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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: February 14th, 2023.
Director: Matthew Bright
Cast: Michael Reilly Burke, Boti Bliss, Jennifer Tisdale, Tiffany Shepis, Tom Savini, Deborah Offner, Annalee Autumn
Year: 2002
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Ted Bundy – Movie Review:
Director Matthew Bright, who is probably best known for Freeway in 1996, co-wrote 2002’s Ted Bundy with Stephen Johnston and, as the movie’s title alludes, the film tells the story of the titular serial killer, really one of the first to become a national media sensation when he was caught after a rape and murder spree that left dozens of women in its wake.
When we're first introduced to Ted Bundy (played by Michael Reilly Burke), it's the early seventies and he's basically a nerd, working his way through a psychology course at the University Of Washington. He appears on camera complete with a bow tie, doing a very poor job of trying to attract members of the fairer sex at various bars and nightclubs in and around Seattle, Washington.
The only real bright spot in Ted's life is his relationship with Lee (Boti Ann Bliss), whose young daughter thinks the world of Ted. Lee, of course, has no idea that soon enough, the man in her life who seems to so kind, caring and normal, will embark on a killer spree wherein he'll pull scores of female victims into his yellow Volkswagen Beetle and then proceed to rape and kill them, a spree that would stretch not just across Washington State, but Oregon and Utah as well.
Bright’s film doesn’t do a whole lot of work setting up Bundy’s background, he simply is what he is. There are snippets here and there that allude to a troubled upbringing but they’re not even close to the focus of the film, which is really the atrocity exhibition Bundy left in his wake. A film that by its very nature would seemingly have to be very unpleasant, Ted Bundy the movie is a pretty effective look at what made Ted Bundy the person such a real-life monster. The names of Bundy’s victims and girlfriend have been changed here, but the killings are recreated with some pretty startling authenticity, complete with gore effects work courtesy of none other than Tom Savini.
Michael Reilly Burke is quite good in the lead, he looks right for the part and is pretty menacing when the movie asks him to be. Bright’s direction and writing, however, almost bring Bundy down to the level of a slasher movie character, as he runs about doing his nasty business often times in plain view of plenty of people. There’s certainly an element of black comedy to all of this, which is common in Bright’s work, though whether there should be or not could certainly be debated. The end result is a movie that is well-made but and grimly fascinating movie wherein its subject is almost portrayed as parodic. It’s an odd movie to be sure, but weirdly entertaining in a fairly sleazy way.
Ted Bundy – Blu-ray Review:
Vinegar Syndrome brings Ted Bundy to Blu-ray framed at 1.85.1 widescreen and in AVC encoded 1080p high definition with the transfer taken from a new 4k scan of the original 35mm negative. The picture quality is excellent. There isn’t any noticeable print damage at all, the image is very clean. Grain is intact and always resolves properly, and we get nice depth and texture throughout. Colors look quite nice and we get good skin tones and black levels as well. There’s plenty of detail to appreciate in the image as well. This looks really good.
Audio options for this release include 24-bit English language DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo track and a 24-bit DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, with optional subtitles provided in English. Audio quality here is also very strong, with the 5.1 mix spreading out the score and effects nicely while keeping most of the dialogue up front in the mix. Levels are always properly balanced and there are no issues to note with any hiss, distortion or sibilance.
Extras are plentiful, starting with a new commentary track with writer/director Matthew Bright, moderated by special features producer Brad Henderson that goes into quite a bit of detail about getting the details right where possible, comparing what happens in the movie to the real life case, casting the film, working with the different actors, memories of shooting specific set pieces and a fair bit more. It’s a good talk, worth listening to.
There are quite a few interviews included on this disc as well, starting with Burn Bundy Burn, an interview with writer/director Matthew Bright that runs twenty-three minutes. He talks about writing scripts for Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon, when and where he got the idea to make a Ted Bundy movie, how he came to direct the film, intentionally leaving out law enforcement characters, thoughts on the real life Bundy, working with the different cast members in the film especially Burke, the film's budget and wanting the movie to be more of a psychological portrait than anything else.
Ted Talk is a twenty minute interview with lead actor Michael Reilly Burke where he talks about where his career was at up to this point, how he landed the lead role in Ted Bundy, having to go to some dark places while playing the part, what Bright was like as a director, thoughts on the script, what went into researching the part, thoughts on the use of violence and gore in the movie and why his favorite scene to shoot was the opening sequence with the mirror.
Seeing Evil interviews lead actress Boti Bliss for nineteen minutes. She talks about how her work in this film was one of the first big projects she worked on and how she wound up getting the role, initial thoughts on the script, her own memories of the real life Bundy case and thoughts on the actual case that inspired the movie, what it was like working with Burke and with Bright, how she had trouble playing a character that was in a relationship with a serial killer but who was unable to see some of the signs, how there was generally a good atmosphere on set and her thoughts on how the movie turned out.
Scoring Bundy sees composer Kennard Ramsey speak about his work on the movie for seventeen minutes in an interview that covers working with Bright for the first time on Freeway 2 and how they got along together, how they came to work together again on Bundy, trying to respect the loss of life when making the movie, his initial thoughts on first seeing the film, trying to create music for the movie that reflected Bright's vision for the film, doing all of the guitar tracks himself, having to work around having a modest budget to work with and more.
Production designer Chris Miller is up next in the eighteen minute Designing Bundy. He talks about how his agent connected him with Bright and how they came to work together, thoughts on the script, being given carte blanche by Bright to do what he needed to do, lucking out by finding the right people to collaborate with, thoughts on how the film turned out and how he enjoyed collaborating with the other parties on the movie.
A Serious Red Flag is an interview with actress Annalee Autumn. Here, over nine minutes, she talks about her role as one of Bundy's victims, how it was her first in-person audition, getting the part, memories of shooting her specific scene, what it was like working with Bright, what she knew about Bundy before making the movie, what it was like working with Burke and how cool it was to be in an indie film during this period in her life.
Actress Phoebe Dollar is up next in Highway To Bundy, which runs eleven minutes. She talks about how she came to the film through her friendship with Bright and how she thinks he is a creative genius, thoughts on her character and the role she plays in the movie, shooting her scene in one day, how she might Bright in the first place and what he's really like as a person.
Believing Bundy is an interview with actress Alexa Jago that clocks in at twelve minutes. She speaks here about how she got the audition for the movie and landed the part, what she found fascinating about Ted Bundy, researching him before starring in the movie, how the threat of sexual violence can do a number on women, thoughts on true crime films in general, where they movie strived for accuracy even when things may have seemed unrealistic and some of her favorite scenes from the movie.
Lastly, Friend from Work interviews actress Deborah Offner thirteen minutes. She talks about her own thoughts on Bundy and his case, thoughts on the character that she played in the movie, where her career was at when she got the role, meeting Bright and her thoughts on working with him, taking the role because she was interested in the subject matter, trying to capture the seventies feeling needed for the movie and how she feels about how the movie approached and explored the Bundy case.
As far as the packaging goes, this release comes with reversible cover sleeve art and a double-sided folded poster inserted inside the clear keepcase. All of this fits inside a nice, sturdy, bottom loading slipcase designed by Robert Sammelin that is limited to 5,000 hand numbered units and which is only available from Vinegar Syndrome’s website or authorized independent retailers.
Ted Bundy - The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray release of Ted Bundy is really strong, presenting a strangely well-made film that still has the ability to unnerve viewers in an excellent presentation and with a selection of interviews and a commentary that all go a long way towards exploring and documenting its history. Recommended for those with an interest in the subject matter.
Click on the images below, or right click and open in a new window, for full sized Ted Bundy Blu-ray screen caps!
