Directed by:
Joe BerlingerScreenplay:
Michael WerwieCinematography:
Brandon TrostCast:
Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Haley Joel Osment, Angela Sarafyan, John Malkovich, Jim Parsons, Jeffrey Donovan, Brian Geraghty, Terry Kinney (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Ted (Zac Efron): handsome, smart, charismatic, affectionate. Liz (Lily Collins): a single mother, cautious, but smitten. A picture of domestic bliss, the two seem to have it all figured out, that is until Ted is arrested and charged with a series of increasingly grisly murders. As concern turns to paranoia, Liz is forced to consider how well she knows the man she shares a life with and, as the evidence piles up, decide if Ted is truly a victim, or actually guilty as charged. (Universal Pictures UK)
(more)Reviews (10)
Excellent work in terms of topic and screenplay. The same may be said of the two main characters, Z. Efron and L. Collins, one of whom gave a wonderfully in-depth studied performance which was almost completely flawless and the other presented a really dramatic struggle between feelings and conscience. I hadn’t heard about the real events before seeing this movie and I liked how the filmmakers left out the violent part, concentrating more on the main hero and demonstrating why he was so admired and popular. This movie really is worth seeing.
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This is an interestingly grasped and successfully made profile of a madman capable of hiding his true personality almost even from himself. The film does not show a single Bundy murder and only depicts his deceptively “normal” position. If it weren’t for two hints of his dark nature, it would appear that he perhaps wants to deny the accusations against him. Efron turns in an entertaining performance with his portrayal of Bundy’s wily adroitness as a law student in the courtroom. And it is emotional with the story of his girlfriend, torn by the inner conflict between being in love and doubts/fears that she might be wrong in believing in his innocence. Her situation is the film’s dramatic engine.
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He's young, charming, educated, handsome, and he also kills women sometimes. Ted Bundy was one of America's most terrifying serial killers, but what he was doing was long refused to be believed by those closest to him and much of the American public. And Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile shows that this is actually quite understandable... Zac Efron gives a very good performance and Joe Berlinger is quite clever at playing with the audience. Unfortunately, the film runs out of ideas somewhere in the middle and starts to become unnecessarily transparent and frankly a bit untrustworthy. Which is quite a pity.
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It is known that Joe Berlinger embarked on a long career of documentaries, in which he found himself quite well. Evil with a Human Face is still a very decent drama about one of the many serial killers in America. You just have to accept the fact that the film contains a huge amount of visibly accurate information, but also the fact that it is told like a factual book, rather than a story full of intense and movie-appropriate scenes. Still, Zac Efron is incredible and I was amazed at what he got himself into...and above all, how he pulled it off.
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Berlinger failed at this. In the documentary The Ted Bundy Tapes, he painted a very detailed portrait of a psychopath / uncertain poser / media star who perfectly enjoys the position of a manipulator. In the film, he immersed himself quite clumsily in one of the episodes from the life of the serial killer and tries to build a story whose perspective will be that of light enchantment. The film thus portrays Ted as he saw himself - as an irresistible sovereign, a romantic fugitive, or a charming star who lights up in front of the camera. Zac Efron nails this aspect of him with pleasure, which unfortunately sometimes borders on campiness (the scene where Ted escapes from the Colorado courthouse and walks down the hippie macho street is more like a B-movie comedy). The arc of the film has a clear tendency to shock by reversing the perspective in the last minutes, but it only works at the cost of a lot of cheap reduction and posturing. As a director, Berlinger is no great psychologist, and in fact the scene with the dog barking and demonic glances through the bars smells of a lack of a killer’s skills on the part of the creators. At the same time, there is no denying that the character of Liz (a victim that Ted did not physically harm) could be very impressive elsewhere... but here, she is so passive and purposeful that she cannot be taken very seriously. Bundy is a fascinating character at the very moment when he manages to penetrate behind the mask of the American dream. The documentary was able to deftly remove it, whereas the film gets a little drunk on it.
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You should definitely be prepared for the fact that the new treatment doesn't focus on Ted Bundy's rampage, but rather on its consequences, and I was very happy with it. Zac Efron has one foot in the electric chair and one foot in the Oscar, because not only does he give his best performance to date, but he will also stay in your memory for a long time. He will surprise a lot of people here with his acting qualities. The film more or less avoids violence and we follow Bundy's trials, his escape from prison and his relationship, and the most interesting thing is that his girlfriend had absolutely no idea what he was. It's got a very nice pace, a decent retro vibe, perfect courtroom scenes where Bundy confidently defends himself and downright wipes his ass with the judges, the lawyers and the whole proceedings. It's interesting that you are more or less rooting for Bundy, because he's likeable on the surface and he is very eloquent, but we all know he's a man who doesn't belong in society. The film is also decently emotional at the end and the acting is absolutely spot on. For me, a nice surprise this year, but not everyone will be happy with this version. 80%
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A bold piece of filmmaking aimed at pissing off everyone who went to see a movie about Ted Bundy. A film made from his fabricated point of view as an intelligent, young, charismatic, and most importantly, innocent handsome man who, thanks to the aforementioned parameters, uses his persuasiveness to gather fans from the ranks of violence freaks, who in turn are pinned to him by the idea of a public trial filled with lurid descriptions of the details of Bundy's actions. Acts that we, on the other hand, see virtually nothing of and for the most part aren't even mentioned throughout the film. And implies that if we have a problem with that, we might as well get in line behind the wacky fans of this murderous celebrity. In fact, the film ultimately turns its full attention at the end to the tragic figure of Bundy's girlfriend, actually his biggest victim, who has lived for fifteen years wondering who she was really hanging out with because even Ted is unable to redeem her to the last moment with the truth. Whatever that is. Berlinger's film isn't very well made, it contains some downright idiotic scenes (the dogs successfully identifying the killer), and the casting agency party that led to this cast will take at least a week to recover from, but it's a respectable treatment of a certain uncomfortable thesis that boldly identifies the very specific hypocrisy that applies to almost every one of us who saw the film. And that concept is worthy of respect in our infantile pop culture zeitgeist.
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Well, just yesterday I was complaining about the tendency to sensationalize heinous criminals on the silver screen, and here we are again. The film centers around Ted Bundy, but his crimes seem almost secondary. Instead, the creators chose to highlight how disgustingly charming that bastard appeared (particularly to women). While they weren't wrong in their portrayal, I found their approach deeply unsettling. It felt like watching a film about Josef Mengele where they focus on his exemplary family life, his appeal to women, and how dashing he looked in his SS uniform, only briefly mentioning his penchant for experimenting on people and deciding their fates by the thousands. Wouldn't that be a pleasant watch? Absolutely not. This film disappointed me primarily because it seemed to glorify this charismatic asshole (and I won't apologize for that word) who tortured and murdered women for sheer pleasure, without the film giving adequate attention to his victims. If I had known any of his victims personally, I doubt I could stomach watching this until the end. / Lesson learned: Murderers aren't rock stars; they're killers of innocent people.
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Netflix really hit the mark here. I expected it to be a more average crime show, but Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was a full-blown surprise. Zac Efron has mostly played comedic roles throughout his career, so there were some reservations about his portrayal of Ted Bundy. But he delivered an absolutely phenomenal performance. I truly did not expect that. The acting in the film is top-notch; even Lily Collins, who played Bundy's wife, performed like her life depended on it. The film doesn't focus as much on depicting individual murders but instead offers a psychological spectacle, fully showcasing what a manipulator Bundy was (in hindsight, it's incredible how he managed to sway so many fans to his side). The courtroom scenes are quite convincingly done, and I was stunned by Bundy's audacity in court. Of course, it also has its chilling moments (the scene where he confesses to his wife gave me huge chills). Solid work on all fronts. For me, it's an 8/10.
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Before watching it, I had no idea what Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was actually about. Maybe that's why I found it quite suspenseful. Zac Efron isn't one of my favorites, so it's a wonder he was able to keep my attention for the duration of the film. And not only that! He played the womanizing serial killer Ted Bundy so well that I believed in his innocence until the last moment. (70%)
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