‘Ted Bunny’ VOD Review
Stars: Diana Roman, Dee Wallace, Brad Satterwhite, Trent Avvenire, Rosanna Wyant, Bryan Palacios, Jamella Cross, Sherill Quinn | Written by Maralynn Adams, Michael Fredianelli | Directed by Michael Fredianelli
There’s low-budget horror… and then there’s “what if we made a slasher villain out of one of the most infamous real-life killers ever… and stuck him in a bunny suit?” Welcome to Ted Bunny… yes, really.
Directed and co-written by Michael Fredianelli, this oddball indie swings for something far more ambitious than its budget suggests. The hook? A fictional slasher “universe” inspired by real-life serial killers, kicking off with a prologue rooted in the crimes of Ted Bundy before pivoting to a modern-day documentary crew uncovering a survivor (played by Dee Wallace) and the killer offspring that came from that trauma.
Yeah… It’s that kind of movie.
To its credit, Ted Bunny actually starts strong. The Bundy-set prologue is surprisingly convincing for a low-budget effort, with solid period detail, decent hair and makeup, and a performance that sells the era. There’s a version of this film – a straight-up Bundy-inspired thriller – that might’ve genuinely worked. But then the bunny ears go on… and things get a bit daft.
The titular killer, decked out in a rabbit mask, looks suitably eerie at first glance (though let’s be honest, killer bunnies aren’t exactly fresh territory anymore). The film delivers a respectable body count, with some nicely gory kills and the occasional flicker of creativity. There’s even an attempt to humanise the killer, framing him as a product of circumstance, not quite sympathy, but at least a nudge toward empathy. Unfortunately, that effort at depth is buried under a very generic slasher structure.
Once the main story kicks in, Ted Bunny becomes as paint-by-numbers as they come. The documentary angle fades into the background, replaced by a series of increasingly silly scenarios and baffling character decisions. Our lead, Sasha, is actually pretty solid – grounded, believable, and giving a performance that feels like it wandered in from a better film. Everyone else? Full-on cartoon mode.
We’re talking characters that exist purely as cannon fodder, dialogue that borders on parody, and a “rogue cop” subplot that makes absolutely no sense. This is a policeman who stumbles across piles of human remains and decides… not to call for backup. Instead, he goes off on his own vigilante mission like he’s in a completely different movie. It’s the kind of logic that’ll either make you laugh or roll your eyes, probably both.
Tonally, the film is all over the place. You’ve got serious, almost respectful true-crime-style moments clashing with absurd, borderline comedic slasher antics. Then there’s the big reveal of the killer’s face, which aims for tragic but lands somewhere closer to unintentionally goofy. And that’s Ted Bunny in a nutshell: a film with an interesting (if questionable) premise that never quite figures out what it wants to be.
Hardcore slasher fans might find enough here – there’s blood, there’s a body count, and there’s a novelty factor to the whole “Bundy-inspired bunny killer” thing. But if you’re after something a bit smarter, or even just more consistent, this one feels like a missed opportunity dressed up in a rabbit costume.
** 2/5
Ted Bunny is available on digital platforms now.
