For such a famous case on a network whose livelihood is devoted to exploring these kinds of crimes, Serial Thriller is a missed opportunity, and certainly doesn’t come close to living up to its name.
If ever there was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, it was Ted Bundy. His story reads like a Hollywood thriller, yet it really happened. It has served as fodder for a number of fictionalized representations, from the 1980s made-for-TV movie “The Deliberate Stranger” to the filmed version of Ann Rule’s True Crime classic “The Stranger Beside Me.” Now Investigation Discovery has gotten in on the game with their new mini-series, SERIAL THRILLER: ANGEL OF DECAY.
Investigation Discovery is my favorite channel. If I have the television on, chances are it’s tuned to ID. And while I liked THRILLER better than this reviewer, I too was underwhelmed. It tries, mind you. It offers up a few good performances (from actors forced to recite stilted dialogue) and seeks to keep the tension mounting by its initial refusal to name the killer in question. (Anybody remotely familiar with serial killers, however, or True Crime in general will figure out immediately that it’s Bundy.) For me, the biggest problem is the actor portraying Bundy. He displays no menace whatsoever. Then again, to be fair, neither did Bundy. That’s what made him so successful at what he did.
Bottom line: Aficionadas might like THRILLER. Everybody else can skip it.
