One other Teen Heartthrob Enjoying Serial Killer in ‘Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman’ [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]

It’s been a month of Ted Bundy on Homicide Made Fiction, however we’re not fairly finished with the infamous serial killer of ladies simply but. After kicking issues off with a primer (pay attention), Jenn and I tackled Matthew Shiny’s sleazy 2002 entry (pay attention), in addition to former Disney star Zac Efron’s flip in Extraordinarily Depraved, Shockingly Evil, and Vile (pay attention).

Now we’re evaluating and contrasting as one other teen heartthrob takes a stroll on the darkish aspect. In director Daniel Farrands‘ movie Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), former One Tree Hill star Chad Michael Murray tries his hand at taking part in the infamous killer…to combined outcomes.

Within the movie, Bundy is within the midst of his 70s killing spree, which ranges from Utah to Florida over the course of a number of years. Sizzling on his heels are Detective Kathleen McChesney (Teen Wolf‘s Holland Roden) and FBI profiler Robert Ressler (Jake Hays) – the one man who believes in McChesney’s means to seize the killer.

It’s a really *youthful* depiction of the crimes, with lower than stellar interval accuracy and a barely out of his depth efficiency by Murray. Nonetheless, the movie has some moments of visible aptitude, together with a notable nightmare intercourse scene that includes Bundy being assaulted by dwelling feminine mannequins, in addition to a short cameo by style icon Lin Shaye.

Essentially the most disturbing and profitable sequence, nonetheless, is the climax, which options Bundy’s late night time assault on a Florida sorority home and sister Carol DaRonch (Olivia DeLaurentis). This darkish, scary sequence unites the horror and sexualized violence in a manner that actually captures what a monster Bundy was.

Total American Boogeyman is messy, however there are some noteworthy moments, together with our continued dialogue about why so many younger male stars choose to tackle the position of the notorious rapist/killer/necrophiliac.

Episode 21: Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)

We’re wrapping up our first month of Ted Bundy texts with Daniel Farrands’ Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) which casts One Tree Hill hunk Chad Michael Murray within the titular position.

Up for dialogue: one other scorching TV actor taking part in unhealthy, the CW/MTV visible aesthetic, trope-y misogyny within the office, eradicating Liz & the courtroom case, a slasher finale, and Lin Shaye (!).

Subsequent week: We’re pausing our protection of Bundy to introduce a second serial killer of ladies who was working in the identical place concurrently Bundy: the Inexperienced River Killer!

Need much more Homicide Made Fiction? You should definitely try the pod’s Patreon feed, the place we have now ~24 hours of bonus content material, together with full-length primers on Bundy, Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer and extra, in addition to particular person episodes on Peacock’s new aircraft hijacking drama Lockerbie, in addition to Black Sunday titles like Spielberg’s Munich and September 5.