"ED KEMPER" (2025) Sheds Brutal Light On A Complicated Killer (REVIEW)
The rise of serial killers in the 60s and 70s has a direct correlation to the emergence of the slasher film. The overlap is significant as both deal with people who commit heinous crimes, often for unexplained or illogical reasons. The main difference is that in slashers, the boogeyman isn’t real and doesn’t leave the screen, whereas serial killers are very much real as are their crimes. Serial Killers are the new slashers on film as our obsession with true crime shows no signs of stopping, and many modern slashers eschew the supernatural tendencies they were once known for. One serial killer who hasn’t gotten as many standalone films is Ed Kemper, but that is no longer the case thanks to DREAD Presents and Chad Ferrin’s latest production, “Ed Kemper.” Is this true crime story more fiction than fact, or does it unearth new findings that tell a compelling story about the makings of a killer?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Based on the actual events of American serial killer Edmund Kemper, who murdered his grandparents at age 15 and, after being paroled for that crime, killed eight women in 1972 and 1973 including his own mother.
HOW IS IT?
If it weren’t for “Mindhunter” we are quite sure that a lot of folks wouldn’t know or even remember who Ed Kemper is. In the realm of serial killers, he stands out because of his stature and personality, which seem counter to the heinous crimes he committed. Chad Ferrin is no stranger to making movies about killers and has had some success with his “Pig Killer” adaptation of the Robert Pickton murders in Canada. This time, Ferrin is putting his sights on domestic killers with “Ed Kemper.” While there are some things to enjoy about this true crime thriller, it feels less like a character study and more like a greatest-hit collection of Kemper’s crimes and his own awful familial experiences.
Ed Kemper, played perfectly by Brandon Kirk, is the kind of killer who didn’t have to become one. As was uncovered when the FBI began profiling serial killers, his upbringing was a major culprit in his eventual turn toward violence. His abusive mother, a chilling performance from Susan Priver wasn’t just a drunk she was a mean one who drove a lot of men out of her life and blamed it all on poor Ed. The film begins with Kemper killing his grandparents which lands him in Atascadero Mental Hospital until he is old enough to be released. Upon release and against the advice of his psychiatrist, he goes to live with his mother who is still as abusive and mean as she ever was. The shame she carries for Ed she takes out on him and then some, which extends to verbal assaults and even sexualized advances in a drunken stupor. The performances are the bedrock of “Ed Kemper” and without them, this would be a lot harder to get through than most serial killer films. Ferrin clearly knows the story of Kemper well and treats him sympathetically, but only as a contrast to his mother while not giving him any passes for his crimes. The unfortunate thing here is that the exploration of someone as complex as Kemper is surface-level, and a missed opportunity to explore how Kemper is not so much a byproduct of his mother, but a man without a strong father figure to combat his mother’s narcissism.
Because “Ed Kemper” focuses so much on the crimes and more salacious parts of his story, we don’t get a lot of time of Kemper just being himself. Instead, it’s a cycle of maternal abuse and violent crime before it rinses and repeats. The flashbacks to younger Kemper are interesting, but the use of an overly comical-looking devil figure takes you out of what should be a harrowing experience of child abuse. Perhaps focusing less on Kemper’s crimes, which the film does plenty including a bathroom dismemberment scene which is unhinged, but more on the relationship with his mother as a primary could've made for a more interesting exploration. The film shines best when Priver and Kirk are dueling out on screen, and we can see the seams break around Kemper’s sanity thus causing him to lose control and take lives. The violence here isn’t as excessive as in other Ferrin films (although, in our last interview with Ferrin he did mention having to make cuts for this release) but it is still there. Particularly in the final act when Kemper kills his mother and the strange posing he does with his victims. All of this leads to the conclusion that “Ed Kemper” isn’t a bad film, it’s just one that misses the chance to explore the psychology of killers rather than just the crimes.
LAST RITES
“Ed Kemper” is best taken as an introduction to Kemper for those who are unfamiliar, but those more in the know may find the film lacking in telling a complete and compelling story.
THE GORY DETAILS
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Where can you watch it?
“Ed Kemper”will be released in select theaters beginning April 4, 2025, and available for rent or purchase on video-on-demand April 8,2025
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