No Man of God doesn’t tell us anything new about Ted Bundy. What more can be said about one of the most infamous serial killers of the late 20^th Century? It does, however, showcase the uneasy relationship between Bundy and FBI agent Bill Hagmaier, who profiled the murderer before his execution at a Florida state prison in 1989. It also makes us question how much we should humanize or attempt to understand a monster.

Directed by Amber Sealey and written by C. Robert Cargill, the film is mostly a two-man show between Elijah Wood as Hagmaier and Luke Kirby as Bundy. Based on Hagmaier’s records and transcripts, most of the drama is set in Bundy’s jail cell during the late 1980s, featuring tight shots of the men as they test each other psychologically. Hagmaier tries to get Bundy to confess, while Bundy unravels his profiler’s tortured past, including memories of his abusive father. Luckily, both Wood and Kirby especially bring their A-game. In fact, Kirby is magnetic in the role, delivering well-crafted dialogue that makes a viewer question what’s normal. He’s charming, manipulative, and, at times, terrifying.

Bundy gets Hagmaier, a man who hangs a cross necklace in his car, to ponder whether he could kill anyone. There’s more than one creepy shot of Hagmaier eyeing women, wondering if he could pull off what Bundy did. This is the game Bundy plays with his profiler to make himself seem more normal.

In other scenes, we see a more human side of Bundy, as he talks about his daughter Rose and ex-wife Carole Ann Boone. In the hours leading to his execution, he breaks down in front of  Hagmaier, as he struggles to write a letter to his mom. We’re left asking whether we should feel any empathy for a man who confessed to killing 30 women. That’s the real arresting power of No Man of God. It makes Bundy a complex character. At one point, he says he imagines his daughter riding her bike, while later, he grips the FBI agent’s hands, recalling one of his kills and all its gory details seemingly without remorse. There’s a constant duality between man and monster.

The film doesn’t ignore the hype that surrounded Bundy’s execution, either, including various news clips and crowds that chanted “Burn, Bundy, Burn” and sold t-shirts. At one point, Bundy says, “And they say I’m crazy?” It’s an astute little observation about our culture’s fascination with serial killers. There’s no better contemporary example than Bundy.

Overall, No Man of God is a captivating drama about one of the most famous serial killers of the last 30 years. While the film doesn’t add to Bundy’s story, Wood and Kirby shine in their roles. During its best moments, the thriller is smart and engaging. It makes us question whether the most “normal” person has the potential to kill and whether a monster still has some traces of humanity.

7.5 Out of 10