Chad Michael Murray is the latest in a slew of Hollywood stars to be cast as notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. And what do he and his prior counterpart, Zac Efron, have in common? Well, they're ridiculously good looking, of course.
In 2019, Efron encountered some criticism after he was cast to play Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. However, he denied that the film "glamourised the killings", telling Ellen Degeneres at the time: "I am not into portraying a serial killer or anybody of this nature or glamourizing them in any way."
Despite his protestations, hundreds of think-pieces sprung up afterwards — not about Bundy's victims, and his crimes — but about the fact that he was considered attractive, and that someone known to be incredibly handsome had been cast to play him.
Now, the same thing is happening again. And it's deeply problematic.
Murray is starring as Bundy in American Boogeyman, which is due to land on our screens later this year. The film "follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer," per the synopsis.
The keyword here is, of course, "charming". And the film was immediately pulled up on Twitter, with users figuratively rolling their eyes at the prospect of yet another "hot" Bundy.
"The man looked like this [and] so far he's been played by Zac Efron and now [Chad Michael Murray]? Does his ghost has a publicist or something???" wrote one Twitter user.
Meanwhile, another added: "Chad Michael Murray is a great actor, but casting him as Ted Bundy is a dumb idea, Ted Bundy already has a large group of people who find him attractive, and casting an attractive actor is just going to make that worse."
As a man of his time, Bundy's charm allowed him to go undetected for some time — it's also believed that his being conventionally attractive helped him entice vulnerable women.
Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology, and the author of The Human Predator commented: "Many women thought Ted Bundy was handsome. That he was in law school and knew how to dress well was also a plus. He had the confidence, charisma, daring, and resourcefulness of an alpha-male personality that projects a sense of protection."
It makes sense then for Bundy to be portrayed as someone who is just conventionally attractive — but that won't fly in Hollywood, where it's near impossible to find someone who doesn't stop short of completely stunning.
The real issue is that Bundy has been cast as the leading man, and by virtue of that he will always be played by someone like Murray or Efron. The leading man is always as one Twitter user said of Murray: "far too hot".
So the problem really isn't anything to do with Murray or Efron's drool-worthy looks — it's the fact that Bundy has been cast as the lead again — he is the focus of the story instead of the women he killed and whose lives he ruined: Elizabeth Kendall (played by Lily Collins in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile) and Carol Ann Boone (Kaya Scodelario).
Though Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was supposed to be about Kendall — who was Bundy's long-term girlfriend – it's not about her at all. The majority of the film is devoted to showing how charming, and how loving Bundy could be; he plays with Kendall's daughter, cooks surprise breakfasts, and wholly accepts her as a single mother, which society frowned upon at the time.
The director, Joe Berlinger, explained that so much focus on Bundy as a "normal man" was due to the fact that the murderer was known for his charm and good looks. But the film doesn't go out of its way to show us more. All we really see is Bundy being attractive, acting wholesome, and then, finally, killing women.
Kendall gets very little screentime, except to frame the narrative. We don't see her journey to recognising that something is very, very wrong with her otherwise perfect boyfriend —this we only see in hindsight. And we also don't see the devastating toll this revelation takes on her life, as well as her daughter's Molly.
Another woman who gets little screentime, and is only depicted in a one-dimensional way through her relationship with Bundy is Carole Ann Boone.
Bundy manipulated Boone to speak favourably about him to the press, and the pair embarked on a romantic relationship which culminated in them somehow conceiving a child while he was behind bars. The film only portrays her as obsessed and dutifully loyal to Bundy — it doesn't centre her thoughts or experience.
In reality, the real Carole Ann Boone later cut all contact with Bundy, changed her name and relocated to Washington along with her children to escape him. Again, we don't see how she was forced to rebuild her life after being repeatedly gaslighted and manipulated by a serial killer.
We also learn surprisingly little about Bundy's victims (he kidnapped, raped, and murdered at least 30 women during the 70s), and their lives, prior to being tragically cut short.
From what we know about the upcoming film starring Murray, Bundy will once again be taking centre stage. We can hope that it will explore more of the psyches of the women whose lives he impacted, and destroyed, but it's doubtful.
Really, would it be so difficult to make a film about Ted Bundy – and have it be about something other than his looks and purported charm? Would it be so difficult to centre it on the women in the story? It appears so.