Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos have their new biopics, “American Boogeyman” and “American Boogeywoman”

The United States of America has a long tradition of serial killers, especially in the 1970s and 1980s. And although many are well known by the masses thanks to popular culture and films, two of the names outstand from the rest: Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos. The first, for being a cruel and sadistic man who confessed 30 homicides, and the second for being one of the few documented female serial killers. The two upcoming movies from writer, producer, and director Daniel Farrands are crime biographies dedicated to these two characters.

The first one to come out is Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021), and tells the story of the murderer roaming the highways of a gritty 1970s America while committing some of his atrocious acts. Hunting him are intrepid FBI agents Kathleen McChesney and Robert Ressler, organizers of the largest manhunt in history to apprehend America’s most infamous serial killer.

Of course, this is not the first time Ted Bundy has been portrayed on film, being Zac Efron’s impersonation in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) the most recent one, and The Deliberate Stranger (1986) with Mark Harmon as the serial killer the most notorious one. This time, Chad Michael Murray, known for starring in House of Wax (2005), incarnates Ted Bundy. With him, Holland Roden, Lin Shaye, Jake Hays, Marietta Melrose, and Alice Prime also star.

And a month after Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman (2021) is coming out. Based on Aileen Wuornos‘s early life, back in 1976 a young Aileen arrives in Florida searching for a new life that will help her escape her tragic past, marries a wealthy Yacht Club president, and has the chance to start again as part of Florida’s high society. But tormented by inner demons she surrenders to her murderous impulses and wreaks havoc in the peaceful seaside community of Deland, Florida.

This can be taken as a prequel for the celebrated film Monster (2003), where Charlize Theron received the Best Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award for her portrayal of the murderer. This time, Peyton List, one of the stars in the Cobra Kai (2018–) TV series, is on the skin of Aileen Wuornos. Tobin Bell, Lydia Hearst, Swen Temmel, Andrew Biernat, Ben Smith-Petersen, Nick Vallelonga, and Leslie Stratton complete the main cast.

Daniel Farrands is behind the movies. This is not the first time he has been behind films based on the most popular American murderers since his previous work was The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019), where Hilary Duff incarnated Sharon Tate. He has also been behind The Amityville Murders (2018), and has written the horror titles Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), The Girl Next Door (2007), and Havenhurst (2016), basides having been behind the documentary films based on horror classics like The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited (2009), Never His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (2009), Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010), Scream: The Inside Story (2011), Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013), and Jason’s Destroyer: The Making of Friday the 13th Part VII – The New Blood (2019),

Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021) is scheduled for a release on August 16, 2021, while Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman (2021) comes out later on September 20, 2021. Here you can watch the trailer for Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021).