Ed Kemper

Being a huge true crime fan, I was impressed that writer Stephen Johnston (Ted Bundy, The Hillside Strangler, Ed Gein) & director Chad Ferrin (Pig Killer, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill!, The Ghouls) really did their homework and got most of the facts right. Brandon Kirk and Susan Priver had amazing dysfunctional son/mom chemistry and their scenes together were just as traumatic as the murder scenes. Gore is realistic without being exploitive. The whole experience left me feeling queasy long after the end credits. I'm looking forward to the other true crime films(Dorothea, Night Stalker) that Dread is releasing.

Not every movie can be a big budget classic, but this was a blown opprtunity. Good acting over-shadowed by low production budgets. Feels like a comedy show writer / director was forced to do a serial killer biopic. Pretty cartoonish. A respectable effort but the light-hearted feel of the dialog and photography made it feel more like a YouTube short rather than a movie. Also total mis-casts at almost every turn. It was amateur but a respectable attempt to tell a dark story within time constraints. Why does it sound like I'm rambling? Beacuse I am in order to meet the minimum characters required.

This Movie Illustrates a pretty graphic depiction the actual killings that are well documented, and If you knew anything about The Serial Killer Ed Kemper AKA The Co-Ed Killer, How he Murdered his victims and what he did to their bodies afterwards, You'd realize beforehand as I did that they would never make a movie about Ed Kemper, He was probably the worse Serial Killer as far as The Gruesome Aftermath, I thought everything would be censored, I was wrong, It's a disturbing watch for sure, because these Women depicted by actors were actually Women killed and any living relative could easily pinpoint who their relative was being murdered in the movie, The Ed Kemper story is Unique among Serial Killers, Mindhunter the Series did a Phenomenal job at showing how FBI Serial Killer Profiling became a thing and Ed Kemper who was already behind Bars helped tremendously in the FBI Profiling Science, it was somewhat similar to The Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Sterling interactions from Silence of the Lambs except they actually became friends, Ed Kemper was a Disturbed Psychopath but he that had a good sense of humor, people liked him, quick witted, High IQ borderline Genius, he was friend's with several Police Officers, Law Enforcement never caught him, and he was never ever a suspect in any way, and one day he just called the Police and said, I'm The Co-Ed Killer and want to turn myself in because my work is done and have nothing else to do, Not Deranged and completely in control, no desire to kill afterwards which made him an oddity among Serial Killers and he was probably the worse one due to the Mutilations he did on his victims, truly sick, part of his Psychopathic tendencies was due to emotional abuse at the hands Family Members, As a Teenager, He shot and killed his Grandmother but then shot and killed his Grandfather because he didn't want his Grandfather to see that he had killed his Grandmother, went to Mental institution and released years later as an adult, went to live with his mother and then the verbal abuse began and that's when the problems began all over again, only 10 times worse but this time as a 300+ lb 6'9 Adult Man, Mindhunter 2017 the series goes into great details on what he did and he speaks about his acts very nonchalantly like drinking a glass of water, This Movie goes into the Home Life, Before and After the Killings, but doesn't go inti the Helping the FBI part, I always thought they would never make a proper well budget Jeffrey Dahmer film or series and HBO produced one that properly shocked and informed, so maybe and Ed Kemper Series with a similar budget might be in the works since this whole story is truly fascinating, The Killing Parts and the Helping The FBI parts of the Story, To get a good grasp of The True Ed Kemper story, Watch this Movie and then Watch Mindhunter 2017 Series, This combo is good enough till we get a proper Budget Series like The Jeffrey Dahmer one, I'd argue this is a way more interesting true Serial Killer story than the Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

I really hope the family members of anyone involved in any way or actual people involved with the characters depicted never see this piece of s**t. It seems like a bad joke aimed at the victim's families. Like an episode of "1000 Ways to Die", where you are made not to care about the people who are killed because they were complete idiots anyway. It seems deliberately cruel, and that is unforgivable... according to Ed's mom....

Mocking the dead seems just as much a heinous act as the actual crimes being depicted. How this was given the thumbs up to even get funded is beyond me. Anyone taking part needs to be assessed by a professional....

This has real potential. Watching it, I kept wondering what it might've looked like with a bit of mentorship or just more time to fully develop the idea.

The story choice isn't the issue - it's obviously rooted in fact, and your interest in the subject comes through. But the way it's presented feels more like a reenactment than a deeper exploration. It ends up sitting in this in-between space - not quite historical, not fully personal.

That said - I want people making films like this. It's important that young creators are engaging with recent American history, even its darkest parts. But when it comes to something this well-known, the big question becomes: what are you bringing to it that we haven't seen before? If you're offering a new theory - go bold. If your angle comes from less-discussed or minority-sourced evidence, be specific. But don't remix half-defined ideas or rely on what the viewer already knows. You've got to guide us somewhere new.

One moment that really stood out - and not necessarily in a good way - was the opening scene. There's an actual photo of JonBenét Ramsey in the background, meant to pass as a relative in the shot. It's more immediately recognizable than the depiction of Ed Kemper, which pulled me out of the story right away. It felt unintentional, like the symbolism was working harder than the script. That kind of choice is a risk - it can come off powerful, or confusing. Here, it did the latter.

There's clearly a curiosity behind this project, and a willingness to engage with heavy subject matter. That's a strength. But next time, lean all the way in. Take creative risks you can defend. Be specific about your perspective. Show us why this story matters to you, and not just why it's shocking.

Looking forward to seeing what you make next - just don't hold back.