Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

(Netflix Streaming, December 2020) As someone who thinks we should de-platform serial killers, I had substantial objections to Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a film portraying the antics of serial killer Ted Bundy through the perspective of one of his girlfriends. The standout reason to watch the film is probably Zac Efron’s performance as Bundy – the former Disney teen idol has spent much of the past decade moving as far away from his previous persona as possible, and one hopes that this process has reached a terminus of sorts by portraying one of the most infamous serial murderers in recent history. Efron’s casting is made all the more intriguing in that Bundy was, according to most accounts, quite a charismatic figure – it takes someone with Efron’s magnetism to portray such a historical figure, and he manages it well. The film itself is a jumble of short scenes moving through Bundy’s life – veteran filmmaker Joe Berlinger can’t resist a few stylistic effects, he’s stuck with a somewhat average script about a reprehensible subject that does not measure up to its wild title. The result isn’t essential by any means – you will probably sleep a little bit easily tonight without being reminded of Bundy’s numerous gruesome murders. And I’ll be happy if we don’t get other movies portraying serial killers as entertainment figures.