‘Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer’ is a Crucial True Crime Watch Because It Focuses on the Victims

Ted Bundy is a name that continues to strike fear and fascination in many. His crimes and horrific legacy of “the boy next door” by day to an insatiable serial killer by night have captured the curiosity of many viewers of true crime, making him one of the most notorious murderers in history. His modus operandi was luring young women to their deaths, as he often pretended to be injured or in need of their help. There have been countless documentaries and film adaptations on Bundy, the most prolific being Netflix’s The Ted Bundy Tapes, and the feature film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring Zac Efron. However, what about his victims? The plethora of media that surrounds these crimes only really puts faces to the names, along with a brief explanation on why they “fit the bill” for Bundy’s awful bloodlust. However, Amazon Prime’s Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer alters this formula into something that offers a new perspective that deserves more attention – that of the survivors, those who knew the victims, and those who knew Bundy.

COLLIDER VIDEO OF THE DAY

RELATED: 10 Disturbing True Crime Documentaries You Haven’t Seen — Yet

The majority of the documentary follows the recounts and reminiscences of Bundy’s former girlfriend, Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Kendall, and her daughter, Molly. It is obvious how haunted both still are to this very day, and the conflict they have about sharing happy memories surrounding such an evil individual. It is heart-breaking to see these two women wrestle with the good times and the reality of the bad. However, the curse of hindsight really puts things into perspective. Liz recounts times when Bundy would sob uncontrollably, or when he pushed her into a river with no expression on his face, and Molly remembers a game of hide-and-seek that ended with him exposing himself to her when she was just a child. We can see that all these events that made no sense to them at the time have come to have a much more sinister meaning with the context of his crimes against women being common knowledge to them and the rest of America. Furthermore, we see Bundy’s reclusive half-brother, Richard, discussing his own memories of him. There is clear resounding anger and betrayal as Richard recalls how much he adored and admired Bundy as a child, only for that image to be shattered in the most brutal way.

Image Via Amazon Prime Video

Guilt plays a huge part in this series, as we see Liz and those who were close to his victims hold back tears and sit in quiet but profound turmoil. Liz actually reported Bundy to the police, only for them to essentially laugh her out of the room, and be told that “he wasn’t a good fit.” Moreover, she tells us that her father reprimanded her for wanting to report him, stating that she felt he “chose Ted” over his own daughter. There is that silent wandering behind her eyes of: “What if I’d fought harder? Could I have done more?” Alongside that, there is the unimaginable situation of accusing someone you love of crimes as brutal and horrific as Ted Bundy’s.

The friends of his victims often recount how quickly they vanished, how rapidly it all happened, and how the outcome was worse than any of them could have ever imagined. It is tear-jerking to still see that regret and grief overtake them as they struggle with painful hypotheticals: “If I had just checked her room, she might still be with us.” or “If I had just said something, it might have turned out completely different”. Towards the end of the documentary, we see the mother of a victim recall speaking to Bundy’s mother, and how sympathetic they felt towards her. She says that they “both lost a child”, which is such a moving marker of human empathy. The footage of Bundy’s crying mother is hard to listen to: Her emphatic apologies, her guilt, and what she feels, all come back to responsibility. It is hard to remain stoic when hearing her say, through tears: “He was a good boy. We never meant it to turn out like this.”

Image Via Amazon Prime Video

The documentary features those who were lucky enough to escape Bundy’s clutches. This includes a previously unknown name in the Bundy saga, Karen Sparks Epley. She has since appeared in a few other true-crime-related documentaries, but this is her debut, after keeping her story under wraps for decades. Her reasoning for keeping her run-in with Bundy a secret is that she wanted to try and have “a normal life”, and it is perfectly understandable that she wouldn’t want to relive her trauma time and time again in front of reporters and filmmakers. However, we come to learn that Bundy’s brutal assault caused permanent damage to her brain, hearing, sight, mobility – and not to mention her mental health. This one horrible, selfish choice by Bundy has led to life-long repercussions for Karen. She goes into uncomfortable detail regarding her attack, but she does it all with a straight face, which is a testimony to how long she has had to deal with this.

Of course, it’s no one’s fault but Bundy’s. He is the only perpetrator. However, these moments remind us of how many lives he destroyed, not even including his victims. The traumas of loss, guilt, memories, and grief still hover around countless lives. The suffering of his victims is horrible enough, but those that loved them and those that survived Bundy have to live with those demons for the rest of their lives.

Image Via Amazon Prime Video

However, there is a broader picture that is brought to life by the rest of those being interviewed. The 1970s and, subsequently, 1980s, were tumultuous but exciting times for the women of America. Liz being one of them, so many women wanted to reject traditional ideals of marriage and wifely duties, and either study or make a career of their own in “The Big City” – this one being Seattle. From sociologists of feminist theory to female alumni of universities at the time, to friends of Bundy’s victims: all agree that whilst women were being liberated, there was a new danger with this independence, triggered by men’s rage. With women traveling more often on their own combined with the new highway system, American cities became a hotbed of danger for men to track and abduct women, Bundy being only one. There are rare examples of women who were on the police force at this time, investigating Bundy and his victims. Their unique understanding of women’s vulnerability and the dangers of newfound independence were vital to solving cases.

Overall, Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer is a stark reminder of the various lives that killers ruin – not just their victims. There is a startling tendency for fascination with true crime to morph into a strange mythologizing of serial killers. Their story and upbringing tend to overtake the lives of their victims. However, this documentary puts their stories at the forefront. We come to learn of the lives of his victims, their hopes and dreams, and the tragedy of those being cut short. We see the everlasting grief and trauma from their loved ones and the bewilderment and resentment from Bundy’s own loved ones. Lastly, we come to understand the unsettling culture of men’s fear and rage towards women and how this can spiral into the unspeakable. This documentary is a must-see, but not for the faint-hearted.