Theodore Robert Bundy, best known as Ted Bundy, is perhaps the most profiled serial killer in the media. There have been Bundy movies, television series, shorts, podcasts, and documentaries since his reign of terror during the late 1970s. On Friday, another file is being added to the already stacked Bundy filmography with Amber Sealey’s No Man of God, releasing in theaters and On Demand simultaneously.

But unlike other Bundy profiles, Sealey made it a point to demand visibility for the victims within the film. In our 15-minute session, we talked about America’s morbid obsession with serial killers, working with Elijah Wood, and the biggest elephant in the room: why do we need another Bundy film?

In this iteration of Bundy’s life, the story focuses on the complicated relationship between the maniac himself and FBI agent Bill Hagmaier; the only person Bundy would disclose details of his crimes to after his sentencing. However, it was of the utmost importance to Sealey that this film wasn’t just another effort to center Bundy as some sort of antihero, but as the monster he really was.

"Of course the film is about Bundy — there’s no escaping that — but whenever there were moments for me to center the victims, to show what he had done, I took that opportunity," Sealey said.

"For example, there’s a scene in the interrogation room between Bundy and Hagmaier. I purposely planted female extras that resembled his victims in that room. To remind the audience of who he was." 

While I didn’t ask Sealey about the controversy that has come from an earlier statement she made about Bundy films before hers "centering" the killer, which in turn received some backlash from Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile director Joe Berlinger, I did ask her about the process of pitching herself as a director for this project.

"There have been very few female directors on Bundy projects before me. I think there has actually only been two, with one being a short and the other a documentary. When I pitched to Elijah Wood, whose production company, Company X, produced the project, I pitched him from that angle. No one ever talks about the victims in these films. They’re never a forethought. I really wanted to tell this story from a lens of what it is to be in the demographic Bundy would have targeted," she said. 

Sealey brought that same tenacity to set during production.

"Every department had a female department head or a woman in that area. That was very important to me [as a director]." 

The irony of women being one of Bundy’s greatest supporters — as well as his victims — isn’t lost on Sealey.

"People, especially women, have a grim fascination with serial killers. We just do," she said.

And she’s right. Look on TV and every channel would have some version of Forensic Files. True crime is one of America’s greatest pastimes. 

When asked if that’s what attracted her to the script, Sealy had this to offer: "It was such a well-written script, I immediately knew what to do with it. I knew the shots, the vision, everything."

That same certainty has led Sealey to create one of the most hauntingly complex profiles of a serial killer to date.

Audiences will learn something new about one of America’s most notorious killers, while cinephiles will marvel at gripping performances from Wood and Kirby. As for Sealey, there’s no doubt in my mind she will be very much in demand after this weekend.

No Man of God is In Theaters, On Demand and Digital August 27.