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Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile
A bone-chilling performance by Zac Efron playing infamous serial killer Ted Bundy elevates the 2019 Netflix film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile above the average movie biopic level.
This movie takes a different tack in its look at the crazed serial killer as it actually starts in the middle of his story. As the story begins here, Ted has taken a break from his killing spree and is perhaps trying to start a new life through a relationship with a young, working single mother named Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) who has graciously welcomed Ted into her life and the life of her daughter and is convinced that she's in love with the man until his past begins to catch up with him and Ted is arrested for one of his numerous crimes but Liz refuses to believe that this man that she and her daughter could have fallen in love with the man who did things of which he's been accused.
The irony of the whole situation, is that Liz originally tipped off the police to Ted's whereabouts but soon regrets what she did when Ted proclaims his innocence as loud as anyone can hear. But when Ted becomes wanted in more than one state and actually jumps out of a courthouse window in order to escape custody, it becomes impossible for Liz to turn her back on who Ted is, unfortunately, it doesn't change the fact that she is still in love with the man.
This movie is based on a book by the real Liz Kendall called "The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy and was adapted for the screen by Michael Merwie. It is to be applauded for its original take on a look at Ted Bundy that actually starts in the middle of his story and doesn't really include a lot of the gore involved in his story like the 1986 mini-series The Deliberate Stranger where Mark Harmon played Bundy. This is a more human look at Bundy, a look at Bundy that is rather one-sided, but does provide a look at the real power behind Bundy, which was a toothy smile, a slick and oily charm, and an undeniable intelligence that had a lot of power over women and allowed him to ingratiate himself to his victims.
Though I liked the approach to Bundy's story this movie took, I was bothered by the fact that it made Liz Kendall and the rest of Bundy's victims look like complete idiots. In this contemporary world of politically correctness and the "Me too" movement, it was aggravating watching Liz and his last girlfriend Carol Boone believe everything this guy was telling them. The guy escaped from custody twice, something an innocent man wouldn't do and yet these women just continued to believe whatever this guy told him. The lid on the coffin of Bundy's credibility here came during a scene where Carol comes to visit him while he's on the phone trying to get in touch with Lily. I did love the way this story made clear that the power Bundy had was only over women.
Zac Efron's surprisingly solid performance in this complex role really did raise the bar on this one, though. Wish I could say the same about Lily Collins' lifeless performance as Liz, a performance that never engaged me to the character. John Malkovich was terrific as the judge though as was Jim Parsons as the prosecuting attorney, but Efron's performance is what makes this movie worth investing in.
A bone-chilling performance by Zac Efron playing infamous serial killer Ted Bundy elevates the 2019 Netflix film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile above the average movie biopic level.
This movie takes a different tack in its look at the crazed serial killer as it actually starts in the middle of his story. As the story begins here, Ted has taken a break from his killing spree and is perhaps trying to start a new life through a relationship with a young, working single mother named Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) who has graciously welcomed Ted into her life and the life of her daughter and is convinced that she's in love with the man until his past begins to catch up with him and Ted is arrested for one of his numerous crimes but Liz refuses to believe that this man that she and her daughter could have fallen in love with the man who did things of which he's been accused.
The irony of the whole situation, is that Liz originally tipped off the police to Ted's whereabouts but soon regrets what she did when Ted proclaims his innocence as loud as anyone can hear. But when Ted becomes wanted in more than one state and actually jumps out of a courthouse window in order to escape custody, it becomes impossible for Liz to turn her back on who Ted is, unfortunately, it doesn't change the fact that she is still in love with the man.
This movie is based on a book by the real Liz Kendall called "The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy and was adapted for the screen by Michael Merwie. It is to be applauded for its original take on a look at Ted Bundy that actually starts in the middle of his story and doesn't really include a lot of the gore involved in his story like the 1986 mini-series The Deliberate Stranger where Mark Harmon played Bundy. This is a more human look at Bundy, a look at Bundy that is rather one-sided, but does provide a look at the real power behind Bundy, which was a toothy smile, a slick and oily charm, and an undeniable intelligence that had a lot of power over women and allowed him to ingratiate himself to his victims.
Though I liked the approach to Bundy's story this movie took, I was bothered by the fact that it made Liz Kendall and the rest of Bundy's victims look like complete idiots. In this contemporary world of politically correctness and the "Me too" movement, it was aggravating watching Liz and his last girlfriend Carol Boone believe everything this guy was telling them. The guy escaped from custody twice, something an innocent man wouldn't do and yet these women just continued to believe whatever this guy told him. The lid on the coffin of Bundy's credibility here came during a scene where Carol comes to visit him while he's on the phone trying to get in touch with Lily. I did love the way this story made clear that the power Bundy had was only over women.
Zac Efron's surprisingly solid performance in this complex role really did raise the bar on this one, though. Wish I could say the same about Lily Collins' lifeless performance as Liz, a performance that never engaged me to the character. John Malkovich was terrific as the judge though as was Jim Parsons as the prosecuting attorney, but Efron's performance is what makes this movie worth investing in.