Film features shockingly evil story of criminal

Featuring Zac Efron and Lily Collins, this movie focuses on the life of the mass murderer Ted Bundy.

On May 3, 2019, Netflix released the slightly controversial movie, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

The movie details the relationship between Elizabeth “Liz” Kloepfer and Ted Bundy, played by Lily Collins and Zac Efron, respectively. The film is mainly from the point of view of Liz and is heavily influenced by Kloepfer’s own novel, “The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy.” 

The movie begins at the end with Liz visiting Bundy in prison just hours before he is to be executed, asking him if he remembers how they met. We are then flashed back to when Liz and Bundy first interacted and the whirlwind romance that then ensued.

We get an interesting point of view as we see Bundy really become a part of single mother Liz’s life. 

Gradually we are brought through the many accusations and trials Bundy faced, without ever witnessing him committing the crimes. 

I thought that this was an interesting take on the story as such a vital part of Bundy is the brutal murders he committed. It plays with the idea of whether or not he really was innocent. 

Once we see Bundy convicted of his crimes, we are left kind of in limbo as he continues to proclaim his innocence. It isn’t until we cycle back to where we began that we see the truly horrifying part of who Bundy really is. 

We are brought back to specific moments throughout the movie where Liz may have suspected something was wrong with Bundy, only this time we are seeing it from his own point of view. It was utterly chilling.

The movie first sparked controversy when it’s trailer was released. Many people worried that the movie would romanticize Bundy by casting a teen heartthrob such as Efron. 

However, I think the casting of Efron was truly brilliant on the director’s part. They took a man who is seen by many as kind, handsome boy from movies like “High School Musical,” and turned him into one of the most prolific serial killers of all time.

I truly believe this was intentional, as this is sort of how Bundy used to be viewed as well. During the trials of the Chi Omega murders, young girls would come to watch Bundy out of pure fascination. Bundy coaxed many of his victims to come with him by being charming and luring them away from their friends.

Efron is regarded in many of the same ways with young girls today. The directors chose him to show that sometimes the people we should fear are the ones we trust the most.

Overall, the movie was fantastically put together. I feel that it truly encompassed Bundy for who he truly was, a manipulative, intelligent, handsome man who thought he could get away with murder.

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