I've read about hundreds of serial killers but Ted Bundy's story and killing spree was one that stood out because nobody ever suspected him as someone capable of such acts and he refused to accept that he was guilty. The Joe Berlinger film is less about Bundy's crime and more about his relationship with his girlfriend at that time, Elizabeth Kloepfer aka Liz Kendall, and how she dealt with the fact that she was building a life with a serial killer. The movie is based on "The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy" by Elizabeth Kendall with Lily Collins playing Kendall and Zac Efron playing Ted Bundy
I never doubted Zac Efron's acting skills but he really did an amazing job with this role. Not only did he have a striking resemblance with Bundy but he was able to truly express Bundy's creepy and somewhat charming demeanor. It was weird how he spot on he was with his smile. He is supported by Collins who also does a great job playing Kendall. I think it was a bad idea to watch the documentary (Conversations With a Serial Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes) before this film because I started looking out for specific things mentioned in the documentary but the tone was extremely different. In this film, they're trying to show us the "human" side of Bundy but it ended up looking like Berlinger wasn't sure which way he was going with the constant change in tone. The entire movie didn't feel complete because a lot of pieces were missing and a lot of things that could have been focused on were handled in a matter of seconds or simply ignored.
A large number of Bundy's murders (which occurred before his arrest and after his two escapes) were ignored and this would have given us a little more insight and understanding of Bundy. In the book, it also states that Liz struggled seriously with drinking and her quitting would have been a great moment of emotional development but it was reduced to a montage. They kept talking about how Bundy was a pathological murderer, rapist and kidnapper but we rarely see Efron perform any of these acts excepts for a scene where he hits a lady in the head with a crow bar and puts her body in his car. If we're seeing this through the eyes of Liz, then Berlinger would have explored why it took her so long to see that Bundy was a serial killer and what really made these women fall for him. We barely see Liz until the second part of the film.
The cinematography was beautiful and the costumes looked fantastic. Casting Efron as Bundy was probably the best thing about this film because he gave his all to this role and I'm sincerely hoping he gets some credit for it. I wish the material was better because he would have certainly crushed it better than he did. With the extremely long name, we never truly got to see anything "extremely Wicked, evil or vile! If you're making a movie about one of America's most notorious serial killer, then you know people are going to expect a lot but this was a huge let down. If you know nothing about Bundy, you would certainly not think he was such a bad guy if you watched the film. I wish it was a mini series with a better screenplay because there's so much to work with but it was all cramped into a one hour forty-eight minute film. A mini series would have probably gotten Efron a Golden Globe nomination because he would have had more material to work with.
This could have been a thrilling and eye opening film but a lot of important parts that would have made it much better were left out and unfortunately it became bleak and was mostly watchable because of Efron. If indeed you plan to see this and haven't seen the documentary, please see this first before the documentary so you won't be let down.
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| Ted Bundy and Elizabeth Kloepfer |
RATING 6/10
DIRECTOR Joe Berlinger
BASED ON "The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy"
STARRING Zac Efron, Lily Collins, John Malkovich
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