Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile Movie Review

I got the chance to see Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile at the Atlanta Film Festival. Before I get into it I do have a confession: I am one of those horribly annoying people who love anything and everything true crime. I binge Netflix true crime shows like nobody’s business. I devour podcasts like Serial left and right. There’s a new movie about Ted Bundy? I’m there.

Joe Berlinger, who is known for his work in the true crime department, directed this one. His name should sound familiar to those of you who love true crime because he also directed Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which is on Netflix right now. I highly recommend watching that first, especially if you aren’t super familiar with the Ted Bundy case. It helps to provide a lot of context for this movie. Okay enough preamble, let’s get into it.

The movie mainly focuses on Ted Bundy (Zac Efron) and his girlfriend Liz (Lily Collins). We start at the beginning of Ted’s killing spree in the 1970’s. Although that’s not what we see. Berlinger chooses to focus on Ted and Liz’s relationship and it’s eerie watching Ted interact like a normal person with both Liz and her daughter. The first half of the movie was slow and I didn’t feel as engaged as I did with the second half.

When Ted gets arrested, things start to pick up and then you get to see the trial. If you know anything about the Ted Bundy case, Berlinger sticks pretty tight to the facts, even using direct quotes from the trial (you’ll recognize these, especially if you watch The Ted Bundy Tapes). The movie is helped enormously by the acting performances. I was blown away by Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. He was incredibly believable and surprised me with how well he mimicked Bundy. Lily Collins plays his girlfriend Liz and puts in a very compelling and empathetic performance. There’s even an appearance from Haley Joel Osment! I didn’t even recognize it was him so prepare yourself for that.

Berlinger does a great job of showcasing how Ted fooled people into thinking he was a stand up guy. Having the movie revolve around Ted and Liz’s relationship provided a different vantage point to view the very well known story of Ted Bundy. I might be a little biased, but I enjoyed this one. If nothing else, see it for Zac Efron’s performance. It’s amazing to see the transformation from his humble beginnings as Troy Bolton to his realistic performance as Ted Bundy.

Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You love true crime
2. You want to learn more about the Ted Bundy case
3. You want a fresh perspective on a well publicized case