''Ted Bundy'' is a 2002 crime horror thriller film written and directed by

Matthew Bright Matthew Bright (born June 8, 1952) is a former film director, writer and actor. His first credits were as writer and actor in Richard Elfman's 1980 film ''Forbidden Zone'', portraying the twins Squeezit and René Henderson. The film includes h ...

, and co-written by Stephen Johnston. A

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

, it is based on the crimes of

Ted Bundy Theodore Robert Bundy (Name change, born Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more th ...

, an American serial killer who raped and murdered dozens of women and girls throughout the United States during the 1970s. It stars

Michael Reilly Burke Michael Reilly Burke (born June 27, 1964) is an American actor. He played Rex Van De Kamp on the unaired pilot of ''Desperate Housewives''. Steven Culp replaced him before the pilot aired. He also appeared in The WB series ''Charmed'' in the epi ...

as Bundy, and Boti Bliss as Bundy's girlfriend, Lee.

Plot

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

in 1974, law student

appears to be the typical friendly guy who lives next door, but inside this kind gentleman lies a monster. After watching women from their windows while

masturbating Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...

, Ted builds up the courage to commit his first murder. From there, he always manages to lure a young woman to his car by faking a broken arm or an illness or by disguising himself as a police officer. Then he knocks her unconscious, ties her up, and drives her to an arranged location where he rapes and murders her. Driving his yellow VW Beetle, he leaves a bloody trail through the United States. The police are left in the dark, as no one suspects a model citizen and ambitious student like Ted. Eventually, in 1975, one of Ted's victims, Tina Gabler, escapes from him when she throws herself from his moving car. Based on her description of his car, Ted is stopped by a police officer and arrested. In his trunk, the police find pantyhose masks, a hand saw, a crowbar, knives, ropes, and handcuffs. Even though he is identified by Tina Gabler in a lineup, Ted denies ever having seen the woman. When he is visited by his girlfriend, Lee, in a Colorado prison, Ted admits to her that charges are being brought against him for multiple murders, but stresses the fact that there is no evidence, however, and that he will never be convicted; at this point, Lee realizes that Ted is guilty, and she breaks up with him. Ted asks to represent himself at his trial, and is granted access to the courthouse law library. He promptly escapes by jumping from an upper story window. He is jailed again after an attempted auto theft, but manages to escape yet again months later. Upon settling in Florida, Ted rents a room under an alias, steals a van, and continues his murder spree. This time he overpowers four women in their sorority house and brutally murders two of them. His bloodlust still unsatisfied, Ted rapes and murders a twelve-year old girl the next day. He becomes heavily intoxicated afterward, and is recognized by a police officer and arrested after a short chase. Ted is convicted in court and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. After making an unsuccessful plea for mercy to the governor, Ted makes a final statement before he is executed in the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

; the executioner is revealed to be a woman. As Lee watches news coverage of the execution with her husband, she wonders, "Who was Ted Bundy?"

Cast

Release

The film had a

in the United States, in locations such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, in September 2002. In American, it grossed $1,710 on its opening weekend and $6,073 in total, and internationally it grossed $62,643, for a total sum of $68,716.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 41% based on twenty-two reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Ted Bundy'' wastes an impressive performance from

on an exploitative film devoid of any social context or depth."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

assigned the film a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

score of 37 out of 100, based on eleven critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. While critical of the film's "really offensive" final scene, Chauncey Gardner of

Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proje ...

otherwise heaped praise on it, writing, "It's the movie ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'' wanted to be, a balls out, no punches pulled examination of a sick and twisted soul."

Maitland McDonagh Maitland McDonagh () is an American film critic and the author of several books about cinema. She is the author of ''Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'' (1991) and works of erotic fiction and erotic cinema, as well a ...

of ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' gave the film a score of 3/5, offered kudos to

for not glamorizing or fetishizing

or his crimes, and praised Burke's acting, calling it "dead on" and a performance that perfectly evoked "the subtle wrongness beneath the facade that gripped the public imagination."

Derek Elley Derek Elley (born c. 1955) is an American film and music critic and author, best known as the resident film critic for '' Variety'' until his departure in March 2010. With over 1200 reviews to his credit as of December 2014 on ''Rotten Tomatoes'', ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' also praised the "pulpy" and humorously macabre film, deeming it a "quality low-budgeter" that felt like a "disturbingly stygian comedy-drama" with a ''

sine qua non ''Sine qua non'' (, ) or ''condicio sine qua non'' (plural: ''condiciones sine quibus non'') is an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient. It was originally a Latin legal term for " conditionwithout which it could not be" ...

'' performance by Burke. ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' had a lukewarm response to the film, calling it a "

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

" and giving it a score of 2/4 before writing, "It's grisly going, but no more exploitative than a lot of mainstream TV reporting about violent crime." Marrit Ingman of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' gave ''Ted Bundy'' a score of 1/5, having found aspects like its disquieting atmosphere and commentary on 1970s society to have been undermined by how "muddled" its tone was, ultimately concluding that that the film did not seem to know "what to say about its subject." Similarly, Neil Smith of the BBC lambasted the film, giving it a score of 2/5 while disparaging it as nothing but an "orgy of gratuitous violence" in which "We learn next to nothing about what made Bundy tick, and leave no closer to understanding how such aberrations occur."

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' found the film to be a plodding and "drearily pointless" affair, and wrote, "This picture is arguably more honest than sexy star vehicles like '' Red Dragon''. That doesn't stop it from being unrewarding, unpleasant and very, very boring." David Chute of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...

'' was critical of the film's tone, derisively stating, "It's possible that something hip and transgressive was being attempted here that stubbornly refused to gel, but the result is more puzzling than unsettling." Mike D'Angelo of ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' was largely dismissive of the film, opining that there was "too much exploitation and too little art" and that, "The sight of ordinary-looking people committing unspeakably vicious acts no longer carries an inherent charge, and ''Ted Bundy'' offers little else." Jack Mathews of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' condemned the film, deriding it as nothing but "revolting exploitation" and further stating, "If the goal of this biographical horror film about one of America's sickest serial killers was to be as loathsome as its subject, mission accomplished." Likewise, Megan Turner of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' deemed the film a "trashy, exploitative, thoroughly unpleasant experience" that was both "tone-deaf" and "more than a little misogynistic." In a review written for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', Michael Atkinson opined that the film "never digs very deep" and concluded, "In the end, ''Ted Bundy's'' only justification is the director's common but unexplored fascination with the frustrated maniac; there's no larger point, and little social context. ''

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...

'' this ain't." Matthew Reilly Burke and Boti Bliss were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, at the 2003

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards are an award ceremony focused on horror and thriller films. Beginning in 1992, the awards were expanded and an annual ceremony was inaugurated to give out the awards. As of 2015, Fangoria also delivers awards to te ...

References

External links

* * {{Ted Bundy 2002 black comedy films 2002 crime thriller films 2002 films 2002 horror films 2002 independent films 2002 psychological thriller films 2000s American films 2000s biographical films 2000s British films 2000s English-language films 2000s exploitation films 2000s horror thriller films 2000s police films 2000s psychological horror films 2000s serial killer films American biographical films American black comedy films American crime thriller films American exploitation films American films based on actual events American horror thriller films American independent films American police films American psychological horror films American psychological thriller films American serial killer films BDSM in films Biographical films about serial killers British biographical films British black comedy films British crime thriller films British exploitation films British films based on actual events British horror thriller films British independent films British police films British psychological horror films British psychological thriller films British serial killer films Crime films based on actual events Crime horror films Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of kidnappers Cultural depictions of male serial killers Cultural depictions of rapists Fictional portrayals of the Seattle Police Department Films about capital punishment Films about child death Films about child sexual abuse Films about domestic violence Films about infidelity Films about prison escapes Films about Ted Bundy Films about rape in the United States Films directed by Matthew Bright Films set in 1974 Films set in 1975 Films set in 1976 Films set in 1977 Films set in 1978 Films set in 1989 Films set in Colorado Films set in Florida Films set in prison Films set in Salt Lake City Films set in Seattle Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films shot in Santa Clarita, California Films with screenplays by Matthew Bright Home invasions in film Horror films based on actual events Law enforcement in Florida in fiction Masturbation in fiction Necrophilia in film Period horror films Thriller films based on actual events

Plot

Cast

Release

Reception

See also

References

External links