The Deliberate Stranger

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Audience Member It's definitely dated and the police are portrayed as dumbfoundingly inept, but Mark Harmon was brilliant! Bundy's self-righteous charm was grated away to the bone and dismantled in front of us to great affect. For a made-for-TV movie - it's definitely one to watch. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member i saw this movie in 1986. It was unforgettable. Mark Harmon captures the "charisma" and fascinating persona of Ted Bundy, just as completely as Ted Bundy himself did in the 1970's and '8o's--enthralling the media, his victims, his friends, and his own girlfriend of many years.. In the more recent dramatization of Ted Bundy, Zac Efron certainly gives his significant talent and energy to capturing Bundy's "charm." But throughout, i couldn't stop comparing his portrayal to Mark Harmon's. I believe that a big part of the now decades-long fascination of the public with Bundy's story is the degree of deceitfulness he was able to accomplish, and the seamlessness of that deceit. Every second that Bundy was captured on film, he was broadcasting his intense talent at capturing attention. As I watched the news showing the fascination many young women had with him during his trial, I understood it to some degree, because though I was repelled and disturbed by who he was through and through, I too couldn't take my eyes off him. Mark Harmon was able to embody and express that ability of Bundy's to mesmerize, just as he had done with his victims. That's the creepy quality of this film--that the viewer is paradoxically drawn and repelled at the same time, moth to flame.As humans, we struggle to understand how we can be be ensnared and entrapped, so we keep returning to try, again and again, to grasp it. "The Return of Martin Guerre," was a 1980's film on exactly that subject. It was a story that had, over the centuries been the basis of novels, plays and poetry, reflecting the fascination we humans have with the ability to fabricate a living lie that is utterly believable. It was a 16th century identity theft that fooled an entire village for many years, and though the imposter was tried, found guilty and executed, up the very end, he could continue to convince those closest to him that he was in fact the person he pretended to be. It amazes me that Mark Harmon, almost immediately after Bundy's last crimes and shortly after the trial, was able to seize the essence of Bundy's ability to project the qualities to lure and enthrall, to a deadly outcome. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member exceptional depiction! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member By far the best Bundy adaptation thus far. Though rather lengthy, Bundy's story is certainly an interesting one, and The Deliberate Stranger does it justice. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite being held back by being made for network TV, Mark Harmon shines in his portrayal of legendary serial killer Ted Bundy. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite clunky dialogue and a really bad electro synth soundtrack, this fairly tame two part mini series starring Mark Harmon is the best film (I'm aware of) about Ted Bundy. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Deliberate Stranger

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