Rent No Man of God (2021)

A strange film (about serial killer Ted Bundy), which fails to reach its full potential - No Man of God review by Philip in Paradiso

The film is set in the mid- to late 1980s, in the USA, and is focused on Ted Bundy, the notorious, sadistic serial killer (he would have killed at least 30 women). The 2 key characters are Ted Bundy, who is in jail, and Bill Hagmaier, the FBI agent who has been asked by his superiors to interview him at length. The aim of the process, for the FBI agent, is to try and develop an understanding of what led T Bundy to act the way he did; if one can understand someone like T Bundy, the theory went, it would be possible to catch such serial killers more easily in future or, even, to detect them at an early stage and prevent them from killing too many people. The movie is realistic and based on true events (such a criminal-intelligence programme did exist in the USA at the time).

T Bundy's life and misdeeds are indeed fascinating in that grim and gory way that violent crime and sadistic criminals can be. (You can have a look here after watching the film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy.) You would imagine that, with such rich and macabre material, the movie would be a gripping thriller, half-way between a gory horror movie and a dark detective story. And yet, the confrontation between T Bundy and the FBI agent feels surprisingly flat and generally devoid of tension, much of the time. The most interesting part of the film is towards the very end (the last 20 to 25 minutes). The actor playing T Bundy (Luke Kirby) is reasonably good but not exceptional. As to the FBI agent (Elijah Wood), with his bulging, bright-blue eyes, his funny-looking face, and his small stature, he looks like a frightened frog caught in the headlights of a speeding car in the middle of a country road at night.

Overall, the film is strangely interesting, and yet frustratingly underwhelming, as the expression goes. By the end of it, what have we learnt about serial killers and about T Bundy (who he was, what he did, and why): actually very, very little. Maybe this is intentional: the monster remains a mystery to the end. It is so easy, however, to imagine what another director could have achieved with such material: a masterpiece, presumably. All we have is a reasonably interesting film about a twisted individual who may not deserve all the attention, i.e. T Bundy. The movie merely scratches the surface of T Bundy's life: I found the Wikipedia article about him more instructive and more interesting than the film, which is not a good sign, really.

Excellent Biopic of Ted Bundy Focusing on the FBI Profiling Interviews of the 1980s - No Man of God review by PV

There are so many movies on Ted Bundy - one of the serial killers whose good looks, charm, friendly demeanour in court and body count - well over 30, mutilated, horribly murdered and raped - attracted macabre attention. Apparently, the way the FBI used his help in early 80s to try and profile the killer of the 'green river murders' (mentioned here) was the basis for the Thomas Harris novel SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.

It is well written and acted, focuses on psychology, with the actor playing Bundy scarily believable. The focus is on he emerging FBI Profiling unit. Read the info at the end to learn about the main character psychologist interviewer.

Worth watching with other Bundy films like Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) which focuses on the trial and Bundy's capture and his girlfriends.

Some may object to the focus on the murderer rather than his victims - but that is the way it is. People are and have always been fascinated by monsters and baddies in general, from the devil and mephistopheles on. Jack the ripper too (who may not even have existed - mass hysteria seems a valid explanation), and also the clown killed Gacy who inspired the Stephen King novel IT.

Worth also realising that, as any police officer will tell you, most murder victims are males (75%+) and it is FAR easier for them to get media interest in a missing or murdered female, esp a young pretty one, than ANY murdered or missing man - now THAT is sexism. But it is the way it is, and taps into our dep instincts to protect the women of our tribe probably.

A decent film, if a bit disturbing sometimes. 4 stars