Bundy and the Green River Killer

This film had so much promise for myself and my Mrs (who has an interest in forensic psycology and serial killers) but the pace of the story in this film matched grass growing, in fact I think I might have enjoyed watching someone pour syrup onto pancakes more. The acting was stiff and emotionless to the point where the dead bodies showed more emotion than the live ones, I only watched it until the end so that I could be sure that I wasn't going to miss something important, I didn't. I won't spoil the film for any true die hard Bundy or Green River fans but for the casual watcher this is based on a true story about a detective working at the very start of Profiling and DNA, a lot of talking and a modicome of suspense until he finds the truth. If you want my advice, go read a book about the real killers and how they were captured and give this film a very wide miss.

Lots of positive reviews from people who made their accounts recently and reviewed only this one! It's made in the UK with a British cast. The acting is not great, the treatment of the actual material is good but I recommend you read the book by Bob Keppel (who the main detective is based on) This is not a good movie.

Since the early 2000s there's been a glut of straight-to-video offerings based on real serial killers. I think at this point every infamous American murderer has had their mug slapped on a DVD cover. Bundy especially! Most of the movies play fast and loose with the facts and many end up being pretty sleazy low-budget horror flicks which make you feel like you want to shower after seeing them. This is a very modestly budgeted entry in the serial killer genre but in giving it a chance I found it to be a surprisingly adequate documentary-style drama which tries to stick to the facts about the Green River Killer. One of the drawbacks of that approach is you get a talky film without much action but the horrifying moments which show the evil of the killers are effectively done. The sorority house murder by Bundy is particularly well executed. At times the movie's determination to not be overly sensational makes the tone a bit tepid but I could overlook the duller moments because overall it gives a fairly solid rundown of the facts as well as a realistic depiction of an obsessed cop whose out of his depth dealing with two serial killers. Flawed for sure but not bad at all.

Anyone familiar with the Green River case will notice the familiar narrative of events in this one - numerous bodies being found, the frustration of the police with no clues, the media pressure, getting close to Ridgway but not nailing him and then finally the pay-off years later. So no new ground is being broken here when it comes to the story but having seen other movies on the case Id say this is probably the most effective depiction of Ridgway himself. The actor had moments where he genuinely made my skin crawl and that creep factor definitely elevates the movie above being routine.