Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
There is some fine, even excellent work, done by Zac Efron as Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Taking its title from Judge Edward Cowart's post-sentencing remarks to one of America's most notorious serial killers, this drama from documentarian Joe Berlinger is certainly a risky proposition. Some audiences may take issue with Berlinger's approach in humanising or even glamourising a rapist and murderer; others may find that tactic to be the precise and correct one for it demonstrates not only how there are monsters amongst us disguised as everyday, normal people, but also how there is an inherent and disturbing fascination with such monsters.
There were killers before Ted Bundy and there were also killers who became infamous during the media age but, where someone like Charles Manson looked like how most people imagined killers to be, Bundy was an altogether different incarnation. Handsome and charismatic and studying to be a lawyer, he was the kind of man you dreamed of meeting. Indeed, single mother Elizabeth Kendall (Lily Collins) must have felt as if she'd struck gold when she met Bundy at a college bar. She was even more impressed when he wasn't scared off at the mention of her having a child; the fact that she would wake up the next morning to see him making breakfast and tending to her child only served to further seal the deal.
What Kendall didn't know and what she would soon discover much to her disbelief that Bundy was about to be accused of a number of horrific crimes. Women were being attacked and murdered with alarming regularity and the area was engulfed in fear. Could it really be possible that Bundy is behind all this? Bundy maintains that he's innocent, that it's all one big set-up and, though there are gnawing doubts, Kendall can't help but believe him. Audiences may have a tough time swallowing Kendall's gullibility, but Berlinger's intention here and in most of the film is to highlight how difficult it is to reconcile the man you know or think you know with the man whose crimes you are only being told about. The fact that Berlinger deliberately chooses not to show any of the killings only emphasises this disorientation.
Nearly as disturbing as hearing the gruesome details of Bundy's crimes is observing how women remain enthralled despite all better reason. They would show up at his trials and swoon as if he was a rock star. One former girlfriend, Carole Anne Boone (Kaya Scodelario), would remain by his side throughout his trial and even become pregnant with his child. It's baffling to be sure and, if there's a weakness to be found with the film, it's that we never truly understand why women like Kendall or Boone would remain with Bundy. Yet, even that can be overlooked because of the strength of Efron's portrayal. The actor, who has been quietly proving himself as one of the most versatile around, genuinely astounds with a masterfully controlled and calibrated performance. There's not a hint of malevolence, but rather both the confidence and desperation of a man out to fool the world and keep up appearances.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Directed by: Joe Berlinger
Written by: Michael Werwie; based on the memoir The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall
Starring: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Jim Parsons, Haley Joel Osment, Terry Kinney
