The 1986 film, Easy Prey, tells the story of Tina Marie Riscio (Shawnee Smith), a 16 year-old who was approached in a mall by man (Gerald McRaney) who claimed to be a photographer looking for models.  The man told the insecure Tina that he wanted to take her picture but that he needed her to come out to his car and sign a release.  At first, Tina was reluctant to follow the man out to his car but when he acted embarassed and apologized for making her feel uncomfortable, Tina decided to sign the release.  Later, she would say that the man reminded her of her father.

The man, however, was Christopher Wilder.  At the time that he approached Tina, Wilder was already a suspect in several murders and had been placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.  In many ways, Wilder did not seem to fit the typical profile of a serial killer.  Born in Australia, he was a naturalized American citizen who had started his own business and lived what seemed to be a glamorous lifestyle.  He was a millionaire.  He owned a Porsche.  He was a race car driver who competed in races across the country.  Even with his receding hairline, he was considered to be charming and handsome.  It was only under a close examination that cracks started to appear on his perfect surface.  He had a criminal record in Australia.  His girlfriends described him as being paranoid, insecure, and abusive.  His business partners said that, despite his apparent wealth, Wilder was always one step away from financial ruin.

Because Wilder was killed by the police while resisting arrest, it’s not known how many women he murdered over the course of his six-week crime spree in 1984.  It is believed that he definitely murdered eight but the actual number is thought to be much higher.  (He’s a suspect in the disappearance of actress Tammy Lynn Lepert, who appeared in Scarface as the woman who distracted Steven Bauer while the latter should have been keeping track on what was happening with Tony’s meeting with the Colombians.)  However, he did not kill Tina Marie Riscio.  Instead, after kidnapping and assaulting her, he drove across the country with her.  After using her to lure victims in both Indiana and New York, Wilder eventually drove Tina to Boston and bought her an airplane ticket home.  While Tina was flying back to Los Angeles, Wilder was heading for Canada.  (He would be shot and killed by police near the border, in New Hampshire.)

Easy Prey follows Wilder and Tina as they drive from location-to-location.  Along the way, Tina is shown to develop a case of Stockholm Syndrome.  As much as she hates Wilder, she still fails to take advantage of many chances to escape from him.  Unfortunately, the film’s script itself doesn’t provide much insight into how this happened, beyond the fact that Wilder reminded Tina of the father who earlier abandoned her.  The film does feature two strong performances, from Shawnee Smith and Gerald McRaney.  Smith gets a a powerful monologue, in which she talks about how easy it was for Wilder to take advantage of her insecurity.  Meanwhile, McRaney plays Wilder as being a pathetic man who is desperate to convince the world that he is actually a dynamic businessman and adventurer.  If he were alive today, there’s little doubt Christopher Wilder would be on twitter, siding into people’s DMs and posting a bunch of “alpha male” nonsense.  Wilder was a monster who still feels very familiar.