Certificate – 15
Directed By – Joe Berlinger
Starring – Zac Efron, Lily Collins, John Malkovich, Kaya Scodelario, Jim Parsons, Haley Joel Osment
Running Time – 110 Minutes (1 Hour 50 Minutes)
Before going into to see this film, I had no real idea of who Ted Bundy was apart from hearing he was an evil shit of a human. Even though, this is going to be weird but was interested to find out more.
Joe Berlinger was the ideal person to handle this feature film after the documentarian directed and produced the Netflix series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which is series I will check out at some point.
I must stress this movie is being released in the UK on Sky Cinema and NOT Netflix. Netflix is releasing the film in the US!
What Is This Film About?
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil & Vile peers into the charismatic side of serial killer Ted Bundy (Efron) – the side he showed to friends, coworkers and eventually television audiences across the United States. He was an expert at exploiting his good looks and charming personality to win the trust of many women, including his long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer (Collins).
Is it Any Good?
It’s alright. Honestly, watch this film for Efron’s performance as you can see him charming the viewer watching the film as well as his subjects, especially the eye-opening scene in the courtroom by how many women were fangirling over this bloke.
Remember he would murder them!
The first act was actually sweet and charming in itself and the chemistry between Efron and Collins brought in the viewer.
Speaking of Collins, her arc and performance were good and you will be rooting for her. Whereas, Scodelario was the other side of the coin and was pleasantly surprised to see her pop up and bring more of a twisted chemistry with Efron’s Bundy.
However, the film focuses on Bundy and the different ways he killed these women from the awful brutality or mentally in Collins’ case.
The use of embedding real TV footage was a nice touch from Berlinger, who clearly knows what he’s talking about having spent many hours getting to know this awful bastard.
Anything Bad About The Film?
I didn’t like how the film was made.
It sounds massively harsh, but I mean it in the way that it felt like a feature film of a documentary.
Possibly a Spotlight-style where we saw the police investigating the murders, close in on Bundy and have the third act as it was would’ve been better. Because even though I might still watch the documentary, it feels like there’s no point.
Also, who’s idea was it to cast Malkovich as a Florida judge? Because as the actual TV footage from the courtroom showed he has a thick Southern accent.
Verdict
A film to watch at home with decent performances from Efron and Collins, but it isn’t anything special sadly.
The Bear Cave 