“No Man of God” (2021) Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter - Uphill Both Ways Podcast)
Director Amber Sealey’s No Man of God is an intriguing crime drama that looks at the complicated relationship between notorious serial killer Ted Bundy and the one man to whom he would eventually confess about some of his crimes before his execution in 1989, young, rookie FBI agent Bill Hagamier. The film is an affecting, hypnotic ride bolstered by superb performances from Elijah Wood as Hagmaier and Luke Kirby as Ted Bundy.
Potential viewers who are wary of No Man of God glorifying Ted Bundy need not worry. In fact, the film does quite the opposite, showing him as manipulative, dishonest, and even frightened — or at least trying to mimic such human feelings and emotions as the latter. And therein lies a chief reason to seek out this film: Kirby is phenomenal as Ted Bundy, glaring, showing arrogance, belittling, posturing, laughing, and nailing every facial gesture and eye contact — along with eye contact avoidance — asked of him. His is a truly bravura performance. Wood is also tremendous playing Hagmaier as soft-spoken, intelligent, and determined, and together the two put on an absolute acting clinic. The supporting cast members all give fine turns, as well.
The majority of No Man of God takes place in the interrogation room where Hagmaier and Ted Bundy meet, and Sealey shows masterful work at framing and lighting the two characters, with Hagmaier often brightly lit and Bundy in shadow of one form or another, sometimes in extreme close-up, and often looking upward toward Hagmaier. She also weaves news clips and other archival footage into the mix, including some montages that feel slightly out of place but work well, nevertheless. Sealey paces the film — working with a fine screenplay from Kit Lesser — like a psychological thriller and keeps the tension and suspense taut throughout. She also avoids any sensationalism such as showing explicit crime scene photos or recreating graphic acts of violence so that when Bundy finally describes some of his murders and his disturbing thought processes behind them, the dialogue is all the more unsettling.
With so many fictional film accounts and documentaries about Ted Bundy available, it might be easy for some to dismiss No Man of God as just another entry in a flooded market. That would be a mistake, though, as Sealey’s film is an outstanding effort.
No Man of God, from RLJE Films, releases in theaters, VOD, and Digital on Friday, August 27th .
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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