Summary

• Ted Bundy movies tap into the morbid fascination with real-life monsters and the macabre, making them compelling for audiences.
• Some Ted Bundy movies inaccurately exploit the story for entertainment value, while others attempt to provide insight into his mindset and crimes.
• The popularity of Ted Bundy movies can be attributed to his attractive appearance, which belied the heinous nature of his acts, and the disturbing horror movie-like elements of his crimes that pique curiosity.

Serial killers are a recurrent topic in movies and TV shows, and the most notorious understandably inspire the healthiest box-office returns and streaming numbers, so it’s no shock there have been many Ted Bundy movies. The world has unfortunately seen too many serial killers through the years, with different modus operandi and targets, but some have turned out to be too fascinating to the audience and the entertainment industry, making them part of pop culture (though a very obscure part of it). The idea of centering a movie around a serial killer like Ted Bundy is to try to understand the mindset.

Genres from true crime to thrillers to horror all rely on the morbid yet natural human fascination with the macabre, and serial killers are the closest thing to real-life monsters that exist. Theodore Robert Cowell, the birth name of "The Campus Killer" himself and best known to the world as Ted Bundy, captured the darkest parts of audiences' imaginations even before he was eventually identified and apprehended. This resulted in many Ted Bundy movies, some of which were inaccurate exploitative stories while others examined this man of infamy in some interesting ways. From the worst to the best, fans can explore every Ted Bundy movie.

Related: What Happened To Ted Bundy’s Ex-Wife & Daughter

10 Bundy And The Green River Killer (2019)

The Movie Has Bundy Consulting On Another Case

• Available to stream on Vudu and Tubi

One of the modern Ted Bundy movies released is actually not about Bundy's days as a serial killer, but about him consulting on another case. In reality, Ted Bundy was interviewed about the Green River Serial Killer when there were no leads in the case, which is actually a practice law enforcement will take, especially when convicted serial killers might be serving multiple life sentences in prison. That's the story Bundy And The Green River Killer tells. The movie received mixed reviews, having only a 3.4 out of 10 stars on IMDB and a 6% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a 3.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon's Prime Video.

9 Bundy: An American Icon (2008)

A Not Reliable Biopic

• Available to stream on Roku and Tubi

Bundy: An American Icon (also known as Bundy: A Legacy of Evil) is a horror movie directed by Michael Feifer that purports to be a biopic of "The Lady Killer" Theodore Cowell. Unfortunately for anyone looking for a fact-based affair, it follows Feifer's other serial killer movies (including movies about Ed Gein, BTK and the Boston Strangler) by caring little for the truth. It dramatizes Bundy’s life from his troubled childhood to his arrest and trial and feels like little more than exploitation of a "brand." Cowell/Bundy was played by Corin Nemec, and the movie wasn't well-received by critics, who thought it didn’t offer anything new, and it’s an often forgotten entry in the collection of movies about Ted Bundy.

8 American Boogeyman (2021)

Through The Eyes of the FBI

• Stream on Hulu

Like the rest of the movies based on Ted Bundy American Boogeyman follows his crimes but through the perspective of the FBI agents assigned to the case

The first of two 2021 properties, Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman is written and directed by Daniel Farrands (The Haunting of Sharon Tate) and stars Chad Michael Murray as the title character. Like the rest of the movies based on Ted Bundy, American Boogeyman follows his crimes but through the perspective of the FBI agents assigned to the case: Kathleen McChesney (Holland Roden) and Robert Ressler (Jake Hays). It never quite manages to justify its own existence, offering nothing new to the conversation and also fictionalizing events to the point that it feels grossly unfair. Murray was considered miscast as Bundy.

7 Ted Bundy (2002)

Critics Thought It To Be Exploitative

• Stream on Tubi and Roku

Ted Bundy was directed and co-written by Matthew Bright. The story picks up in 1974 when Bundy was a law student and began his murder sprees. The infamous killer was played by Michael Reilly Burke (Mars Attacks!), whose performance was pointed out as the best thing in the movie, though it was affected by the story and tone of the movie, which critics labeled as “exploitative.” That assessment is thoroughly justified: the Ted Bundy 2002 movie's commitment to bothering with the truth, again, is questionable at best, suggesting that lots of these movies have more stock in the idea of Bundy over the truth of the matter.

6 The Capture Of The Green River Killer (2008)

The TV Movie Doesn't Really Justify The Effort

• Stream on Tubi

The Capture of the Green River Killer is a two-part TV movie that focuses on the story of the Green River killer serial murders between 1982 and 1998. Just like in The Riverman, Bundy comes into play when he offers his help to the detectives working on the case. Bundy's real-life involvement in the case also helped to inspire The Silence of the Lambs as serial killer Hannibal Lecter helps FBI agent Clarice Starling. This version of Bundy is played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's James Marsters. It's a hard one to get hold of, but it doesn't really justify the effort. The cast is better than the material – with Tom Cavanagh in the lead role – but the screenplay was seen as the biggest problem with the film.

5 The Riverman (2004)

Another Movie About Bundy and The Green River Killer

• Stream on Tubi

The Riverman was a Ted Bundy TV movie directed by Bill Eagles (Beautiful Creatures) and based on the book The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer by Robert D. Keppel and William J. Birnes. It follows criminology professor Robert D. Keppel who is offered help by Bundy to profile a serial killer, later dubbed “The Riverman”. Although Bundy wasn’t of much help, he did shed some light on his own pathology. Bundy was played by Cary Elwes, known for his roles in The Princess Bride, Saw (also inspired by a true story), and Stranger Things. This one's a little like a prototype for 2021's far superior No Man Of God, in that it follows the profiler rather than Bundy and allows the audience to see Bundy and his crimes through his eyes. There's also an element of Keppel being dragged in a little too much, which promises more interest than it delivers.

4 The Stranger Beside Me (2003)

A Co-Worker Tell All

• Stream on Tubi

The Stranger Beside Me is a made-for-TV movie based on the book of the same name by Ann Rule, who worked with Bundy before his murders and even considered him her friend. In this version, Bundy was played by Billy Campbell, and Barbara Hershey played Rule. Buoyed by two great central performances, it's a strong addition and easily one of the best made-for-TV true crime efforts of the Bundy catalog. It also makes the choice to stay away from Bundy's crimes consciously and gives Ann Rule a rare female voice in this otherwise male perspective-dominated space.

3 The Deliberate Stranger (1986)

A Made For TV Movie Praised For Being Accurate

• No streaming options available

The Deliberate Stranger is a TV movie based on the book Bundy: The Deliberate Stranger by reporter Richard W. Larsen, published in 1980. The movie skips Bundy’s childhood and first murders and begins with the murder of Georgann Hawkins, later following Bundy's crimes in Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Florida. Bundy was played by Mark Harmon, best known for playing SSA Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS, and Bundy's lawyer Polly Nelson called the movie "stunningly accurate" and praised Harmon's performance. As it was initially a two-part miniseries, it clocks in at over three hours, but it never outstays its welcome and Harmon is very good as the charming law student with a terrible secret.

2 Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile (2019)

Zac Efron In A Different Kind of Role

• Stream on Netflix

There's a little too much appreciation for the cult of Bundy without a great deal of showing him for what he really was.

Zac Efron plays Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The movie is a crime drama directed by Joe Berlinger, and based on the book The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall, Bundy’s former girlfriend. The title of the movie is a reference to judge Edward Cowart’s (played by John Malkovich) remarks on Bundy’s crimes while sentencing him to death.

The story begins in 1969, when Bundy and Elizabeth met, and is told through her perspective, covering his journey all the way to his imprisonment. Somewhat rightly accused of exploitation of the material - and the victims, without a thought to giving them a voice - there's a little too much appreciation for the cult of Bundy without a great deal of showing him for what he really was.

1 No Man Of God (2021)

Considered To Be The Best Movie On The Subject

• Stream on AMC+

The most recent Ted Bundy movie highlights a chilling performance from Luke Kirby as No Man of God's Bundy. It's directed by Amber Sealey and written by C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Doctor Strange). The movie is based on real-life transcripts selected from the conversations between Bundy and FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier (played by Elijah Wood) that happened between 1984 and 1989.

Also starring are Robert Patrick and Aleksa Palladino in supporting roles, but this is very much a two-man affair, with narrative presence for other perspectives more than real characters. It's intriguing without being exploitative and offers a genuinely clever comment on both Bundy's dark "appeal" and the irresponsible way that has been monetized without considering a space for female or specifically victimized voices in telling the tale. Both Kirby and Wood are great, and it's easily the best of the bunch.

Ted Bundy Is One Of The Most Prolific Serial Killers In History

A Real Life Horror Story

Few serial killers have inspired more movies, TV shows, documentaries, books, or other media than Ted Bundy, whose crimes took place in the US in the 1970s (and quite possibly earlier). Catching Theodore Cowell wasn’t easy, as he denied all his crimes for decades and escaped from the authorities a couple of times, traveling to other states to continue his murder spree. He also gave his victims a variety of aliases, including Kenneth Misner and Chris Hagen, so those who escaped gave the Police incorrect information.

Bundy was jailed in Utah in 1975 for aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal assault, which unchained a series of suspicions for more serious crimes. The "Love Bite Serial Killer," as some media outlets also referred to him, was recaptured in 1979, and he was already America’s most famous serial killer by that point. That same year he was sentenced to death for his crimes, though it's believed that not all his victims have been found, and he didn’t confess to all the murders he committed.

Just days before his execution, Bundy confessed to 30 murders during a series of interviews with Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, which were the basis for Netflix's Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes docuseries as well as Elijah Wood's No Man Of God. Bundy died in the electric chair in January 1989, and his story has since been adapted to multiple types of media. The strange fascination over his case hasn’t ceased.

Why There Are So Many Ted Bundy Movies

A Horrific But Fascinating Case

Serial killers have inspired fiction since the days of Jack the Ripper, but there is a handful over whom Hollywood and audiences obsess disproportionately, and Bundy is among them despite not being the most prolific killer in US history – Bundy is the third most active, with 25 confirmed murders and many more suspected but not proven. Yet there are far more movies about him than Samuel Little, who is still alive today and has confessed to the murder of over 93 women, or Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer who killed 49 people.

The Ted Bundy obsession Hollywood has can be explained. Like John Wayne Gacy and Ed Gein, Bundy's crimes had a disturbing horror movie-like element that went beyond simple murder. John Wayne Gacy was the killer clown who inspired IT, and Ed Gein made his victims into furniture and clothing – both disturbing details that nonetheless pique curiosity. As well as killing possibly as many as 100+ women (the true number will sadly never be found), Bundy was a rapist and necrophile. His crimes were truly disgusting, and as much as their depravity makes them harrowing to consider, it makes them equally compelling fodder for filmmakers wanting to create a monster movie about one from real life.

The other reason Bundy is notably popular in movies is that he had, for lack of a better term, the Dracula factor. Theodore Robert Bundy was, by all accounts, an incredibly attractive man, which made it easy for him to lure his female victims. He'd sometimes also pretend to have an impairment to more easily gain their trust, something else that inspired The Silence of the Lambs as Buffalo Bill uses a similar poly. It shows Bundy was a master manipulator, coming across as suave and sophisticated.

His personality was a huge juxtaposition to the utterly inhuman ferocity of his acts, which is in part why it took so long to pin him to the murders, and this Jekyll-and-Hyde dissonance further breeds easily exploitable audience curiosity. He is partly responsible for the rejection of the old idea of serial killers as ugly societal rejects. As unjust as it is, Ted Bundy has become a celebrity serial killer, and there will likely be many more movies made about him.