Ted Bundy: durmiendo con el asesino

There's something about serial killers that we as an audience find undeniably fascinating. I don't really know what it is, other than putting yourself in a world that 99% of us will never come close to. Ted Bundy's story is among America's most notorious, vile, evil, and wicked. However, the film never dives deep enough to give the audience that type of reaction. And you can make the argument that doing so would be exploitive and off putting, and your more than likely right, but I expected to be more unsettled by Zac Efron's turn as Ted Bundy. The last 20 minutes are really well handled though, especially as Lily Collins' 'Liz Kendall' finally begins to invite us into her psyche, but perhaps all too late. Perhaps a story like this does ultimately work much better in a TV series/Documentary format. - i.e. the Netflix one earlier this year.

6.4/10

Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy's story told from the perspective of his long-term girlfriend, which means we see no murders and no dark side to Bundy's affable nature. It works as a demonstration of how many people couldn't believe such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer of young women, but it also feels like something of a whitewash. It's riveting stuff, though, and Efron gives a career best performance to date - which isn't exactly the highest of hurdles, but shows promise for the future.

By now, people know about Ted Bundy and what a monster he was. But people who are saying this movie is boring, I believe they are missing the point. It's not about the Gorey details of his crimes, it's about Bundy's relationship with people and how manipulative he was.

I am a true crime fan and have always considered myself "too smart to fall for such evil", but I have to admit, there were times when I found myself rooting for Ted Bundy and then realized what I was doing. If you let yourself be fully submerged in the movie and toss out any expectations and what you think you know about Ted Bundy, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you are able to feel about someone who was a living nightmare. It made me realize why so many women could have actually fallen for Bundy's tricks.

Even if the main particularity of Ted Bundy is indisputably a disconcerting desire for exceptionally barbaric murders, the movie focuses on an unusual seduction ability thanks to a charismatic eloquence and an extraordinary IQ, and then two women who loved him, Liz Kendall and Carole Anne Boone. Indeed, the film does not really deal with the police investigation and modestly eludes the macabre scenes of crimes, but, on the contrary, it highlights the duality of the monster: an odd mix of a successful womanizer and an accomplished serial killer, of Casanova and Jack the ripper, or an unexpected materialization of Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face, the fictional super-villain appearing in comic books published by DC, a criminal obsessed with duality and the conflict between good and evil.

Thus, although Ted Bundy appears or seems 'lovable' in some of the first scenes, the movie depicts us, during the second half, a pathetic seducer of any individual within his tiny environment (the journalists, the jurors, the judge, the audience, ...), able to arrogantly smile like a politician during an election campaign, and devoid of any respect for the victims. This guy will literally sent chills up your spine. The film sadly ends with an exhaustive list of known victims, and as many bruised families.

Great cast, especially Zac Efron unjustly cataloged with movies for decerebrated teenage girls, and excellently supported by Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Angela Sarafyan. The atmosphere of the 70s is faithfully transcribed, with a neat photography. At last, it's quite unique to observe a serial killer through the eyes of a woman who truly loved him and was absolutely not aware of his dark side until the media coverage of the murders.

People forget that Ted Bundy had a plea bargain for only life in prison with no death penalty. He refused it at the last minute which shocked the judge. I still like the 2002 Bundy film with Michael Reilly Burke who also did a great portrayal of Bundy. This is Zac's serious role for once and shows he is a great actor unlike some of his poor comedies.