Ann Rule Presents: The Stranger Beside Me - The Ted Bundy Story

Ted Bundy was a born winner: He thrived in law school, was assistant to the governor of Washington, and had no trouble luring the ladies…with a crowbar and handcuffs. In The Stranger Beside Me Billy Campbell plays the infamous serial killer, with Barbara Hershey as Ann Rule, friend to Bundy and author of the book on which the movie is based. And while hers is a riveting story of terrifying discovery, USA’s translation is just terrifyingly heavy-handed. When on the loose, Bundy carelessly volunteers countless facts about the murderer to Rule, gushing with reverence for the killer’s atrocities, stopping just short of proclaiming, “I enjoy sex with severed girl heads.” As for the action, Stranger makes bludgeoning a woman with a crowbar in a parking lot at midday look as free and easy as bludgeoning a woman with a crowbar in a parking lot at midnight. If you’re looking for a friendly yarn about a sadistic, inhuman murderer, look no further. If you’re looking for an earnest portrayal of man’s inhumanity toward man, we recommend Ja-Rule instead.