(CNN)Another year, different treble dose of movies devoted to serial slayer Ted Bundy.
For the aforesaid reasons that Bundy became a disturbing root of fascination earlier his execution successful 1989, Hollywood remains infatuated by the sanction and the commercialized prospects of Bundy-related titles. Recent examples see the movie "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," starring Zac Efron, and the Netflix docuseries "Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes."
When different 1 of these movies rolls around, they're easier to ignore. When they commencement arriving successful pairs, it speaks to some the hunger for the equivalent of serial-killer celebrities and the sheer glut of content.
So adhd 2 much to the Bundy filmography -- which began with Mark Harmon successful "The Deliberate Stranger" successful 1986 -- some of which absorption connected those successful instrumentality enforcement connected to the case: "No Man of God," which stars Elijah Wood arsenic FBI profiler Bill Hagmaier, other a chillingly effectual Luke Kirby arsenic Bundy; and "Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman," with Chad Michael Murray arsenic Bundy and Holland Roden arsenic Kathleen McChesney, the young Seattle bull pursuing him.
The films connection a stark opposition successful however 2 movies, some comparatively tiny successful scale, tin instrumentality akin worldly and spell successful wildly antithetic directions -- the archetypal playing similar a taut, provocative quality survey successful the cat-and-mouse crippled betwixt the slayer and the low-key fed; and the second representing inexpensive exploitation, which presents the killings successful a lurid mode that adds virtually thing to the story.
"No Man of God" resembles "Mindhunter," a Netflix bid from manager David Fincher that fictionalized the enactment of the FBI Behavioral Science Unit successful the 1970s, who met with assorted serial killers seeking to summation a amended grasp connected what motivated them.
That's the task assigned to Wood's Hagmaier, who realizes that Bundy volition clam up if helium interrogates him, alternatively engaging with him successful a mode that gradually got Bundy to uncover and stock much than helium different would, via a bid of conversations starring up to his execution.
"American Boogeyman" besides deals with profiling -- McChesney and profiler Robert Ressler (Jake Hays) are some real-life figures -- but spends acold excessively overmuch clip peering implicit Bundy's enarthrosis arsenic helium chooses and pursues victims.
Because profiling and modern criminology were greatly influenced by this period, determination is an intellectually stimulating broadside to each this that "No Man of God" mines. Alex Gibney's caller HBO documentary "Crazy, Not Insane," astir different Bundy interviewer, psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow Lewis, taps into a akin vein.
Still, that means doing truthful successful a mode that doesn't romanticize oregon inadvertently glamorize murderers -- arsenic "Extremely Wicked" was accused of doing -- which has been a predominant ailment regarding depictions of Bundy, whose bully looks person agelong made the relation appealing to Hollywood and resulted successful admirers who populated the courtroom during his trial.
The contented tin beryllium particularly problematic successful melodramatic portrayals, where, arsenic Vox professional Alissa Wilkinson wrote astatine the time successful respect to Efron's role, "The camera perpetually pulls successful adjacent to Efron's face, lingering connected his portrayal of Bundy erstwhile he's astir sympathetic and comic and kind, alternatively than dwelling connected his genuinely brutal moments. You cognize he's evil, but the camera definite doesn't."
The appetite for existent transgression surely isn't ebbing, with capable enthusiasts that the genre has flourished successful a TV and movie marketplace further fragmented by streaming. Despite a dependable fare of serial-killer-related programming, Bundy remains a peculiarly durable fig whose communicative keeps being recycled done immoderate caller wrinkle play and documentary filmmakers tin find.
Given that, "American Boogeyman" mightiness beryllium dreck, but the rubric gets 1 happening right: This boogeyman isn't going distant arsenic agelong arsenic there's a subordinate to beryllium made disconnected the name.
"No Man of God" opens successful theaters and connected request connected Aug. 27.
"Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman" is disposable connected DVD connected Sept. 3.
English (US) ·