Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Netflix really hit the mark here. I expected it to be a more average crime show, but Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was a full-blown surprise. Zac Efron has mostly played comedic roles throughout his career, so there were some reservations about his portrayal of Ted Bundy. But he delivered an absolutely phenomenal performance. I truly did not expect that. The acting in the film is top-notch; even Lily Collins, who played Bundy's wife, performed like her life depended on it. The film doesn't focus as much on depicting individual murders but instead offers a psychological spectacle, fully showcasing what a manipulator Bundy was (in hindsight, it's incredible how he managed to sway so many fans to his side). The courtroom scenes are quite convincingly done, and I was stunned by Bundy's audacity in court. Of course, it also has its chilling moments (the scene where he confesses to his wife gave me huge chills). Solid work on all fronts. For me, it's an 8/10. (11/12/2022)

Well, just yesterday I was complaining about the tendency to sensationalize heinous criminals on the silver screen, and here we are again. The film centers around Ted Bundy, but his crimes seem almost secondary. Instead, the creators chose to highlight how disgustingly charming that bastard appeared (particularly to women). While they weren't wrong in their portrayal, I found their approach deeply unsettling. It felt like watching a film about Josef Mengele where they focus on his exemplary family life, his appeal to women, and how dashing he looked in his SS uniform, only briefly mentioning his penchant for experimenting on people and deciding their fates by the thousands. Wouldn't that be a pleasant watch? Absolutely not. This film disappointed me primarily because it seemed to glorify this charismatic asshole (and I won't apologize for that word) who tortured and murdered women for sheer pleasure, without the film giving adequate attention to his victims. If I had known any of his victims personally, I doubt I could stomach watching this until the end. / Lesson learned: Murderers aren't rock stars; they're killers of innocent people. (27/03/2022)

This is an interestingly grasped and successfully made profile of a madman capable of hiding his true personality almost even from himself. The film does not show a single Bundy murder and only depicts his deceptively “normal” position. If it weren’t for two hints of his dark nature, it would appear that he perhaps wants to deny the accusations against him. Efron turns in an entertaining performance with his portrayal of Bundy’s wily adroitness as a law student in the courtroom. And it is emotional with the story of his girlfriend, torn by the inner conflict between being in love and doubts/fears that she might be wrong in believing in his innocence. Her situation is the film’s dramatic engine. (22/01/2020)

A bold piece of filmmaking aimed at pissing off everyone who went to see a movie about Ted Bundy. A film made from his fabricated point of view as an intelligent, young, charismatic, and most importantly, innocent handsome man who, thanks to the aforementioned parameters, uses his persuasiveness to gather fans from the ranks of violence freaks, who in turn are pinned to him by the idea of a public trial filled with lurid descriptions of the details of Bundy's actions. Acts that we, on the other hand, see virtually nothing of and for the most part aren't even mentioned throughout the film. And implies that if we have a problem with that, we might as well get in line behind the wacky fans of this murderous celebrity. In fact, the film ultimately turns its full attention at the end to the tragic figure of Bundy's girlfriend, actually his biggest victim, who has lived for fifteen years wondering who she was really hanging out with because even Ted is unable to redeem her to the last moment with the truth. Whatever that is. Berlinger's film isn't very well made, it contains some downright idiotic scenes (the dogs successfully identifying the killer), and the casting agency party that led to this cast will take at least a week to recover from, but it's a respectable treatment of a certain uncomfortable thesis that boldly identifies the very specific hypocrisy that applies to almost every one of us who saw the film. And that concept is worthy of respect in our infantile pop culture zeitgeist. (23/08/2019)

You can tell Joe Berlinger’s documentary background really shines through. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a solid drama about one of America’s notorious serial killers, though it leans heavily on factual accuracy over cinematic flair. The film feels more like a well-researched book brought to life than a suspenseful thriller. But even with that, Zac Efron is absolutely remarkable in the role. I was genuinely impressed with how he took on such a challenging character and nailed it. (14/12/2021)