Kemper: The CoEd Killer
Encyclopedia
Kemper: The CoEd Killer is a 2008 direct-to-video
horror film
directed by Rick Bitzelberger, and written by Jack Perez. The film is loosely based on the murders committed by California
serial killer
Edmund Kemper
.
, the police department is under pressure to solve a series of murders which appear to be the work of two independent serial killers. To help with the cases, Detective Tom Harris turns to his best friend, Edward Kemper
, a genius, but borderline autistic
, house painter who lives with his abusive mother, and who had previously helped Harris capture another criminal named John Linley Frazier. Together, Ed and Tom decipher a message sent by one of the killers, who they discover taking pictures at the latest crime scene while they are staking it out. During the ensuing confrontation, the delusional man, Herbert McCormack
, opens fire on the two, but is shot to death by Tom. Upon returning home after the encounter with McCormack, Ed bludgeons his mother with a hammer, and kills a female hitchhiker he had taken captive, revealing he is the second killer.
While inspecting the abandoned pool where the hitchhiker's body was dumped, Tom receives a call from Ed, who reveals his involvement in the girl's death. Rushing to the Kemper residence, Tom gets another call from Ed, who instructs him to go into the kitchen, where Tom discovers Mrs. Kemper's vocal cords in the garbage disposal, and her severed head pinned to the wall with several darts protruding from it. Due to Ed continually calling Tom, he is eventually traced to a motel, but manages to escape, wounding an officer in the process. This, coupled with his past association with Ed coming to light, results in Tom being suspended from the force by the mayor, though he is quickly placed back on duty when Ed abducts a woman named Brandi, and threatens to kill her and one other person a day if Tom is not rehired.
As the investigation continues (with Ed shooting his grandparents at a young age coming to light, and a number of his previous victims being found in his backyard due to a tip from him) a weary Ed ultimately allows the police to trace him to an abandoned hospital, where the mutilated Brandi is rescued. When Tom finds him wandering the building, Ed tells him that he was born there, and that his mother viewed him as nothing more than a burden forced upon her, a toxin spawned from the poisoned seed of a man who did not even bother to stick around. After apologizing for everything he has done, and saying he regrets losing his best friend (with Tom saying the same) Ed tries to commit suicide, but is non-fatally shot by a sniper, and arrested. The film ends with Tom visiting Ed on death row
.
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Rick Bitzelberger, and written by Jack Perez. The film is loosely based on the murders committed by California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Edmund Kemper
Edmund Kemper
Edmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
.
Plot synopsis
In Santa CruzSanta Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, the police department is under pressure to solve a series of murders which appear to be the work of two independent serial killers. To help with the cases, Detective Tom Harris turns to his best friend, Edward Kemper
Edmund Kemper
Edmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
, a genius, but borderline autistic
Autism spectrum
The term "autism spectrum" is often used to describe disorders that are currently classified as pervasive developmental disorders. Pervasive developmental disorders include autism, Asperger syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise...
, house painter who lives with his abusive mother, and who had previously helped Harris capture another criminal named John Linley Frazier. Together, Ed and Tom decipher a message sent by one of the killers, who they discover taking pictures at the latest crime scene while they are staking it out. During the ensuing confrontation, the delusional man, Herbert McCormack
Herbert Mullin
Herbert Williams Mullin is a serial killer who committed 13 murders in California in the early 1970s.- Childhood and youth :...
, opens fire on the two, but is shot to death by Tom. Upon returning home after the encounter with McCormack, Ed bludgeons his mother with a hammer, and kills a female hitchhiker he had taken captive, revealing he is the second killer.
While inspecting the abandoned pool where the hitchhiker's body was dumped, Tom receives a call from Ed, who reveals his involvement in the girl's death. Rushing to the Kemper residence, Tom gets another call from Ed, who instructs him to go into the kitchen, where Tom discovers Mrs. Kemper's vocal cords in the garbage disposal, and her severed head pinned to the wall with several darts protruding from it. Due to Ed continually calling Tom, he is eventually traced to a motel, but manages to escape, wounding an officer in the process. This, coupled with his past association with Ed coming to light, results in Tom being suspended from the force by the mayor, though he is quickly placed back on duty when Ed abducts a woman named Brandi, and threatens to kill her and one other person a day if Tom is not rehired.
As the investigation continues (with Ed shooting his grandparents at a young age coming to light, and a number of his previous victims being found in his backyard due to a tip from him) a weary Ed ultimately allows the police to trace him to an abandoned hospital, where the mutilated Brandi is rescued. When Tom finds him wandering the building, Ed tells him that he was born there, and that his mother viewed him as nothing more than a burden forced upon her, a toxin spawned from the poisoned seed of a man who did not even bother to stick around. After apologizing for everything he has done, and saying he regrets losing his best friend (with Tom saying the same) Ed tries to commit suicide, but is non-fatally shot by a sniper, and arrested. The film ends with Tom visiting Ed on death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
.
Cast
- Christopher Stapleton - Detective Tom Harris
- Robert Sisko - Edward KemperEdmund KemperEdmund Emil "Big Ed" Kemper III , also known as "The Co-ed Killer", is an American serial killer who was active in California in the early 1970s. He started his criminal life by shooting both his grandparents when he was 15 years old. Kemper later killed and dismembered six female hitchhikers in...
- Sean Thomas - Detective Bill Ross
- Jordan Blanchard - Young Edward Kemper
- Andy E. Horne - Herbert McCormackHerbert MullinHerbert Williams Mullin is a serial killer who committed 13 murders in California in the early 1970s.- Childhood and youth :...
- Zarah Mahler - Peggy Marshall
- Samantha Colburn - Alice Samuels
- Robin DeMarco - Carol Harris
- Ken Weiss - Mayor Al Turner
- Patricia Place - Alma Kemper
- Kate Danson - Annie
- Paul Speckman - Officer Phil
- Nancy Harding - Josie Murrow
- Zoe Canner - Brandi (Goth Girl)
- Missy Hairston - Margaret