Ed Kemper

Finally! A movie where the serial killer is like a person instead of a sinister avatar of badness. I didn't know how much I needed this, but I really did. He's just like this nerdy guy. He's not always presented in a way where it's pushed in our faces that he's creepy. No wonder this isn't a big budget film, because a big studio would never risk the audience misunderstanding it as an endorsement of serial killing, especially with all the graphic things this killer is shown doing. People who don't get this movie are so wrong. This movie actually trusts you to see right from wrong on your own. The killer doesn't talk like Darth Vader, none of that. Which is good, because it makes the point that serial killers blend in with the rest of us. This took a lot of guts to make this movie like this. Yeah some of the fantasy scenes are kind of dumb but at least they're creative, and they show you the difference between how the killer thinks vs what really happens. This movie doesn't need everybody to understand what it's doing, but there are probably enough people like me who understand. People can be offended all they want, but this really happened and the movie's telling us the truth. I heard about this from pvd horror's youtube account, and they were right. The movie is interesting if you're curious about true crime.

While I have no idea who Ed Kemper is or was, then I still opted to watch the movie, as I happened to stumble upon it by random chance here in 2025. I had never heard about the movie, and thus had no idea what to expect or what I was in for here, aside from it being a movie about some serial killer that I had never heard about.

The movie has a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Lew Temple, Brinke Stevens, Cassandra Gava and Robert Miano. The acting performances in the movie were good.

Ed Kemper, as appearing in the movie, was a spitting image of my elementary school teacher back in the early 1980s.

The effects in the movie were okay, but nothing really noteworthy. So don't expect an over-the-top brutal or gory movie.

Watchable, for sure, but hardly an outstanding viewing experience. And definitely not a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of director Chad Ferrin's 2025 movie "Ed Kemper" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Being a huge true crime fan, I was impressed that writer Stephen Johnston (Ted Bundy, The Hillside Strangler, Ed Gein) & director Chad Ferrin (Pig Killer, Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill!, The Ghouls) really did their homework and got most of the facts right. Brandon Kirk and Susan Priver had amazing dysfunctional son/mom chemistry and their scenes together were just as traumatic as the murder scenes. Gore is realistic without being exploitive. The whole experience left me feeling queasy long after the end credits. I'm looking forward to the other true crime films(Dorothea, Night Stalker) that Dread is releasing.

I really hope the family members of anyone involved in any way or actual people involved with the characters depicted never see this piece of s**t. It seems like a bad joke aimed at the victim's families. Like an episode of "1000 Ways to Die", where you are made not to care about the people who are killed because they were complete idiots anyway. It seems deliberately cruel, and that is unforgivable... according to Ed's mom....

Mocking the dead seems just as much a heinous act as the actual crimes being depicted. How this was given the thumbs up to even get funded is beyond me. Anyone taking part needs to be assessed by a professional....

The practical fx aren't bad, but this movie is absurd. Every-time a screenshot of "Ed" would appear I'd nearly laugh out loud. The wig, odd expressions and wardrobe of the actor was just below amateur even. Nearly seems like an SNL spoof at times. I seriously do not have too many redeeming moments to mention. For some reason I kept thinking of the uncle from Napoleon Dynamite every scene Ed was in. If this were a film school final project I'd give it a D+. As a regular movie release? Well....pretty obvious. Just watch The Co-Ed Killer: mind of a monster in if you want to learn about Ed Kemper. Or seen him portrayed on Mind Hunter for a much, much better portrayal.