Ted Bundy is a movie that
chronicled the life and crimes of serial killer Theodore Robert Bundy. The film starts out showing Bundy as an
impulsive kleptomaniac. The movie
continues with alternating scenes between fairly normal life with his
girlfriend and her daughter and times where Bundy is stalking, attacking,
raping and killing women. He sometimes
broke into women’s houses with a lock picking kit. He would often attack women on the streets or
trick them into letting their guard down before attacking them. The scenes with assaults are shocking, as
Bundy nonchalantly attacks and kidnaps women, usually in broad daylight. One scene with Bundy putting makeup on a
severed head in his house is particularly chilling. When Bundy ends up moving to Utah, his
killings appear to have ramped up, and he killed in multiple areas in Utah and
Colorado. Bundy picked up a woman at a
shopping center, claiming to be a police officer working on a case. When she realizes that they have past the
police department and that Bundy is up to no good, she attacks him and is
eventually able to escape. Bundy is later
arrested with a “rape kit” in his car, including handcuffs, lock picking kit,
crowbar, mask and rope. He is charged
with kidnapping the girl from the shopping center and she identified him in a
police lineup. The charging police
officers also lists off several of his murder victim’s names during the initial
interview with Bundy (Ted Bundy).
When Bundy’s girlfriend came
to visit him while his was incarcerated on the kidnapping charge, he told her
that he was also being charged with a murder, but that the charge wouldn’t
stick because their case was flimsy.
This is the first time Bundy’s girlfriend realizes that something is
really wrong with Bundy and she leaves him (Ted
Bundy).
Bundy is able to escape jail two separate
times. The first time he jumps out of a
window at a law library, while he was researching his defense. The second time, he was able to get out
through the ventilation system in the jail.
This second time that he escaped, he attacked several women at a
sorority house and killed 2 of the women there.
After that, he picked up a little girl and killed and raped her. Bundy was picked up again by police and this was
sentenced to death. There is a great
deal of time in the movie devoted to Bundy’s execution at the end of the movie. There were clips showing some of the people
that waited outside as Bundy was being executed. Just before the closing credits, the following
statement shown on the screen: “In the months leading to his execution, he
received more than 200 letters a day from women who claimed they loved him.” (Ted Bundy). What about being a
serial killer was so appealing to these women is a mystery. If these same women were to have met Bundy
when he was free, they would have likely been one of his victims (Ted Bundy).
The cause of the killings is not directly
shown in the movie. He appeared to like
to be in control and also liked to have sex with people who were unconscious or
dead. It seems that Bundy was deeply
affected by finding out about his lineage as a child. He originally was told that his mother was
his sister and he didn’t know who his birth father was. This made Bundy feel inadequate and could
have been an underlying cause of his mental state. Bundy fits the classic signs of a serial
killer. He killed many women over the
course of several years and in many different places. Bundy would leave the women he killed in
sexually degrading ways and with clothes removed. He generally killed women and girls that fit into
a general profile and looked similar. He
was able to easily blend into his environment as a clean cut young white man (Ted Bundy).
One issue that is prominent through most
of the movie revolves around Bundy’s girlfriend and their relationship. His girlfriend is always concerned with Bundy
cheating on her and with the possibility of losing the relationship. She will do anything he asks her to make him
happy because she doesn’t want him to leave her. She ignores many signs of Bundy’s abusive
personality and behavior. One time when
they were having sex, Bundy got very violent with her and put his hand over her
face and neck, almost strangling her. Another
time, Bundy grabbed her arm and threatened to break her neck while out on a
date in the park. She ignored the fact
that there was a set of handcuffs in Bundy’s car that he wouldn’t account for. On a different occasion, when she says
something to Bundy that he doesn’t like, he shoves her into the lake. She went along with being tied up for sex and
pretended to be dead during sex, even though she was uncomfortable with
it. She was desperate for his love and
would do just about anything he asked. She
was very insecure and feared being alone.
Even when Bundy was arrested and in jail, her main concern is that he
may have another girlfriend visiting him in jail. Only when she realizes that he has actually
murdered someone, does she see him for the monster that he is (Ted Bundy).
We cannot know the true thoughts of Bundy
in the scenes portrayed, but the details of his victims, the areas that he
killed, his modus operandi, and the details surrounding his execution were
portrayed accurately. Many of the
attacking and murder scenes were very matter of fact and straight to the point
– showing just how fast he immobilized his victims. Some shots in the movie
were actual historical photos and video clips of news coverage. The movie seemed
to be fairly accurate and a very scary movie, especially knowing that it is
based on true events. (Ted Bundy).
Works Cited
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