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Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a 2019 biographical crime thriller starring Zack Efron as the infamous Theodore Bundy, the serial killer who killed and raped multiple young women in the 1970’s and Lilly Collins as Bundy’s former girlfriend of five years. The film draws its title from Judge Edward D. Cowart, who sentenced Bundy to death in 1979, claiming his acts of violence were ‘extremely wicked, shockingly evil, [and] vile’.
What most interested me about this film is how Director Joe Berlinger, who also directed the Netflix documentary series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, chose to use the perspective of Elizabeth, Ted’s ex-girlfriend. Countless documentaries and films have been made about Bundy and from having an interest in serial killers and exploring the minds of psychopaths, I have watched these shows as they focus on his violent acts of crime, painting him as the cruel and uncaring criminal that he was. However, what most interested me about this biopic was the lack of these scenes depicting him with his true horrific nature, but rather through Elizabeth’s and much of the public’s eyes seeing the mask Bundy hid himself under.
Zac Efron’s casting, scrutinised by some as glorifying Bundy and making him seem like a heart throb, was in my opinion clever, as it depicts how Bundy was able to fool most of America. Efron perfectly conveys just why Bundy was able to get away with over 30 killings, through his charm and charisma. Seeming like a smart and upstanding citizen, Bundy was able to manipulate the public into believing his innocence, painting himself as a kind, handsome and bright figure. This even brought ‘fans’ of young women, the exact demographic of people Bundy chose to brutally murder, to his court trials to support him.
Throughout the film, besides from small glimpses of Bundy’s killing activities and the narrative resolution, showcase Bundy’s fake persona and clever manipulation for women to trust him, evidenced in Bundy’s ability to involve himself in Elizabeth’s and her young daughter’s lives. This therefore makes the ending even more shocking, when Bundy confesses his crimes to Elizabeth, much like the public at the time, viewers in 2019 can experience the shock and surprise of the revelation of Bundy’s true character, creating an even more tense and horrific atmosphere than having the whole film convey his dark and homicidal nature.
I would recommend this film as it gives a different viewpoint on Bundy, exploring just how he was able to get away with murder for so long. Efron’s acting is convincing and well thought out and definitely showcases his talent as an actor. The film helps to understand Bundy and the severity of his nature as he was able to fully convince and hide his true identity, completely masking his murderous intent, which elicits an even more frightening experience when watching the film as killers are able to fit in and hide themselves into society so well they are able to get away with horrendous crimes.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a biopic following the experiences of Elizabeth Kendall, who was in a long-term relationship with infamous serial killer Ted Bundy and believed in his innocence for years. The film is directed by Joe Berlinger, who also created the popular documentary Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix. Having not watched the documentary or ever reading articles about him, I went into Extremely Wicked with the sole knowledge that Bundy was guilty of a multitude of disgusting crimes against women. The most impressive and notable aspect of the film is Zac Efron's performance, which plays out as a toxic combination of charm and evil. Throughout the film, Efron depicts Bundy's likeability and seemingly honest innocence perfectly, but lets the audience have a glimpse of the man's true nature in riveting moments such as practising his gleaming smile briefly in a mirror. Everyone gives excellent performances, especially John Malkovich as the unbelievably sympathetic judge. Lilly Collins puts a huge amount of effort into her role as Elizabeth, but it isn't enough to rescue the poor writing the character suffers from. The film claims to be from Elizabeth's point of view, but she is barely even featured in the film and is only shown every now and again with a drink or cigarrete in her hand. Therefore, it feels as if we are actually viewing Extremely Wicked through Ted's eyes, which is odd as he is shown to be innocent until the very end and if it is in his perspective, it would be obvious that he was guilty. I wish it had focused more on Elizabeth, because it was horrifying to see Bundy as though he did nothing wrong, therefore we could have sympathised with her more and understood why the world was taken in by him. However, the film is engaging and tense throughout, and despite the repetitive nature of Ted being arrested and taken into prison again and again, it is never boring. The cinematography is excellent, and the constant focus on the colour yellow is a clever reminder of how cowardly Ted Bundy was for refusing to admit to his crimes and face the consequences. None of the crimes are actually shown during almost the entirety of the film, which makes one of the final scenes in which Elizabeth and Ted speak through a glass window and a brief glimpse of a murder is finally shown incredibly suspenseful. It left me feeling uneasy for a significant amount of time after the credits and was the perfect climax, even if it is not a true retelling of the events. In conclusion, Zac Efron’s performance, the building tension and the fascinating nature of the events carry the audience’s focus through the film, but the narrative issues prevent Extremely Wicked from being as good as it could have been.
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