BUNDY

The story of America's most notorious serial sex killer (and apparently the man for whom the term "serial killer" was first invented), Theodore Bundy,

The film opens with Bundy (Michael Reilly Burke) grooming himself in his well organised apartment. He grins into a full-length mirror and practices introducing himself in the most charming manner possible. It's a rare moment of humour in an otherwise fairly sombre account of how Bundy terrified middle America with his State-to-State rape and murder spree.

We get to see Bundy playing the affable, chatty socialite at works parties and discos - as well as with his girlfriend Lee (Boti Ann Bliss). Our initial impression of Bundy is that he's a well-meaning, if somewhat clumsy, cad.

But there are early hints of something darker lurking in Ted's character. He is constantly pestering Lee to try out uncomfortable sex acts with him (the one we're privy to sees Lee tied to the bed as Ted rams aggressively into her, yelling "Fuck you bitch" repeatedly).

And when Lee denies Bundy his more sinister fantasies, Burke's overactive gurning suggests that here is a man with evil in mind.

And so, Bundy attacks a woman getting in to her car. He punches her to the ground then makes off with her handbag (why, we don't know: he's an affluent young yuppie, after all). No sexual hi-jinks in this particular instance, but the act clearly gives Ted a taste for roughing up women and before long he's out in his tan Beetle accosting and bludgeoning pretty young fillies all across America.

It's at this point the BUNDY degenerates into little more than one sketch after another - some mildly amusing, others surprisingly dark and uncompromising (the beach abduction springs to mind). Whatever characterisation and storyline that had propelled the movie this far is sadly forsaken as writers Stephen Johnston and Matthew Bright seem content to just give us a murder-by-numbers account of what they've read about Bundy in the past.

Disappointingly, the writers - particularly Bright, who also directs - largely ignore the chance to explore what it is that drives a man of Bundy's intelligence and social adequacy to commit such heinous crimes. There is a brief nod towards an abusive childhood but that's about the extent of their exploration. Poor.

The main problem with the film is it's constant shift in mood. It starts well enough with musical and visual attempts to recreate the story's setting, and with what looks to develop into an enlightening retelling of events from Bundy's own perspective.

But then things move into horror territory, and Bright seems too keen to shock and offend, rather than analyse the killer's psyche. The middle-section of the film in particular seems to wallow in one dark set-piece after another (though thankfully the rape of a twelve year old girl is kept off-screen). Even here though, there are moments of badly misjudged humour that are at times clumsy, at others just plain tasteless.

Burke's performance is equally schizophrenic. I was tempted to call it a brave, multi-layered portrayal of a complex character. That was upon watching the first forty minutes. After that though, things get progressively worse for the actor as his concept of 'manic' dips into an excess of comedic proportions. I hate to say it, but I preferred Mark Harmon's take on Bundy in the TV movie THE DELIBERATE STRANGER.

And as far as this being 'based on factual events' … well, I'm sure we're all aware of the story to an extent, and, yeah, Bright and Johnston remain faithful to all the key incidences. The use of archive newsreel footage occasionally is a nice touch too, reminding the audience that what we're watching really did happen …

But where oh where did they come up with the notion that the prison guards delighted in ramming ball after ball of cotton wool up Bundy's arse, moments before his execution?!

On the cover of the Tartan DVD there's a quote from Harry Knowles suggesting BUNDY is the "BOOGIE NIGHTS of serial killer flicks". I suggest it … isn't. At all.

The DVD is another matter. While the film is nothing to write home about, the disc continues Tartan's trend of constantly improved output.

Picture quality on the main feature is superb. Presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and anamorphically enhanced for 16x9 TVs, you couldn't ask for a brighter or sharper presentation.

The 5.1 audio is loud and consistent too. A nice mix, jolting and rousing in all the right places.

Extras-wise, Tartan serve up a few interesting morsels.

The main extra is a feature-length commentary from Bright. Although rather self-congratulatory at times (and not really capable of telling us anything we don't already know about Bundy), it's an interesting listen from someone who clearly thinks Burke nailed an incredible performance.

The theatrical trailer is on offer, and looks a lot darker than the actual film. Interesting in a view-once-only fashion. The standard Tartan Terror trailers also feature, including one for the superior GEIN.

Tartan have also been kind enough to give us an extended score, and a four page booklet offering fairly decent liner notes from Billy Chainsaw.

In summary then, it's a shame the film didn't live up to it's initial promise of being the definitive cinematic take on Bundy's reign of terror. But at least Tartan have given it a solid UK DVD release.

Review by Stuart Willis