Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

There's something about serial killers that we as an audience find undeniably fascinating. I don't really know what it is, other than putting yourself in a world that 99% of us will never come close to. Ted Bundy's story is among America's most notorious, vile, evil, and wicked. However, the film never dives deep enough to give the audience that type of reaction. And you can make the argument that doing so would be exploitive and off putting, and your more than likely right, but I expected to be more unsettled by Zac Efron's turn as Ted Bundy. The last 20 minutes are really well handled though, especially as Lily Collins' 'Liz Kendall' finally begins to invite us into her psyche, but perhaps all too late. Perhaps a story like this does ultimately work much better in a TV series/Documentary format. - i.e. the Netflix one earlier this year.

6.4/10

Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy's story told from the perspective of his long-term girlfriend, which means we see no murders and no dark side to Bundy's affable nature. It works as a demonstration of how many people couldn't believe such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer of young women, but it also feels like something of a whitewash. It's riveting stuff, though, and Efron gives a career best performance to date - which isn't exactly the highest of hurdles, but shows promise for the future.

Before watching 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' I knew of Ted Bundy, but I didn't know any details or really have any information or knowledge about his crimes or him as a person. I would suggest that the more you know about him, the less you will enjoy this film. Or at least you will have to enjoy it on a different level. For me this film did something I didn't expect it to do - it made me almost like Bundy. And it also (at least from the point of view the film was coming from) made me question his guilt for a large part of the runtime. This was a quite masterfully put together film.

Firstly, the performances are outstanding across the board. This is the best performance I have ever seen from Zac Efron. As a comedic actor he does very little for me, however this film was proof that as a serious actor he can carry a film entirely on his own. Also Lily Collins impressed me immensely once again. She had already blown me away in 'To the Bone', and once again here (admittedly I didn't actually recognise her due to the normal weight she had in this film) she was captivating to watch every time she was on screen. The final scene these two share together is some acting of the highest quality.

This is not a film that is trying to shock you with grisly murders and over the top characters. It is something very different to that indeed. In fact in terms of action there is almost none, however the 110 minute runtime flies by. The pacing is exquisite, mostly because the dialogue is so well written. I'll be honest, this film caught me off guard by how good it was. If you're on the edge about seeing it, please do. You'll be very happy you did.

By now, people know about Ted Bundy and what a monster he was. But people who are saying this movie is boring, I believe they are missing the point. It's not about the Gorey details of his crimes, it's about Bundy's relationship with people and how manipulative he was.

I am a true crime fan and have always considered myself "too smart to fall for such evil", but I have to admit, there were times when I found myself rooting for Ted Bundy and then realized what I was doing. If you let yourself be fully submerged in the movie and toss out any expectations and what you think you know about Ted Bundy, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you are able to feel about someone who was a living nightmare. It made me realize why so many women could have actually fallen for Bundy's tricks.

People forget that Ted Bundy had a plea bargain for only life in prison with no death penalty. He refused it at the last minute which shocked the judge. I still like the 2002 Bundy film with Michael Reilly Burke who also did a great portrayal of Bundy. This is Zac's serious role for once and shows he is a great actor unlike some of his poor comedies.