Cohorted Cult

Whilst the likes of Joe Goldberg, Norman Bates and Tate Langdon are fictional, the obsession with real-life serial killers is just as prevalent and way more disconcerting. From the marriage of infamous killer Ted Bundy to Carole Anne Boone after his incarceration to Richard Ramirez’s marriage to a woman who sent him over 70 letters whilst he was in prison, hybristophilia is very real.  

Ted Bundy is probably the most notable example of the cinematic romanticization of serial killers. Regarded as conventionally attractive, Bundy exploited his charm and charisma to lure his victims. He gained a jarring cult following during his trial as his admirers refused to believe that someone they deemed attractive could be capable of such atrocities. The resurgent of his case, depicted countless times in recent media, has disturbingly led to a new generation of admirers. 

Joe Goldberg and Ted Bundy have much in common. Badgley described his character as the “peak of white male privilege”, encapsulating why women chose adoration over fear towards these men. People have a certain perception of what killers look like, and it isn’t young attractive white men. This privilege not only aids them in committing their crimes but also helps the killers get away with them. Reactions of admiration feed into the killers’ delusions. 

After the crimes are committed, the attraction remains and often gets stronger. But it goes against women’s every survival instinct, so why does it linger? It may feed into the saviour complex, where women believe that their love can cure these men of their insidious need to kill. Or, somewhat narcissistically, that they would be the exception to any future kills. Of course, many of these love affairs begin after the men have been locked up for their crime, suggesting that these women want a dance with danger that poses no threat to their lives. There is a physical barrier between them and the killer. Similarly, an infatuation with fictional men appears harmless because they pose no tangible threat to the real world.  

The danger comes when notorious killers lives are brought to the screen in a fictionalised capacity, such as in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, American Bogeyman, and My Friend Dahmer. The Dahmers and Bundys become blurred with the Goldbergs and Langdons, existing in a realm that is simultaneously real and fake. Society is deeply affected by both. The arrogant Bundy would have revelled in the attention that he has received since his death, especially as Hollywood continues to cast former teen heart-throbs in the biopics.  

So how complicit is Hollywood? Or can this phenomenon be put down to a strange psychological that we can’t seem to shake? Netflix responded to the reaction to Ted Bundy, tweeting: