Director Matthew Bright surprised the world in 1996 with his outstanding debut "Freeway", a powerful and well-constructed film that also sent Reese Whiterspoon's career to new levels as a young actress. Unlike the star of his film, Bright kept a low profile; and now, six years after that successful debut, and after directing an inferior sequel to "Freeway", he returns with another challenging movie in the biopic of the most notorious serial killer in modern history: Ted Bundy.
Ted Bundy was a man who between 1974 and 1978 committed a high amount of murders across the United States. Focused on young women, Ted Bundy was the first criminal to be labeled as a serial killer due to his sociopath behavior and disturbed psychological status. His crimes shocked the nation and changed the image of serial killers for ever.
Bright's movie focuses on the killing rampage that Bundy started in 1974 until his capture and eventual execution. The movie depicts his methods and disturbed behavior, and follows closely what is known of the case. We get a glimpse of Bundy's life as a law student and his attempts of having a normal life. However, his obsession with power and his sociopath mind eventually destroy the lives of many people to satisfy his sadistic urges.
Sadly, the movie never dives fully in the complex character that Bundy is. While this is understandable due to the lack of information about Bundy's real persona, it is obvious that Bright decided to keep the movie only as a retelling of events without getting too much into deep analysis of Bundy.
However, this ends up as a double edge razor; Bright manages to tell the story without taking sides, showing Bundy as a human being, but without forcing the audience to empathize with him; on the other hand, this approach looks shallow, and doesn't offer anything new to people familiar with the case. Something that comes up as a disappointment, as this particular story has enough room for deep analysis.
Michael Reilly Burke is awesome as Bundy, in the sense that he captures the essence of what is known about him. He manages to portray the facade of the charming young man that hides a terrible monster with powerful presence. His performance as the serial killer is very good, specially if we consider the fact that the script (as the real life), doesn't explain why is this apparently normal man acts in such bizarre ways.
Boti Bliss also makes a good job as Bundy's girlfriend, and has excellent scenes in the film; however, the film really belongs to Reilly Burke who, particularly at the end of Bundy's life, shows the great actor he can be. Something worth notice, is that the special effects are done by the now legendary Tom Savini, and while not in great amounts, the gore depicted is truly frightening and a throw back to Savini's earlier and more realistic gore.
"Ted Bundy" is definitely a movie that could had been more; nevertheless, it still is a very good movie and a portrayal of a dark side of North America that should never be forgotten. While not on the same league as the powerful "Freeway", this movie shows that Bright still has a lot to offer and personally I hope that he can return with a masterpiece next time. 6/10
Ted Bundy was a man who between 1974 and 1978 committed a high amount of murders across the United States. Focused on young women, Ted Bundy was the first criminal to be labeled as a serial killer due to his sociopath behavior and disturbed psychological status. His crimes shocked the nation and changed the image of serial killers for ever.
Bright's movie focuses on the killing rampage that Bundy started in 1974 until his capture and eventual execution. The movie depicts his methods and disturbed behavior, and follows closely what is known of the case. We get a glimpse of Bundy's life as a law student and his attempts of having a normal life. However, his obsession with power and his sociopath mind eventually destroy the lives of many people to satisfy his sadistic urges.
Sadly, the movie never dives fully in the complex character that Bundy is. While this is understandable due to the lack of information about Bundy's real persona, it is obvious that Bright decided to keep the movie only as a retelling of events without getting too much into deep analysis of Bundy.
However, this ends up as a double edge razor; Bright manages to tell the story without taking sides, showing Bundy as a human being, but without forcing the audience to empathize with him; on the other hand, this approach looks shallow, and doesn't offer anything new to people familiar with the case. Something that comes up as a disappointment, as this particular story has enough room for deep analysis.
Michael Reilly Burke is awesome as Bundy, in the sense that he captures the essence of what is known about him. He manages to portray the facade of the charming young man that hides a terrible monster with powerful presence. His performance as the serial killer is very good, specially if we consider the fact that the script (as the real life), doesn't explain why is this apparently normal man acts in such bizarre ways.
Boti Bliss also makes a good job as Bundy's girlfriend, and has excellent scenes in the film; however, the film really belongs to Reilly Burke who, particularly at the end of Bundy's life, shows the great actor he can be. Something worth notice, is that the special effects are done by the now legendary Tom Savini, and while not in great amounts, the gore depicted is truly frightening and a throw back to Savini's earlier and more realistic gore.
"Ted Bundy" is definitely a movie that could had been more; nevertheless, it still is a very good movie and a portrayal of a dark side of North America that should never be forgotten. While not on the same league as the powerful "Freeway", this movie shows that Bright still has a lot to offer and personally I hope that he can return with a masterpiece next time. 6/10