LINCOLN, MONT. — Kaczynski conducted a bombing campaign between 1978 and 1995 that killed three people and injured 23 people. Hugh Scrutton, Thomas Mosser, and Gilbert Murray were killed in the attacks, while sixteen attacks were linked to the case during that period.

The first known attack involved a device mailed to Northwestern University that exploded when opened by a campus security officer, causing minor injuries. In November 1979, a device placed aboard an American Airlines flight caused smoke inhalation injuries and forced an emergency landing. The FBI used the case identifier UNABOM, short for 'University and Airline Bombing,' before Kaczynski’s identity was known.

In 1995, Kaczynski sent a manifesto titled 'Industrial Society and Its Future' to newspapers. The document was approximately 35,000 words long, and the FBI supported its publication to help identify the author. Linda Patrik recognized the writing style in the manifesto as similar to letters from her brother-in-law.

David Kaczynski contacted the FBI after comparing the manifesto to earlier writings by his brother. David Kaczynski and Patrik hired a private investigation team that gathered linguistic evidence, and David provided the FBI with letters and documents written by Ted that matched the linguistic style of the manifesto. Federal agents arrested Kaczynski at his cabin near Lincoln, Montana, on April 3, 1996.

Investigators found bomb-making materials, a typewriter, coded diary entries, approximately 40,000 pages of handwritten notes, and a completed bomb at the cabin. Kaczynski pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A psychiatrist diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia while he was in prison, and he died in 2023 at age 81 while incarcerated.

Henry Murray worked with Christiana Morgan at the Harvard Psychological Clinic. Murray and Morgan developed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The full Harvard file on Kaczynski remains classified.

Jacob Tremblay portrays the younger Kaczynski in the film. Russell Crowe portrays Harvard professor Henry Murray. Shailene Woodley portrays FBI agent Joanne Miller.

Annabelle Wallis portrays Christiana Morgan. Matthew Kevin Anderson portrays David Kaczynski. Tanya Van Blokland portrays Linda Patrik. Alexander Ludwig portrays a character named Leo. Michael Buie portrays Thomas J. Mosser. The screenplay was written by Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves.

The character Joanne Miller in the film is fictional. The character is likely based on real FBI agent Molly Flynn. Metz is Danish.

Metz directed the films "Borg vs. McEnroe" and "All the Old Knives." Tremblay previously starred in the films "Room" and Wonder. Crowe previously starred in the film A Beautiful Mind. David Kaczynski appeared in the Netflix docuseries Unabomber: In His Own Words. Thomas J. Mosser was an advertising executive killed in 1994. Kaczynski lived in a remote cabin near Lincoln, Montana, without electricity or running water. Kaczynski was born in Chicago in 1942. Kaczynski entered Harvard University at age 16. Kaczynski earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Michigan. Kaczynski became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley at age 25. Kaczynski resigned from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969. Kaczynski wrote a 20-page letter to his brother David in 1989 criticizing David's decision to marry and move to New York state. Kaczynski instructed his brother David to only write him in case of a family emergency after their 1989 correspondence. The production did not speak directly to David Kaczynski.

"We decided to explore Ted Kaczynski's time at Harvard, as it stood out as a formative and fragile period in his life," director Janus Metz said. "We wanted to understand who this young man was up until he began his descent into a darker and deadlier path." Metz added that he remembered the case from his youth. It was still on the news when I was a teenager, in Denmark, he said.

Metz described Kaczynski's role in the studies. He a guinea pig in these experiments in mind control and brainwash at Harvard at very young age, Metz said. Actress Annabelle Wallis discussed the academic figures involved.

"Christiana was the co-creator of the Harvard school of psychology where the tests on Ted Kaczynski took place," Wallis said. "Murray and Morgan were collaborators at the time and together devised the highly controversial stress tests used on Harvard students." Metz clarified the scope of the narrative. I don't think the Murray experiments in themselves turned Ted Kaczynski into the Unabomber," he said. "There are many factors in Ted Kaczynski's life that contributed to his evolution." He noted the production's distance from the family. "We never spoke to David, as such," Metz said. "As much as the story between David and Ted is an endlessly fascinating and tragic story, and heartbreaking story, it wasn’t the main focus of our film." He defined the central dynamic. "This is a film that’s about the agent that caught Ted, and about the relationship between Ted Kaczynski and Henry Murray," he said."

Why It Matters

The film frames the Harvard psychological experiments as a formative influence on Kaczynski, linking mid-century academic research to later violent acts. The experiments involved 22 undergraduates and employed stress techniques that would not meet current ethical standards for human subject research. The full Harvard file on Kaczynski remains classified, leaving questions about the extent of institutional disclosure regarding the 1959–1962 studies.

Kaczynski’s bombing campaign spanned the period from 1978 to 1995, resulting in three deaths and 23 injuries before his arrest in 1996. The identification relied on linguistic analysis of a 35,000-word manifesto, a method that connected his academic writings to the crimes. The case illustrates the intersection of psychological research, familial recognition, and federal investigation in resolving a long-term domestic terrorism inquiry.

Timeline

Ted Kaczynski was born in Chicago in 1942. Ted Kaczynski entered Harvard University at age 16. Ted Kaczynski became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley at age 25.

Ted Kaczynski resigned from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969. The first known Unabomber attack involved a device mailed to Northwestern University that exploded when opened by a campus security officer, causing minor injuries in 1978. Ted Kaczynski conducted a bombing campaign between 1978 and 1995 starting in 1978. In November 1979, an Unabomber device placed aboard an American Airlines flight caused smoke inhalation injuries and forced an emergency landing. Ted Kaczynski wrote a 20-page letter to his brother David in 1989 criticizing David's decision to marry and move to New York state.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that the film focuses on specific relational dynamics. "This is a film that’s about the agent that caught Ted, and about the relationship between Ted Kaczynski and Henry Murray," director he said. The film 'Unabomber' explores the controversial psychological experiments conducted on Ted Kaczynski when he was 16.

Details regarding the scope of the Harvard studies have been clarified. Ted Kaczynski was one of 22 undergraduate students who participated in the Harvard psychological experiments led by Henry Murray between 1959 and 1962, where he was assigned the code name 'Lawful.' Ted Kaczynski spent 200 hours participating in the Harvard experiments, which involved repeated psychological stress sessions designed to observe how individuals responded under pressure. Ted Kaczynski was one of 22 Harvard students selected for Henry A. Murray's 1959–1962 psychological experiments, which involved essays on personal philosophy and intense interrogations under the guise of 'stress research'. Primary source: fbi.gov

The study was conducted by Harvard psychologists led by Henry A. Murray and involved 22 undergraduates, according to ahrp.org. David Kaczynski, Ted’s brother, provided the FBI with letters and documents written by Ted that matched the linguistic style of the Unabomber manifesto, which played a critical role in identifying the author. The Harvard experiments conducted by Henry Murray involved intense psychological stress techniques, including 'vehement, sweeping, and personally abusive' interrogations of participants based on their essays. Primary source: fbi.gov