An extreme close-up of a young woman opening the film “MEN ARE PIGS”, she says and presses straight into the camera. We disagree! He’s entertaining a friend who’s just been abandoned by an idiot. But keep in mind that it’s as good as the movie, and we have a hunch that one of them will be Ted Bundy’s next victim.
Then the first of too many subtitles that tiresome time and place, and everyone lands on the soundtrack with a cruel THRUMM: I’m so over it. Are you not? I’m just saying that this scene took place in Utah in 1974, and the rest of the film goes back to 1978, jumping between Seattle, Colorado and Florida.
After all, one of the women smoked, which is highly unlikely:
I’m pretty sure no one smoked outside in 1974, and in fact. They probably went in there on purpose to light it. However, he sees Bundy (Murray) in his trademark mask. The wrong plaster on his leg, crutches, a fallen lock and “he needs help”. As the horrific, inevitable kidnapping takes place. The soundtrack tells us it’s a dark and scary moment to let go of the drone and accentuate it. With what I assume is the sound of lead pipes dropping into oil drums and echo chamber tankers crashing.
Elsewhere, Det. Kathleen McChesney (Holland Rodden) briefs a room full of deranged male cops from a pile of evidence pointing to a possible man for the murder of several young women. McChesney then finds himself amid his boss’s condescending attitude and s*xism.
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And failure as a cop when FBI Agent Wesler (Jake Hayes) walks into the room and – gasping for air – shows their respect, a rarity in 1974. He’s a psychologist and profiler, and he knew good work when he saw it, so he teamed up with McChesney. More and more corpses are appearing, and this killer must be stopped.
The film then goes through police rambling, killer chase scenes, and creepy subtitles with music to test the speakers. There are scenes with Bundy’s mother (Lynn Shea) and a damn speech by a police psychologist (Asante Jones) and moments. Where we “enjoy” Bundy’s psychosis up close, through the SM fantasy series and rampage through a nursing home. Did he miss it? NO SPOILERS unless you have read the article or seen one too many films about the same person!
McChesney is a natural person who has made some strides for women in law enforcement.
Roden may be an on-screen play, but American Boogieman’s script is so fragile we’ll never know. McChesney certainly deserves more than a simple rainbow like the ill-thought-out. Clarice Starling that he’s half-ass or even a quarter. But close to 10 per cent.
American Boogeyman is the film that gave Drake a good name. Its CPM (Clichés Per Minute) buries the red needle. It would boast all of Creathon’s cautionary class. And style for a television movie if it weren’t for an insightless exploit. He never stopped at that point of view.
From the gentle conversations between McChesney and the wrestlers to Bundy hiding in the bushes or the back seat to the insane moves of his victims, none of which counts as a character. They were just meat for Bundy to slaughter.
Every moment trying to provoke a drama – say, the mother of a victim expresses grief or anger – carries all the tension and emotional currency of a massive soap opera. The dialogues are awful, half-written shit that turns the actors’ jobs into a thankless paycheck. There are no convincing scenes here.
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He plays quickly and freely with the real-life events of Bundy’s evil house, which could forgive if the film had only one thing to say, an idea in a brain cell, but sadly. Ted Bundy: The American boogeyman tries to relax and shake off the boredom but can’t justify its existence.
