Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile Review
NR
Voltage Pictures
1 Hr and 50 Minutes
Dir: Joe Berlinger | Writer: Michael Werwie
Cast: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jeffrey Donovan, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Jim Parsons, John Malkovich, Haley Joel Osment
1969. Ted (Zac Efron) is crazy-handsome, smart, charismatic, affectionate. And cautious single mother Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins) ultimately cannot resist his charms. For her, Ted is a match made in heaven, and she soon falls head over heels in love with the dashing young man. A picture of domestic bliss, the happy couple seems to have it all figured out … until, out of nowhere, their perfect life is shattered. Ted is arrested and charged with a series of increasingly grisly murders. Concern soon turns to paranoia—and, as evidence piles up, Liz is forced to consider that the man with whom she shares her life could actually be a psychopath.
Zac Efron has always been the hot beefcake actor everyone knows and loves. He’s shown a great deal of range over the years, especially with his knack for comedic roles. Hell, he even returned to musicals in 2017. Efron’s performance as Ted Bundy will make you look at him in a way you’d never expect. Not only does Efron embody the physical look of Bundy, but he also subtly delivers the intricate similarities of a psychopath in his facial expressions. Serial killers tend to have a demented smile and by God does Efron have it. He has always had a charismatic energy, but with this role, that charisma and charm is cranked to 100%.
Hopefully his performance lingers throughout the year. While you know Bundy was guilty (it can be identified by his motions and movements), his irresistible energy keeps you thinking otherwise. A lot of the notions I spot within Bundy in this film remind me of the Fyre fest documentaries where founder/con man Billy Mcfarland is interviewed and he pathologically lies throughout with the mentality that he’s innocent. Because of that damn charm, not only do you buy into his bullshit, but you also almost empathize for him.
He leaves the audience to come up with their own opinion and, while you are on the fence, your feelings coincide with those of Liz (the film is based off of her novel). The film is told through her POV and when the focus is set on her personal journey, you hop onboard with her. The primary anchoring heft of the narrative is her confliction because this woman is the only one he truly loved and spent many years with. Nobody would want to believe that their loved one is a serial killer, especially when their name is on national display and wanted signs. The film does a great job stimulating that idea as it allows you to attach yourself to Liz who is conflicted between believing the man she loves is innocent and coming to terms with the fact of how despicable he is. Lily Collins, who portrays Bundy’s longtime girlfriend, delivers an incredible dramatic performance that is captivating. Throughout the film, she suffers for the worst and she physically shows it. Even when he’s incarcerated and far from home, he would always find a way to contact her, which mentally fucks her up. Liz’s character arc is strong, for she is truly the only character that you sympathize with.
The approach director Joe Berlinger takes with this narrative is smart and refreshing, for he leaves Bundy’s level of innocence open to interpretation before delivering the truth about what he really did. Aforementioned, you never actually witness Bundy’s crimes and the story is based on his personality alone, which is the way Liz experienced the whole situation. She is the audience’s avatar so while she is at war with herself questioning Bundy’s innocence you’re doing the same right alongside her. The film even has some stylish choices that are engaging, such as how Berlinger incorporates real archival news reports of Bundy’s crimes as part of the narrative structure. He even incorporates them as a decent use of juxtaposition. It’s a style similar to Adam McKay’s (as of recent) and is done far more effectively. You can tell the director did his full research, considering he also directed the newly released Ted Bundy Tapes for Netflix. The original script by Michael Werwie, who wrote this in 2012, has a fast-paced flair while often times taking real transcripts during the testimonies and hearings, which is pretty impressive.
During the first 30-something minutes of the film, the narrative is very incohesive as it time jumps over several years without fully elaborating on the whereabouts of Bundy after he was caught. The editing is hella choppy and doesn’t really find its footing until the midpoint.
For this being a story that takes place over the span of several years, there is a lack of aging for nearly all of the characters. There was a progression to Bundy’s facial features over the course of his incarceration, but you never really see that transformation with Efron… like, at all.
While the film is told from Liz’s angle, it ultimately deviates from that towards the final act where it does get comedic, disrupting its initial tone. While it is entertaining as new faces are introduced, such as Jim Parsons, John Malkovich, and Kaya Scodelario, the indulgences begin to glow. They do make for some of the best scenes of the film though, especially when Efron is butting heads with Malkovich.
First and foremost, whoever edited the trailer for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile needs to get fired. The trailer makes this entire movie look like Vice with its dark comedy. That is not the case at all. The film is a full-on crime drama without having to show any of Bundy’s crimes. While most movies about serial killers or other infamous criminals would present these terrible criminal acts, Berlinger cleverly deviates from that for the better. What you have present is a character study where it focuses on Bundy’s domesticated life with his girlfriend Liz and her daughter. Through Liz’s POV, we follow this charismatic and charming man who seems normal on the exterior but is evil on the inside. It doesn’t romanticize him either. Hell, people were romanticizing him during his court case. They even address how girls would romanticize Bundy (which was oddly true) and attend the meetings only so they can see him, which is one of several reasons why Efron was cast. I watched some of his court trials and heard his testimonies and he does have charm. Why not depict that when that is exactly who Ted Bundy was? Joe Berlinger doesn’t take his side at all. Even towards the end, he wholeheartedly says,
Give this film a chance, it won’t disappoint.
Taking a dramatic approach focusing on the characteristics rather than the crimes, Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is an entertaining and thought-provoking crime story propelled by fantastic performances from Lily Collins and Zac Efron.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 77%
Super Scene: Juxtaposition of Ted’s testimony.
