Ted Bundy

Those expecting a deep psychological portrait of the first man to ever be formally labeled a serial killer may be disappointed, as director Matthew Bright (the Freeway movies) has other ideas -- since Bundy's rampage happened in the 70s, the movie's done in a style that recalls 70s exploitation slasher movies, complete with makeup effects by goremeister Tom Savini. One period slip-up, though -- beer cans in the 70s had pull-tabs, not pop tops. As Bundy, Michael Reilly Burke (Octopus 2: River of Fear) has just the right amount of charisma and menace. It's his performance that makes the movie, giving a relatively shallow script more depth and character nuances than likely existed on the page. It's unfortunate that we don't really get to see Bundy's transition from confident psycho to pathetic pleading prisoner, as Bright shows both extremes but not the journey between them. But hell, let's face it, those 70s movies were a lot of fun, and if you can disconnect it from the reality it's inspired by, this is too.