Extremely mean, scandalously bad and vile

By Rafael Motamayor

This was originally examined by the Sundance Film Festival. The film will be shown on Netflix and in some venues on May 3rd.

In the history of serial killer movies, no one has tried so hard to make us understand a man who murdered 30 women in Joe Berlinger's film Extremely Wick, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. The performances are excellent and the film tries to do something new with the kind of serial killer, but it's hard to ignore its misplaced tone and its sudden change of course in the middle of the film, even if it's in reality, an excessive comedy.

We first meet Ted Bundy in jail, waiting for the execution. Zac Efron balances youthful charm and Bundy's "charisma" while continuing to channel an evil glow in his eyes and a mischievous smile. Bundy talks with his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth "Liz" Kloepfer (Lily Collins), who seems to be as disgusted by him as she is attracted to him. From there we go back to 1969 in a college bar and meet Bundy at his peak, a guy who has all the charm (and the look) of Zac Efron, who only needs to d & # 39; a quick look and a nasty line to instantly win a single. mother Liz. This is the guy who, on a first date, prepares breakfast for Liz's baby and takes care of her while Mum is sleeping.

The filmmakers clearly tried to portray Ted Bundy about how Liz and the rest of the world saw him – the way he fooled everyone. Unfortunately, letting his character's condemnation to a sub-tone that we are supposed to guess does not effectively represent the twisted juxtaposition of a charming but clearly homicidal man. During its first half, the film seems particularly interested in exploring the idea that Ted was in fact innocent from the beginning – that he was accused of crimes. It is a bold choice, which must be navigated with elegance. But the screenplay does not put enough emphasis on the women that Bundy fooled to justify that particular direction, any more than he closes Liz's narrative, which keeps her in the dark throughout the movie. This exploration ends as we begin to approach any suspicion of character growth.

Efron effortlessly badumes the role of Bundy as he was born to play it, baduming his ways perfectly, and can even sometimes trick you into believing you are looking at the real deal. It's scary. Efron imitating so well Bundy clearly shows how Bundy could persuade so many to think that he could have been innocent from the start. Despite Efron's efforts to fully embody the psychology of the character, the film does not allow us to paint a complete picture of Ted Bundy by choosing not to show his actual murders. In the opening acts of the film, we are supposed to know Bundy only to the extent that Liz knew him at that time, which distances performance because we only see one side of him and not the complete truth of the character. This prevents Efron from fully exploring the duality and dark side of Bundy.

Once the film has decided to leave Liz's story, the story turns into a story about Ted Bundy's adventures and escapes. What began as the journey of a woman who realized that a monster was cheating on her – perhaps badogous to what the American public has experienced in her own way – turns into a comedy about a serial killer deceiving the authorities. It is only until the third act, which almost replicates the Bundy trial in Florida, that the comic tone of the film finally leaves room for a faithful portrayal of Bundy's ability to manipulate the crowds for like. And although the use of comedy to lighten the story of a serial killer on the run does not suit him, it was the only way to tell the story of the first a televised trial on national television in which a law student turned murderer had dismissed his five court-appointed members. lawyers to defend themselves.

The film also becomes more targeted because it spends the remaining time at this location and is finally a showcase for the actors. But as talented as Efron is here – especially in the hysterical decor where Bundy makes fun of his own lawyers – it's John Malkovich, Judge Edward Cowart, who steals the limelight. Malkovich is as impertinent as he is ruthless and he is the only one not to buy the act of Bundy.

Although this is probably an attempt to put us in the confused skin of the Americans at the time, Ted Bundy's unilateral romanticism, while knowing that he was fully guilty, describes him as a rock star. The director Joe Berlinger – who has a related project, Conversations with a killer: Ted Bundy's tapes, streaming on Netflix – and writer Michael Werwie decry this approach to the story of a serial killer with a soundtrack Killer and vibrant colors, all as a backdrop for a man we know is a murderer but the film continues to portray as nothing less than a saint. The filmmakers were clearly trying to comment on Bundy's American obsession and his clever ability to manipulate people, but the film eventually undermined his evil in a way that they surely had not done. Intention to do so.