Review of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) by Paulhuntertenor — 21 Jul 2019

I knew very little about the Ted Bundy case prior to watching this film, and what I saw shook me up a little bit. Many of the lower reviews on here are due to the movie's fundamental premise: it's the Ted Bundy story but told through the eyes of Elizabeth.

Bundy, played charmingly by Efron, is still the main character. What this film is not is a gore fest to make Ted Bundy even more despicable. As an objective piece of filmmaking, regardless off one's opinions on the situation, this movie is well done.

Within a mere 15 minutes, I didn't even see Zac Efron anymore. I didn't necessarily see Ted Bundy, either, but I did see a very charming and manipulative person. Upon finishing the movie, I briefly looked up a "fact check" to see how much the movie exaggerated, and it (allegedly) has no embellished details except for the window fog-writing.

I found this film hard to watch, because Efron is genuinely charming and convincing in his adamant indignation. After watching the real Ted Bundy trial footage, Efron doesn't wholly capture the uncanny "off-ness" of the real man.

Something about seeing and hearing the actual Bundy feels untrustworthy; Efron's character is a little too convincing in his proclaimed innocence. As the story is told from the biased perspective of an ex-fiancée, this makes sense, and it proves disturbing.

Part of us always wants to believe the conspiracy, fight back against logic and reason, and this film exploits that dark urge to the audience's discomfort. Overall, I think the movie deserves a high rating because it's well executed, but I don't quite know if I recommend it.

Bravo... now I need to go watch cat videos...