The world of true crime adaptations is basically inescapable at this point. Any movie, television show, or docuseries about real-life serial killers or cold cases has a good chance of becoming a phenomenon… and two very weird entries are about to join that.
On Wednesday, a report from Deadline revealed plans for a “twisted serial killer universe,” courtesy of Popeye The Slayer Man producer Jeff Miller. The first two films will include Jeffrey Dollmer and Ted Bunny, two films playing on the idea of real-life killers Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy possessing inanimate objects. Yes, you read that right.
Jeffrey Dollmer is up first, having recently wrapped production and already debuting a first look. As its title suggests, will follow models on a photo shoot stalked by a doll possessed by the spirit of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Directed by Mark Savage, the cast includes Charlie Trepany, Chey Crieger, Juliana Destefano, Adam Huss, Eva Hamilton, Mariah Justice, Scott Asmar, Jabarri Bush, Jane Xi, Tom Parnell, Sean Michael Conway, and Brian Joseph Mange as Jeffrey Dahmer, with a cameo from Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick.
“Mark Savage and the team and I have had a blast bringing this creepy doll to life,” said Miller. “Audiences are in for a treat in this over-the-top killer doll film, which will be a great companion piece to Ted Bunny.”
Ted Bunny, meanwhile, stars Diana Roman, Zanna Wyant, Brad Satterwhite, and Dee Wallace. Michael Fredianelli will serve as the director. Plot details are being kept “under wraps”, although its safe to assume that the titular bunny will either be a stuffed animal, or maybe a real pet rabbit.
Wait, what?
In a way, this news both is and isn’t a little baffling. It isn’t baffling in the sense that low-budget horror “franchises” have started becoming more and more of a thing, especially as they can start to tackle certain beloved characters once they enter the public domain. Lest we forget the “Poohniverse” of animal horror films starring public domain characters who people just-so-happen to recognize from Disney movies.
It also isn’t baffling because Dahmer and Bundy have been the subjects of quite a lot of the true crime world. Dahmer, in particular, has inspired stories ranging from Ryan Murphy’s soapy Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, to the more emotionally-driven My Friend Dahmer. (The latter is based on Derf Backderf’s graphic novel of the same, recounting his own experience reckoning with being one of Dahmer’s high-school classmates, which I absolutely recommend reading.)
If anything, Jeffrey Dollmer and Ted Bunny are a little shocking because of how they are tackling their quasi-titular subjects. Sure, the idea of doll being possessed by a murderous serial killer is nothing new, as Chucky has proven with countless films and a beloved television series. But stories like Chucky were always able to have a bit of separation from our reality, and from the very real trail of victims and grisly horrors that both Dahmer and Bundy carried out. It does feel a little macabre to the legacy of those victims… but who knows? Maybe that’s something that the movies are going to address.
(featured image: Deadline)
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