to the public in her book and in her movie. Sadly, the movie does touch on some bit of his past including the possible connection with a young girl's disappearance and the horrifying crimes against the women in the film. Not all of the victims were shown but the film can scare anybody from hitchhiking away for sure. Ann Rule was a lot stronger than the portrayal. She has three other children which are not at all mentioned. Barbara Hershey did a favorable job in playing Ann Rule. The actor, Billy Campbell, played Ted Bundy was absolutely chilling and tragic all at once. You just cringed with sadness when you heard the judge's remarks about him and if he had only chosen another way to live.
13 Reviews
The fascinating case of Ted Bundy
Wuchakk23 July 2017
RELEASED TO TV IN 2003 and directed by Paul Shapiro, "Ann Rule Presents: The Stranger Beside Me" (aka "The Ted Bundy Story") stars Billy Campbell as the infamous serial killer and Barbara Hershey as the eponymous writer who knew him before and during his murders, as well as during his imprisonments in Colorado and Florida.
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 to1978, but later said there were several others and respectable estimates range from 60-100 or more. He was first locked up in Utah in 1975 for kidnapping and assault, which is shown in the movie. 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 bullsheet 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.
One of the first murders shown in the movie, the one that occurs in the parking garage, actually took place at a state park. Yet it successfully shows how the affable killer made himself appear harmless to his victims. Despite story changes like this, as well as obvious anachronisms, the gist of the movie account is true and the film is compelling. Campbell uncannily looks like the serial killer and does a potent portrayal. Moreover the movie inspires you to look up the facts. It also shows how women in general, and particularly nubile ones, need to be aware when dealing with strangers or dubious people and use their innate intuition, even if the person is thoroughly charming, intelligent and seems harmless. Ultra-winsome Kimberley Warnat has a small role as one of the young women who kept her wits about her and therefore was able to see the proverbial writing on the wall and escape.
This is the only movie based on Bundy's crimes that I've seen. People say that the 1986 TV movie "The Deliberate Stranger" more closely adheres to the facts, but that one was released almost three years before the murderer's execution. This one, by contrast, fittingly shows Bundy's just wages. What a sick fool and what a waste of humanity, both him and 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 88 minutes and was shot in Vancouver & New Westminster, British Columbia. The script was written by Matthew McDuffie & Matthew Tabak from Ann Rule's book. ADDITIONAL CAST: Kevin Dunn appears as a Seattle detective and friend of Rule while Brenda James & Suki Kaiser play Bundy's oblivious lovers.
GRADE: B.
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 to1978, but later said there were several others and respectable estimates range from 60-100 or more. He was first locked up in Utah in 1975 for kidnapping and assault, which is shown in the movie. 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 bullsheet 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.
One of the first murders shown in the movie, the one that occurs in the parking garage, actually took place at a state park. Yet it successfully shows how the affable killer made himself appear harmless to his victims. Despite story changes like this, as well as obvious anachronisms, the gist of the movie account is true and the film is compelling. Campbell uncannily looks like the serial killer and does a potent portrayal. Moreover the movie inspires you to look up the facts. It also shows how women in general, and particularly nubile ones, need to be aware when dealing with strangers or dubious people and use their innate intuition, even if the person is thoroughly charming, intelligent and seems harmless. Ultra-winsome Kimberley Warnat has a small role as one of the young women who kept her wits about her and therefore was able to see the proverbial writing on the wall and escape.
This is the only movie based on Bundy's crimes that I've seen. People say that the 1986 TV movie "The Deliberate Stranger" more closely adheres to the facts, but that one was released almost three years before the murderer's execution. This one, by contrast, fittingly shows Bundy's just wages. What a sick fool and what a waste of humanity, both him and 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 88 minutes and was shot in Vancouver & New Westminster, British Columbia. The script was written by Matthew McDuffie & Matthew Tabak from Ann Rule's book. ADDITIONAL CAST: Kevin Dunn appears as a Seattle detective and friend of Rule while Brenda James & Suki Kaiser play Bundy's oblivious lovers.
GRADE: B.
A Gripping Tale of an Uncontrollable Ego
gavin694216 December 2010
This film is a fictional portrayal of Ann Rule's relationship with serial killer Ted Bundy (played by Billy Campbell). How true it is or not, I have no idea. It relies on Rule's point of view, with Rule being portrayed by Barbara Hershey, and some scenes do not even involve her, so at the very least the dialogue is just a bunch of bull.
Ted Bundy working with crime writer and ex-cop Ann Rule at a crisis hotline, where they have paramedics tracing the calls and arriving in record time. Also, Bundy as a Republican fundraiser and personal aide who knows the governor of Washington. I admit I never knew much about Bundy, but this is more interesting than I had imagined.
How Bundy, after being accused of murdering a dozen girls, gets out on bail is beyond me. He says that after one semester of law school he knows enough to "torpedo" the prosecution, but I have no idea how this can be true.
I appreciate the reference to Gary Gilmore and how Norman Mailer is writing a book about him. Gilmore is a far less-known killer, but treated here as though he is much bigger (which was probably true at the time). How he then escapes from Colorado and gets to Florida, gets a car, a fake identification and more... he is truly a criminal mastermind.
As I am not well-versed in Ted Bundy's story, and not not say how accurate this film is, I can say it was very well made. I was engaged, and enthralled by how interesting it was. And to be able to have both Ann Rule and Bundy's story told simultaneously adds a really good angle, since Bundy's story by itself would be more exploitative than anything.
Ted Bundy working with crime writer and ex-cop Ann Rule at a crisis hotline, where they have paramedics tracing the calls and arriving in record time. Also, Bundy as a Republican fundraiser and personal aide who knows the governor of Washington. I admit I never knew much about Bundy, but this is more interesting than I had imagined.
How Bundy, after being accused of murdering a dozen girls, gets out on bail is beyond me. He says that after one semester of law school he knows enough to "torpedo" the prosecution, but I have no idea how this can be true.
I appreciate the reference to Gary Gilmore and how Norman Mailer is writing a book about him. Gilmore is a far less-known killer, but treated here as though he is much bigger (which was probably true at the time). How he then escapes from Colorado and gets to Florida, gets a car, a fake identification and more... he is truly a criminal mastermind.
As I am not well-versed in Ted Bundy's story, and not not say how accurate this film is, I can say it was very well made. I was engaged, and enthralled by how interesting it was. And to be able to have both Ann Rule and Bundy's story told simultaneously adds a really good angle, since Bundy's story by itself would be more exploitative than anything.
Decent TV movie about Ted Bundy
Stevieboy66612 April 2018
TV movie about the crimes of Ted Bundy & his friendship with author Ann Rule. I have not read her book so cannot comment upon this adaptation but I have read about Bundy & would recommend this movie to anybody interested in learning about the serial killer. The film is gripping, well made and has a good level of acting. .My only gripe is that the characters don't appear to age despite being spread over a couple of decades.
Yet another liberty with facts, history
brandoncurtis197810 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I watched this film to see how it compared not only with book but with prior television drama THE DELIBERATE STRANGER with Mark Harmon and the 2002 feature film TED BUNDY.
Once again, the liberties with facts and history here show that the Harmon film is still the most accurate.
First of all, the racquet club scene is a distortion. In real life, the event portrayed was the Lake Sammamish/Issiqua disappearances and murders of Janice Ott and Denise Naslund that happened on a weekend in July 1974; outdoor state park, not a racquet club in downtown Seattle.
Kevin Dunn's character must be a composite, as is the detective who interrogates Bundy in Utah. In real life, the Seattle investigation was by Detectives Robert Keppel and Roger Dunn and the Utah case was by Detectives Ira Beal, Dennis Couch and Jerry Thompson.
In Florida, he did not murder the sorority women with a flashlight but with an oak wood club and he was arrested in a red VW bug, not a station wagon in Pensacola, Fla.
The film does a good job of portraying Bundy's appearance alterations over time and the brief portrayal of his working days with Rule.
However, outside of the fundraising party (in real life, it is not clear if Rule maintained a close association with Bundy as he began moving up the political ladder and began counting Seattle Times writer Richard Larsen as a friend), she does not touch on his growing relationship with Ross Davis (state GOP chairman) or Ralph Munro, who later became Secretary of State, which is covered in some scope in the Mark Harmon film.
This film makes a decent effort to portray the events of the period but, like TED BUNDY (2002) takes its share of liberties with facts and events.
Once again, the liberties with facts and history here show that the Harmon film is still the most accurate.
First of all, the racquet club scene is a distortion. In real life, the event portrayed was the Lake Sammamish/Issiqua disappearances and murders of Janice Ott and Denise Naslund that happened on a weekend in July 1974; outdoor state park, not a racquet club in downtown Seattle.
Kevin Dunn's character must be a composite, as is the detective who interrogates Bundy in Utah. In real life, the Seattle investigation was by Detectives Robert Keppel and Roger Dunn and the Utah case was by Detectives Ira Beal, Dennis Couch and Jerry Thompson.
In Florida, he did not murder the sorority women with a flashlight but with an oak wood club and he was arrested in a red VW bug, not a station wagon in Pensacola, Fla.
The film does a good job of portraying Bundy's appearance alterations over time and the brief portrayal of his working days with Rule.
However, outside of the fundraising party (in real life, it is not clear if Rule maintained a close association with Bundy as he began moving up the political ladder and began counting Seattle Times writer Richard Larsen as a friend), she does not touch on his growing relationship with Ross Davis (state GOP chairman) or Ralph Munro, who later became Secretary of State, which is covered in some scope in the Mark Harmon film.
This film makes a decent effort to portray the events of the period but, like TED BUNDY (2002) takes its share of liberties with facts and events.
Kind of confusing because of the mistakes
maggiemaggamuff-6955621 June 2017
This was a well written story, however there were a tremendous amount of scenes out of sync with the film. For example, the scene is set in 1975 yet everyone is at a juice bar located inside a gym (which didn't become popular until the late 1980's) and everyone was dressed like it was 1990 something. Then, the 1988 version of Standing On Shaky Ground plays in the background..then Ted, the only person dressed like the 70's midst the large group dressed like skaters from the 1990's, suddenly stands up and walks out into the parking garage where we see cars ranging from 1972 to 1978, exactly 3 years into the future. The movie is well done however whoever made these mistakes was pretty blind. I can understand a few errors in the film here and there and I do not expect perfection, but if you have a movie set in the 70's, don't include fashions and music and hair styles from 20 years into the future.
From Ann Rule's Point of View
shelbythuylinh15 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
She is played by Barbara Hershey and a great point of view that she thought Ted was a great friend but in reality was killing women behind hers and in the time there, the nation's backs.
Rule as a former cop should had expected that her would be great friend was a serial killer but even he hid that from her.
Really had he not let the demons get to him he probably would had a great chance at politics but ended up in the Florida electric chair.
Rule as a former cop should had expected that her would be great friend was a serial killer but even he hid that from her.
Really had he not let the demons get to him he probably would had a great chance at politics but ended up in the Florida electric chair.
The Stranger Beside Me
TCurtis91921 January 2020
This film absolutely nothing like the truth. For starters it glosses over the ineptitude of the police, leaves out crucial and well known events (including murders and Bundy's post-murder habits), and plays out like a soap.
The acting is boring and often bad, the events that are portrayed are skidded over which gives everything a feeling of unimportance, and the tone of the film is just flat.
Instead of watching this you should watch documentaries and read books and find out as much as possible about what happened.
The acting is boring and often bad, the events that are portrayed are skidded over which gives everything a feeling of unimportance, and the tone of the film is just flat.
Instead of watching this you should watch documentaries and read books and find out as much as possible about what happened.
An Alternative
victoriacaneal29 December 2020
The other reviews basically nailed it on the head I didn't enjoy the film but I do want to mention that the only thing good about it in my opinion was Billy Campbell's betrayal of Ted Bundy although I would say he would comes in second to Michael Riley Burke's performance in the 2002 film "Ted Bundy". One of the best performances I've ever seen in film in regards to an actor's portrayal of real person.
Pretty strong stuff
Woodyanders23 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Eager former cop turned aspiring crime writer Ann Rule (an excellent performance by Barbara Hershey) documents a brutal series of murders stretching from Utah to Seattle. Unbeknonst to Ann, the killer is the extremely smart, charming and affable Ted Bundy (a chilling and convincing portrayal by Billy Campbell), a close personal friend who works with her at a local suicide hotline. Ably directed by Paul Shapiro, with a tight script by Matthew McDuffie and Matthew Tabak, a rattling, shivery score by Joseph Conlan, a reasonably gritty tone, slick cinematography by Ron Orieux, a steady pace, and several fairly nasty murder set pieces, this made-for-TV movie makes for very gripping and harrowing viewing. Hershey and Campbell both contribute superb work in the lead roles. The supporting cast are likewise fine and impressive: Kevin Dunn as a hard-nosed detective, Suki Kaiser as Bundy's adoring prison pen pal and eventual wife Kelly Parker, Brenda James as Bundy's chipper, unsuspecting girlfriend Margo, and Meghan Black as Ann's feisty teenage daughter Leslie. This movie commendably refuses to explain Bundy's severe seething psychosis; instead it just merely states that evil folks like him simply exist and leaves it at that. A grimly fascinating true crime flick.
Best Bundy Actor
PsychTeacherSandy29 January 2020
Overall, this movie is "meh." It lacks accuracy. Many of the quotes are presented out of context. Events are portrayed incorrectly or out of order. It was pretty typical of a made-for-tv movie, which is probably why it went direct to dvd.
All that aside, Billy Campbell does the best interpretation of Bundy I've seen in all of the movies about him. He captures the chameleon nature of the man by constantly changing his hairstyle and facial expressions. His voice mimics Bundy's well. So it is worth a watch just to see Campbell.
Ann Rule meets Bundy
BandSAboutMovies15 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The Stranger Beside Me is based on Ann Rule's New York Times bestseller. Before she became a true crime writer, amazingly enough Ann became close friends with one of the most notorious serial killers - Ted Bundy.
Ann Rule (Barbara Hershey, The Entity) is an ex-cop and single mother who volunteers on the suicide hotlines in Seattle. That's where she meets Ted Bundy (Billy Campbell, The Rocketeer), who comes off as the nicest man she's ever met.
Of course, that changes. She's already been called in to help with the murders of women that have stretched from Utah to Seattle and may have provided a critical piece of insight on the fact that Ted fits a sketch and drives the same car as the suspect.
As their lives go in separate directions, Ted stays in touch with Ann, always convinced of his own innocence. While she may have stood up for him in the past, by the end, she only knows him as a monster.
It's directed by Paul Shapiro, who also directed the new VC Andrews adaption Heaven which airs later this month, as well as an upcoming remake of one of my favorite Lifetime films, Death of a Cheerleader.
While the film jumps all over the place way too much, Campbell is great as Bundy, proving why so many could find him so attractive and above such crimes. It's well worth a watch if you're interested in this case.
Ann Rule (Barbara Hershey, The Entity) is an ex-cop and single mother who volunteers on the suicide hotlines in Seattle. That's where she meets Ted Bundy (Billy Campbell, The Rocketeer), who comes off as the nicest man she's ever met.
Of course, that changes. She's already been called in to help with the murders of women that have stretched from Utah to Seattle and may have provided a critical piece of insight on the fact that Ted fits a sketch and drives the same car as the suspect.
As their lives go in separate directions, Ted stays in touch with Ann, always convinced of his own innocence. While she may have stood up for him in the past, by the end, she only knows him as a monster.
It's directed by Paul Shapiro, who also directed the new VC Andrews adaption Heaven which airs later this month, as well as an upcoming remake of one of my favorite Lifetime films, Death of a Cheerleader.
While the film jumps all over the place way too much, Campbell is great as Bundy, proving why so many could find him so attractive and above such crimes. It's well worth a watch if you're interested in this case.
Ann and Ted
johngmurray-5796828 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Solid adaptation of Ann Rules true crime classic about her relationship with Ted Bundy,the infamous serial killer. Billy Campbell bears an eerie resemblance to Ted and gives.a.chilling performance as. Bundy. Barbara Hershey is excellent as Rule,who gets a contract to write about young women disappearing across the Northwest, little suspecting the killer bus her friend Ted Bundy. The film does a good job.folloeong Ted's murderous career. The film.boasts solid supporting by veteran actors Kevin. Dunn as Ann's detective friend and Jay Brazeau as Judge Cowart. Suki Kaiser as Ted's girlfriend/wifrle.and. Meghan Black as Ann's daughter Leslie shine in smaller roles.
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