Ted Bundy American Boogeyman Review – Engaging, Riveting, Haunting

Details

Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Tuesday, 17 August 2021 16:02

Written by Janet Walker

Ted Bundy American Boogeyman, from Voltage Pictures, presents the chilling portrayal of the notorious serial killer, as he stalks his prey from Utah to Colorado and finally Florida and the two dedicated detectives determined to catch him.

The film begins in Utah in the 1970s, two young women in the early 20s are bemoaning their fate, single on a Saturday night, having pizza with no boyfriends in sight. We find the one has been dumped as her good for nothing ex-boyfriend found pleasure elsewhere.

Game 6 Review – Entertaining, Sentimental, A Home Run

As they get up to leave one departs for the ladies' room and the other waits outside. She sees a man, on crutches, having trouble with his keys. She walks toward him; he continues with repeated frustrated outbursts when she asks if she can help.

What we see is an attractive man on crutches, neat, clean, with no outwardly signs of mental instability, talks the right talk, he explains away the crutches as a fall on the slopes, which place him in another socioeconomic status. She obliges and reaches down to pick up the keys. As she was leaving, and we understand, he had her on the hook, he drops his keys again, this time underneath his car. She begins to reach for the keys when her ex-boyfriend drives up. She has no idea how close she came to becoming another nameless victim. She turns to talk to the man, and he is gone.

Her girlfriend came out of the restaurant and sees her friend's glove on the ground. And in a blinding flash she is hit. Unconscious she begins to awaken somewhere in the middle of Utah, in the deep wilderness, she smacks her head against the dashboard of the Volkswagen. The next scene he is dragging her into the forest. He pulls a handsaw from his bag and decapitates her.

This begins the killing spree across Utah. The film moves to the Seattle Police bureau, where a lone female detective, Kathleen McChesney, played by Holland Roden, who is presenting evidence to a group of men, who have yet to crossover into the age of enlightenment and therefore they still are deeply chauvinist, on the missing women presumed murdered.

Materna Review – A Gritty, Razor-Sharp, Indictment of Metropolitan Life

The film returns to Bundy, played by Chad Michael Murray, who is attempting to lure a woman, Karen, played by Marietta Melrose, into his car. This time, he is posing as a police officer and explains that her car was broken into, and she should come with him to check it out.

Once she confirms that nothing has been stolen, he explains he really needs to take her to the station to file a report. She gets into his car and when he fails to take the road to the police station she panics. He slams her head against the dash and pulls over. She manages to get out of the car, and he hits her with a tire iron. She still manages to get away and becomes one of the few women who survive an encounter with Ted Bundy. Her strength and wherewithal in the extreme situation became the first big break in the case.

Kathleen McChesney, and rookie FBI profiler Robert Ressler, played by Jake Hays, live this case. The film moves along with them as with limited pieces of evidence, they built this case into a national manhunt. The film also depicts the vicious manner in which he disposed of his victims.

We see also how easy it was for Bundy to gain the trust of his victims. Most went willingly with him, he was charismatic, charming when he needed to be, intelligent, studied law, worked for a politician, handsome, the master manipulator. He used many ruses and would switch his game from subtle seduction in the ruse, to bloodthirsty immediate kill, usually bludgeoned.

Naked Singularity Review – A Race Against Time Dramady

The ensemble cast deliver riveting, and haunting performances of Bundy's victims and the detectives responsible for bringing him to justice. Chad Michael Murray delivers a chilling portrayal of Bundy.

This is the true story behind the manhunt that brought America's most feared serial killer to justice.

Engaging, riveting, and haunting. Ted Bundy American Boogeyman is screening in select cities, Check local listings. US VOD and DVD release on September 3, 2021.

A dark race against time thriller. See it.

Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes Review – Shocking Revelations on Power, Corruption and Collaboration

Country: USA.

Language: English.

Runtime: 110minutes.

Director: Daniel Farrands.

Writer: Daniel Farrands.

Producer: Luke Daniels, Lucas Jarach, Alan Pao.

Cast: Chad Michael Murray, Lin Shaye, Holland Roden, Jake Hays, Alice Prime, Marietta Melrose.