This one always stays with me; even twenty some years after initial viewing.
Mark Harmon is chillingly perfect as Ted Bundy; one of the most notorious serial killers and this 1986 TV Movie depicts his vast amount of evil-doing and his eventual capture. It's split into two 90 minute segments (the old mini-series) and while you don't get a solid glimpse into what made him tick the story is thoroughly engrossing and almost a little hard to believe.
With strict censorship, being a TV movie in the 80's, the film nevertheless manages to convey Bundy's actions all too vividly with well handled characters who are impacted by him one way or another. Particularly heartbreaking is Rita Zohar's (as Elenor Rose) story as her only daughter is a victim of Bundy's. The cops who pursued him are also portrayed well by good actors and their characters aren't one-dimensional but well realized.
And although no outright violence is depicted; there's a scene where Bundy attempts to kidnap a girl by handcuffing her in his car and heading off; that scene is just terrifying in it's buildup and execution thanks to an intensity Harmon somehow conjures up with very menacing looks and behavior.
"The Deliberate Stranger" is, so far at least, the definitive film on Ted Bundy. These films don't always have to be exceedingly graphic or vulgar (no bad language to speak of either) to make their point and depict a truly horrible individual who caused a lot of harm and suffering.
Mark Harmon is chillingly perfect as Ted Bundy; one of the most notorious serial killers and this 1986 TV Movie depicts his vast amount of evil-doing and his eventual capture. It's split into two 90 minute segments (the old mini-series) and while you don't get a solid glimpse into what made him tick the story is thoroughly engrossing and almost a little hard to believe.
With strict censorship, being a TV movie in the 80's, the film nevertheless manages to convey Bundy's actions all too vividly with well handled characters who are impacted by him one way or another. Particularly heartbreaking is Rita Zohar's (as Elenor Rose) story as her only daughter is a victim of Bundy's. The cops who pursued him are also portrayed well by good actors and their characters aren't one-dimensional but well realized.
And although no outright violence is depicted; there's a scene where Bundy attempts to kidnap a girl by handcuffing her in his car and heading off; that scene is just terrifying in it's buildup and execution thanks to an intensity Harmon somehow conjures up with very menacing looks and behavior.
"The Deliberate Stranger" is, so far at least, the definitive film on Ted Bundy. These films don't always have to be exceedingly graphic or vulgar (no bad language to speak of either) to make their point and depict a truly horrible individual who caused a lot of harm and suffering.