The Riverman (2004)

Too much of everything

The Worst Film Ever

Strong and Moving!

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

There are movies based on real life serial killers that are for entertainment only. This isn't one of them. I wouldn't even go as far as professing it's infotainment. The movie has a very documentary style feel to it with the only element missing being a narrator. It doesn't live off of big action and doesn't cater to the gore and torture porn fans either (like Bundy: An American Icon did for example) and luckily so. The essence of this movie is the interaction between Bob Keppel (Bruce Greenwood) and Ted Bundy (Cary Elwes). The chemistry between these two actors is simply incredible and both are playing their parts so convincingly that it took my breath away at times. Cary Elwes was quoted as saying that this role took a part of his soul away and I have no problem believing it. If you ever listened to Bundy's confession tapes (available on youtube) you know how easily he switched between joviality, bravado and a cold, psychopathic glee when talking about about his murderous deeds. Cary Elwes does such an authentic job switching back and forth between these sentiments that it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. His mimic is subtle, oftentimes even understated; his eyes do all the work. There's an underlying rage emanating from him during his conversations with Keppel that made me wonder if he had trouble switching back to his regular Mr. Joe guy self once the director called "Cut!" Likewise he chose the right tone of voice, the right pitch and pronunciation, that reminded a lot of Bundy himself in his interviews. After rewatching "Kiss The Girls" recently I was yet again reminded of how versatile this actor's voice is. As for Bruce Greenwood, his portrayal of Robert Keppel is equally on par as Elwes'. The struggle between being - or rather playing - a family man and "ordinary cop" and trying to delve deeply into both Bundy's as well as Gary "The Riverman" Ridgway's psyche are bone chilling. There's grief in his expression about the things Bundy confides in him, but as he tries to mentally connect, yes even "become," the Riverman in order to catch him he gets lost. He loses connection to himself, his wife and children, he slowly but steadily becomes obsessive-compulsive in his quest to uncover the truth. Although Sam Jaeger, who plays Detective Dave Reichert, has considerably little screen time his performance is equally strong as Bruce Greenwood's and Cary Elwes. Last but not least there is "The Riverman" himself, played by David Lawrence Brown. The last scene is based on one of the confession tapes of Ridgway's and he absolutely nails the killer's odd, choppy speech pattern (hinting at his low IQ of a mere 82) and his oddly blank face during his interrogations. If you are interested in understanding the machinations and motivations of serial killers, witty dialogues, psychological suspense, and Ted Bundy's case in particular, I guarantee that you will appreciate this movie greatly. A fair warning: It is haunting, literally haunting. It has stayed with me for weeks after first watching it, occupying my waking thoughts and dreams. Which is far more than I had expected of a "low budget TV movie."

It seems that more and more we see and hear about people who act like Ted Bundy, who are serial killers and others who murder their wives and children. Bruce Greenwood,(Robert Keppel),"The Republic of Love",'03, gave an outstanding performance having to deal with Ted Bundy and making the audience even think at times that he was going to follow down the same path as BUNDY himself! Kathleen Quinlan,(Sande Keppel),"Blessings TV,"'03, was the wife of Robert Keppel who was going crazy with the effects that Ted Bundy was making on her husband's personality, as well as his children. This film is morbid and difficult to view, especially with the horrible torture of his victims and the needless waste of human LIFE!

One thing I noticed about this movie almost immediately was the similarities between it and Silence of the Lambs. The theme of the detective going to one serial killer in order to penetrate the mind of another serial killer is present within both films, but after that the similarities begin to dissipate. Bruce Greenwood as Robert Keppel allows his character to have faults and use at least some of them to his advantage. Cary Elwes is almost unrecognizable in his nuanced performance as Ted Bundy.For me, the direction left nothing to be desired. Although movies and novels about murderers and serial killers are a dime a dozen these days (check the blurbs on the back of the paperback novels in the 'book' section of your grocery store, if it has one) 'The Riverman' adds some unexpected details that added depth to the characters and their story. There are glimpses into the minds of Bundy and Keppel throughout the movie, and I was pleased to see how they compared and overlapped. The energy was not as frantic as some cop shows make the serial killer chase out to be, but there was still a sense of urgency and electricity underlying the interactions between Bundy, Keppel, and the young detective Dave Reichert who tries his best to do the job right. The control and fresh take on this piece take it above and beyond the rest of the TV movies I've seen, and there have been a lot of them.Four and a half out of five.

I didn't know what to expect when I began watching this movie. I was immediately intrigued once it began going, however. This is the true story of how Ted Bundy (Cary Elwes) actually helped to find the Green River Killer back in the early 80's in his attempts to get a lighter sentence and avoid the death penalty. Although this movie is not about Ted Bundy it does go into his crimes a little bit and you get to know a little bit more about Bundy's twisted psyche. The performances were great, but the one that stands out is Elwes portrayal of the serial killer Ted Bundy. I didn't know if he could pull it off, but he did an excellent job and was very believable and his performance was chilling. I give this movie a 9/10.