The Zac Effron-led Extremely Wicked humanises, glamourises and adds to the legend of the notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. You could bring up the names of Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer or Ed Gein in conversation with a group of film lovers or pop-culture fiends from anywhere around the world, and it is likely you'll see delighted faces, all ready to indulge in an intense discussion. This says as much about our fascination with serial killers as it does about how the pervasive American pop culture has become the vernacular of the global populace. Films (from Pyscho to The Silence of the Lambs to Zodiac) and TV series (from Dexter to True Detective to Mindhunter) have been generously feeding the public's seemingly ravenous appetite for the macabre for decades. Be it the thrill of the chase or the latitude to indulge in our most vengeful fantasies in controlled conditions, the serial killer drama continues to attract large audiences. Like it did at Sundance Film Festival 2019 with the highly anticipated premiere of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Joe Berlinger's darkly comic portrait of Ted Bundy begins with the incredibly charismatic serial killer (played by Zac Effron) and single mother Liz Kloepfer's (Lily Collins) meet-cute at a Seattle bar in 1969. They hit it off instantly and though she invites him in to her house, he doesn't push her for sex. The next morning, Liz wakes up to see him in the kitchen in her apron making coffee and breakfast and holding a large knife in his hand. This draws out more than a few chuckles in the audience, who can see past this gentlemanly persona. Seeing Bundy in an intimate domestic setting when you're perfectly aware of his vile crimes does make for an oddly amusing juxtaposition. But that's what Berlinger hopes to highlight — serial killers are not necessarily Freddy Krueger-like monstrous-looking boogeymen. They look just like everyone else and Bundy was able to lure his victims because of his disarming charm and good looks. When Bundy isn't being a good boyfriend, he's out killing women in the most gruesome manner. When law enforcement finally closes in, their domestic fairy-tale life is shattered as Bundy is arrested on a series of rape and murder charges. Bundy maintains his innocence and convinces Liz to stand by him. However, as the evidence and the charges begin to pile up, she is forced to see beneath his handsome, affable facade and consider the possibility that he could be a split personality. While most films about serial killers explore their motivations and modus operandi with graphic scenes of their sadistic exploits, Berlinger shows the other side — how they can be leading perfectly normal lives. Extremely Wicked does not showcase the misogynistic fury carefully hidden underneath Bundy's suave law student facade. It instead reduces its focus to his life just before his capture, his prison escapes and the highly theatrical murder trials. It also takes a superficial look at how his creepy charm and media sensationalism earned him a throng of female supporters, who were obsessed with him even if they all didn't entirely believe him to be innocent. It is disconcerting to see them all entranced by Bundy, only because he didn't look “like the type to kill somebody,” Zac Effron is more than convincing as Bundy but the film's limited focus means we don't see Bundy's more chilling, unhinged avatar. As Michael Fassbender showed with Steve Jobs, you don't need to look exactly like the character you're portraying as long as the film has a tightly structured narrative and an engaging script. Extremely Wicked would have been a much more fascinating and insightful film if it had better explored Lily Collins' character arc in the second half, rather than repeatedly showing her smoking and swigging down bottles as she watches Bundy's trials on television. Berlinger shows Bundy to be a pretty sympathetic and innocent figure right until the final scene where he confesses to Liz that he is in fact a) extremely wicked, b) shockingly evil and c) vile. While Extremely Wicked doesn't exactly glamourise Bundy, it lets you entertain the thought that he could be innocent of the brutal murders of at least 30 women. This could leave some with an uncomfortable sense of complicity. And we're all guilty for not only binging on serial-killer fiction — in whatever medium available — but also for turning them into celebrities. When films try to understand their motivations and explore their personal histories and/or troubled childhoods, they’re still only adding to their legend. Rating: ★★1⁄2 This review was first published after the screening of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile at Sundance Film Festival, 2019. The film will premiere on Netflix on 3 May. (Also read — Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes review — A compelling but sketchy portrait of a psychopath)<doc-sep>What if someone you loved, someone you thought you knew, someone who seemed so charming and caring, turned out to be an absolute monster? Would you immediately believe it – or would you deny the horrible truth with every fiber of your being? It’s hard to know the answer to that question if it’s never happened to you. An outsider might assume that accepting the truth would be cut and dry. But life doesn’t work that way. And the truth can be a slippery thing. For four years, Ted Bundy cut a bloody path across America, brutally murdering young women in unspeakable ways. He did it brazenly, not even bothering to use a pseudonym when approaching potential victims in public. He was so entirely sure of his own charm that even when he was captured, and the evidence was stacked against him, he seemed absolutely certain he’d be set free. After all, who could believe a man like Ted Bundy could be a serial killer? That’s the question at the heart of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a portrait not just of Bundy, but of the people around him – the people who failed to recognize his true, terrible nature. Extremely Wicked takes a unique approach to the concept of a serial killer movie. As the early half of the movie unfolds, director Joe Berlinger and writer Michael Werwie seem to be asking: what if Ted Bundy really was innocent? What if this was all some sort of horrible mistake, and Bundy was being wrongfully accused? It’s an audacious concept, and it might not go over so well – especially since we, the viewers, know that Bundy was indeed guilty. But Extremely Wicked isn’t meant to be from our point of view. It’s not even meant to be from Bundy’s. Instead, it’s trying to tell the story of Elizabeth Kloepfer, Bundy’s longtime girlfriend who had the wool pulled over her eyes for so long. Berlinger isn’t suggesting here that Elizabeth was utterly clueless. Instead, he’s making us understand why it took so long for her to accept the truth. Ted was just too charming, too likable, and yes, too handsome. Bundy is played by Zac Efron, and while the actor is a little too good-looking to be playing the character, he nails down the part in an absolutely eerie way. It’s a transformative performance – Efron takes on Bundy’s mannerisms perfectly, to the point where it no longer feels like we’re watching Efron – we’re watching Bundy resurrected from the grave. Efron has been doing good work in so-so films for a while now, but here, he gives the best performance of his career. He’s matched at every turn by Lily Collins, who plays Elizabeth Kloepfer. Collins has the less showy role – after all, Ted is walking, talking charisma – but she brings a remarkable amount of inner turmoil to the part. We can feel her anguish as she struggles to deal with the many, many accusations against Ted. As Extremely Wicked unfolds, we never see Ted committing any of the murders he’s accused of. They happen offscreen, and it’s hard to reconcile the charismatic young man with so many heinous crimes. Ted professes his innocence at every turn, and he’s so convincing in his excuses that it really does start to seem like he’s being railroaded. He’s not, of course. And here is where Extremely Wicked runs into problems. The movie can only play up the potential innocence angle for so long, at which point it starts to turn into something entirely different. It stops being a story about Elizabeth, and turns into a story about Bundy. This switch in narrative creates tonal problems, as Berlinger often goes for comedy – which seems all wrong for this type of story. There are also an abundance of needle drops that feel pull the viewer directly out of the action at every turn. Yet Berlinger’s direction is also sharp, and he has a knack for making mundane moments suddenly disturbing, like when Ted and Elizabeth visit the pound to adopt a dog, and things don’t go according to plan. As Bundy moves through the legal system, Elizabeth grows more and more distant from him, causing Ted to find a new woman to manipulate – old flame Carole Ann Boone (Kaya Scodelario). Scodelario is the weak link in an otherwise strong cast – her performance is too broad, too over-the-top. She seems like she’s auditioning for Saturday Night Live rather than playing a real-life figure. It doesn’t help that the script seems to be presenting Boone as an absolute dummy for not realizing Ted was guilty, while being sympathetic to Elizabeth. Why not present both as smart women who were fooled by this serial killer’s charm? The fact is, Boone never resonates as a character. The film should’ve stuck entirely to Elizabeth’s POV – that’s where the heart of Extremely Wicked really lies. It’s strange that Berlinger and company never seem to realize that. This should’ve ultimately been the story of Elizabeth Kloepfer, and her journey to reclaim her life after being manipulated for so many years. Instead, Ted Bundy steals the show. It’s as if just like his real-life victims, the very film itself was unable to resist Bundy’s charms. /Film rating: 7 out of 10<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Dateline’s long-running slogan “Don’t watch alone” has seemingly inspired some copycats, according to TV watchers. Streaming service Netflix is promoting its new series on serial killer Ted Bundy with the tagline “Don’t watch it alone.” And cable channel ID just put out a new print ad with the message “Don’t worry: You’re not alone,” boasting that ID is the No. 1 network for mystery and suspense. Dateline’s currently on its 27th season, and is TV’s No. 1 Friday news magazine show. A TV insider huffed to Page Six: “Netflix and ID certainly didn’t think of those taglines alone!” Meanwhile, the first trailer featuring Zac Efron as Bundy was released Friday for “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” following its showing at Sundance and the release of Netflix’s “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” which documents the infamous killer’s crimes, as well as his trial, escapes from prison and ultimate execution. “Extremely Wicked” is said to be told through the eyes of a girlfriend, Liz (Lily Collins), a single mother who had no idea what her boyfriend was capable of until he was arrested as a murderer.<doc-sep>Bundy, a murderer and rapist who confessed to killing 36 women and may be responsible for the murder of upwards of 100 people, is notorious for not only his heinous crimes bu t his "charm" and good looks. That a cold-blooded killer could project anything appealing is chilling, of course, but some people couldn't help but share just how "hot" the serial killer looked in the doc Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.<doc-sep>
A stellar cast is about to bring one of history's best-known stories of a prolific serial killer to the big screen. If you are obsessed with true crime, you need to watch Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile, which tells the horrific tale of Ted Bundy's life, predominantly through the eyes of his long-standing girlfriend. Trust me — just watching the trailer will send shivers down your spine. But when is Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile out in the UK? Update: On April 3, it was confirmed that Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile will be in theatres and on Sky Cinema from May 3. While the film is being distributed by Netflix in the U.S., it will not be available to stream on the UK version of the site, the Evening Standard reports. Earlier: The new biopic recently premiered on 27 Jan. 2019 at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S., Variety reports, and, if the first reviews are anything to go by, the hype surrounding this film was totally justified. Sadly, however, the Mirror has reported that there is currently no confirmed UK release date for Extremely Wicked. The film has not only achieved critical acclaim for the all-star cast, but also the unique way it tells the Bundy story. Most of Extremely Wicked is told from the perspective of Bundy's girlfriend Elizabeth (Liz) Kloepfer (played by Lily Collins), the Guardian reports. This story is fascinating for any true-crime nerd. Handsome and charismatic, Bundy didn’t look or act like the stereotypical image of a serial killer, and he used this to fool a lot of people for a long time. Bundy "stalked victims in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-1970's [and] terrorized several university communities, selecting coeds for abduction from campuses at night or crowded parks in daytime when their defenses were lowered in familiar settings," the New York Times reported after his execution in January 1989. At the time of Bundy's death, investigators suspected that he had murdered "30 or more young women across the nation," according to the newspaper. Gripped yet? I know I am. Three decades after his death, it is Zac Efron that will be playing the role of Bundy in Extremely Wicked. This is a pretty big leap from High School Musical and Baywatch, and Efron told Variety that it was the complex character of Bundy that attracted him to the film. The actor said: "This movie was really about a human being, somebody that perhaps I would have been friends with. And a love story from a very unique perspective. I’ve never seen that before. It’s intriguing to me. I think it’s more psychological and even more kind of a mindf**k.” Director Joe Berlinger spoke to the LA Times about the role Bundy played in making true crime the entertainment medium that it is today. In an on-screen interview, Berlinger said: "Bundy was the 'big bang,' in my opinion, of our current obsession with true-crime programming ... Bung made serial murder live entertainment for people ... You can trace a line right from the Bundy trial (which was the first time that cameras were allowed into a court room), you can trace that line to the OJ Simpson trial in '95, when the 24-hour news cycle kicked, [there were] lots of cable stations. And, boom, today we can’t seem to get enough true crime.” I can’t wait to see how Berlinger, Efron, and Collins bring the Bundy murder trial to the big screen. While there is no news when Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile will be released in the cinemas in the UK, you can do a little bit of research in the meantime. As NYLON reports, Berlinger was the director and executive producer of Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a documentary series currently available on Netflix. Conversations With A Killer uses "audio snippets of Bundy himself," as well as "interviews with a Greek chorus of people who had interactions with him in one way or another" to piece together his story, NYLON reports. Incredibly interesting, but also spine tinglingly spooky, I wouldn’t recommend you watch the documentary alone.