Watching Ted Bundy’s Netflix documentary and learning about Zac Efron’s then to-be-released portrayal of the famed serial killer came pretty close together time-wise for me. And when I heard of the hype surrounding the trailers and questionable editing, I knew I had to watch and compare. Serial killers are so interesting to me. Picture this — a man (or woman) who can set so much fear into the world that they become legendary. A real-life monster. Their motives and methods of “work” are enough to be studied by people around the world decades — sometimes even centuries — after the fact. This is not to say they should be loved or idolized in any way, just that there is something innately fascinating about them.
Ted Bundy is no different. He was a literal lady-killer with a body count that grew more and more gruesome as he focused his rage on co-eds across the US. And being only 30 years past his execution, the terror he caused is well within the memories of our parents and our parents’ parents. It’s no wonder he’s as “popular” now as ever. And Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile seemed like a thought-provoking take on the Bundy story, compared to the documentary.
Most of the fuss I heard involved aesthetics and mood. “Zac Efron looks too much like Ted, he scares me now.” “The trailer music sounds like a jammin’ rock concert.” “They made Bundy hot and loveable.” While I found these all to be correct, I don’t necessarily think they were problems. Actors portraying real people should look and act like that person. The music choices reflected the times and his life seen through family and friends’ eyes. And it’s a well-known fact of Bundy’s prowess with the ladies, allowing him to kill so easily. To me, this was a delightfully unusual take on true crime that allowed the viewer to see and understand the mindset of someone not privy to our current knowledge of his crimes (to an extent) while not taking away from the monster he was. We see Ted struggle with his love life because of an insatiable appetite for pain, torture, and murder. All of that wrapped up in an extremely narcissistic package.
What I liked most was seeing and hearing about his murders without actually seeing them, i.e, through newspapers and broadcasts. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of blood and gore, but the recentness of the case may have made that option a bit upsetting for the families involved. Not only did we see Ted’s incessant fight for a freedom he did not deserve, we saw the descent into madness of his closest allies. We see the crimes from many angles. And we see the sometimes slow realization that Ted may not be the nicest guy you know. I won’t give out any specific details, but hindsight is always 20/20.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile was also a sobering movie. It would bring you up with action and funny dialog, but bring you back down with real autopsy and crime scene descriptions and pictures of the victims. Extremely Wicked doesn’t ever lose sight of the fact that Bundy’s legacy isn’t just him — it’s them too. It was an important reminder to the viewer that these women were taken before their time and should be the people you remember most from the film.
The entire time, I had my eyes on the screen. At no point did I feel bored or lose interest. The filmmakers were smart to use pieces of real-life footage and photos throughout the movie and into the credits — this made me very excited, as I had seem a lot of them before in the Netflix documentary.
I would describe Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile as a sort of “crime horror lite,” where we get the details without seeing them (though I do wish we could have gotten a little more). It’s a perfect, entertaining movie for those interested in serial killers, those interested in true crime and the justice system, those interested in history, documentary and real-life portrayals, and anyone at all who likes a bit of action, suspense, and drama cooked in with their horror.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile is a great, fast-paced movie whether you like Ted Bundy or not. If he hasn’t cemented his place in murder history by now, this movie is sure to make that happen.
