Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

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.

As many others have stated, this isn't a film about Ted Bundy on one of his murdering sprees. This is about Bundy himself and how he made his way in the world. Someone said at one point they found themselves rooting for him. I never did, but that's because at my age, it's hard to fool me after all the phonies I've met.

Some people will be disappointed because we didn't get to see all the horror he visited on women, but it was a refreshing change of emphasis here.

To see the young women salivating over him in the courtroom, cheering him on, was both shocking and expected. Real footage was used. I remember women doing that over the Menendez brothers.

Part of it is the old takeoff on a Geraldo Show - "Men in Prison and the Women Who Love Them," a phenomenon that happens time and time again. With Bundy, because he was particularly good-looking, it was an even stronger reaction.

Zac Efron is a favorite of mine -he resembles my favorite classic film star, Tyrone Power, and I thought he captured the charm and personality of a whack job really well. Lily Collins is terrific as his girlfriend. Both of these actors are growing into exceptional performers.

In the end "Extremely Wicked" makes a sad statement. Good looks. Confidence, and charm will bring you a long way in this world. We've seen it too often. It's time to start looking at people's souls. The external is, after all, only that.

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

I love the cast but I think if you want to watch the movie dont watch the Ted Bundy tapes 1st. Watch them after then you will like the movie. As I believe it is told mostly from Elizabeth's point of view. I saw the tapes first then the movie. So I kept scrutinizing the whole time or waiting to see scenes that didnt come up here.

Otherwise great work . Zack and Lilly were great as usual.

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.