The Deliberate Stranger

I think this movie is very good and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through. This movie is based on the murders of the famous mass murderer, Ted Bundy. This movie is entertaining, but on the other hand it's disturbing and depressing also. It would be bad enough if this movie were fiction, but this isn't fiction. Ted Bundy, the main character in this movie, began a murdering spree back in the middle 1970's and murdered many young innocent girls. This movie shows how looks can certainly be deceiving because Ted Bundy was not only a very handsome young man, but he was also very intelligent, well liked, and in fact studying to be a lawyer. In this film, it shows how nieve young girls can be. Who'd think this young and charming good lookin guy could have such a dark and cold side to him?! Well not many people thought this, no one at all. But of course this all changed when it was discovered that Ted Bundy murdered a bunch of young girls. I give this movie a 9/10 because it's very accurate. I think Mark Harmon did an excellent job with his role of Ted Bundy in the movie! It's definately worth seeing if you're interested in non-fiction stories, and also if you're interested in true-crime stuff.

Mark Harmon gives a chilling performance as Serial killer Ted Bundy in this 1986 TV movie that played over two nights. Harmon at the time was known for his role on the TV series St. Elsewhere and probably relished playing such a dark character. The movie focuses more on the victims families and the police detectives fight to bring him to justice. There is not any details about his childhood and why he became the monster he became except to say he was cold blooded sociopath who could appear as the guy next door. The police detectives must have thought they were chasing a supernatural phantom as Bundy managed to escape from custody twice. Bundy was eventually caught in 1979 and later executed in Florida in 1989. The movie is now available on DVD from Warner Brothers Archive Collection from Amazon.com and it looks great!! Also check out the True crime TV movies A Killer In The Family and The Deadly Tower on Warner DVD.

The Deliberate Stranger is scary as hell!I first saw this TV-movie when I was in college.I watched in in a floor lounge with some of the girls in my dorm.It scared all of us.There are a few factual and name changes(I caught them because I read both the Larsen book and Ann Rule's book The Stranger Beside Me)but they don't detract from the well-written and directed film.Veteran TV director Chomsky acquites himself nicely.The movie hangs on the performance of the actor playing Bundy,and Mark Harmon delivers,boy does he!His performance as Bundy is absolutely bone-chilling in his ability to portray the switch from charming hunk to homicidal rage.The scene in the sorority house is one of the scariest I've ever seen in a TV-movie! Good performances also come from Glynnis O'Connor as Cas ,his devoted but ultimately doubting girlfriend,Frederuc Forrest as Bundys's chief nemesis,Det. Bob Keppel,the always dependable M.Emmet Walshs as a veteran Washington cop,John Ashton as Keppel's partner,Ben Masters and Frederick Coffin as the two other detectives who pursue Bundy,and George Grizzard as Larsen,whoportrays effectively Larsen's journey frombeing Bund's friend to coming to the realization of just what he is.Unlike others,I also liked Gil Melle's score. 10 out of 10

If you want to see the most detailed film on Bundy, especially as an adult during his crime spree, then this just over 3 hour, two part TV movie is still without a doubt the best bet. It doesn't detail or show much of his crimes, the scene usually cuts just before the crime, but that's how 80's TV movies usually dealt with the extreme. The film though does show many of Bundy's personal relationships and real nuances more than any other recreation I've seen. Harmon's Golden Globe nominated performance is perhaps the closest anyone has ever come to matching the real Bundy personaS, as multiple as they were. The film details quite well the cunning subtle manipulative aspects of Ted. Bringing girls he had safe relationships with to parties with connected community people, making a friendly, smiley appearance and then quickly taking off. Like a politician, just gradually working everybody little by little, until hopefully one day he could use them for his gain. He was a Psych major, a Law student and a person who had considered getting into politics. Bundy is the type of serial killer that interests me because he was smart. Most serial killers in history, the ones that have been caught at least, were not very intelligent people. There are of course quite a few exceptions, but it is true that predominantly most come from abusive backgrounds, with little money, and have less than average intelligence. It's just a fact. Bundy as well as most of the more interesting serial killers in history, definitely defy those often common factors, especially when it comes to intelligence. This film is pretty standard in it's delivery, but quite detailed and well acted, so very worth the watch. This account was actually praised for how close to fact it was when it came out. The amount of things they have right is pretty impressive, especially when you consider that when this film came out, Bundy still had not even confessed to even one of the murders on record. However the evidence was staggering. As it is well said in this film, the guy could in his mind rationalize anything. The only big knock I have against the film really is the terrible 80's musical score. Thankfully they didn't flood the film with too, too much of it. Just enough to make you very sure you hate it. 7.5/10.

A two-part, made-for-TV movie on the life of serial killer Ted Bundy, this was an intriguing, well-done film. Mark Harmon is excellent as Bundy. He has similar looks and is an underrated actor. I doubt if they could find a better actor to play this particular role.

In this day-and-age, it's nice to see a movie in which the cops are portrayed as tough but fair and likable. In this case, the two main ones are played by Frederick Forest (Apocalypse Now )and John Ashton (Midnight Run). Since it was made for television in the 1980s, the movie has little profanity and blood. Most of the time, the violence is implied. It's still chilling in parts. We don't always need CSI-type blood and guts to get the point.

What they missed, however, was WHY Bundy did the things he did. They had time to develop that angle, but never touched it. Supposedly, violent pornography had something to do with his behavior, but nothing was explored in this film. Overall, it was still an interesting story and amazing how many people he fooled and how he could escape twice after being arrested. Good story.