Remember 2017's My Neighbor Dahmer, starring Ross Lynch as famous serial cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer? Well, it appears as if we're in another cinematic universe, because Netflix has presented us with yet another serial killer biopic. The subject this time around is Ted Bundy, and the movie is called Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. Whether or not there's a second comma is apparently up for debate, but I put it in there because it's more grammatically accurate. Anyway, Extremely Wicked was written by Michael Werwie and directed by Joe Berlinger. It was was based on the book "The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy", by Elizabeth Kendall (one of the people in this movie). This isn't Berlinger's first bout with Bundy, he also gave us Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes earlier this year (which is also on Netflix). Joe was the right man for the job when it came to the biopic. This movie stars Zac Efron as Bundy, Lily Collins as Liz, Kaya Scodelario as Carole Anne Boone, among others. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26th of 2019, but the rights were acquired by Netflix. They then released the film for viewing on May 3rd of 2019. How is it, you might ask. Well, that's a rather difficult question to answer. Spoiler alert, I guess.
The best thing this movie has going for it is the cast. Zac Efron doesn't have the best facial resemblance to Bundy, but, like Ryan Gosling in First Man, his performance more than made up for it. I already knew Efron was a competent actor from films like The Lucky One or The Greatest Showman, but he more than exceeded by expectations in this movie. He was perfectly cast, full stop. He nailed Bundy's charm and charisma like nobody's business, and he was also really creepy when he wanted to be. I have nothing but praise for his performance. Lily Collins did as great job portraying Liz. As the film progresses, it becomes more and more apparent to Liz that Bundy isn't the sweet man she initially thought he was, and Collins sells it superbly. The character herself got a little predictable here and there, sure, but Lily's performance never dropped in quality no matter what happened. Kaya Scodelario was good as Carole Anne, I just wish we had seen more of her. She has one scene in the first act (which really didn't do much in terms of building her up), and then she becomes the main love interest out of nowhere after the trials start. True to life, yes, but it didn't feel earned in the movie. The cast members with smaller roles did good, too. John Malkovich made for a fun, if a little stocky, Judge Cowart during the trials. Jim Parsons was shockingly great as Larry Simpson, although it's difficult to look at him and not think of Sheldon Cooper. He still gave a very good performance, though. James Hetfield, the frontman of Metallica, was fine for his first time acting, no complaints there. A few off line deliveries, but, again, it's his first time acting. He gets a pass. Haley Joel Osment was very good as Jerry (one of Liz's coworkers), although the fact that Jerry isn't a real person was a little odd. I'm not sure why some biopics about real people like to invent characters for the same of drama (Bohemian Rhapsody did it with Mike Myers' character), but it's not a bad addition in this case. They could've very easily just called him Hank and kept it true to life, though. The whole cast was excellent, but Zac Efron really stole the show. Do I smell Oscar buzz in his future?
If the main character weren't Ted Bundy, I could see this is a genuinely great movie. However, I cannot look past this movie's attempts to humanize a monster. Now, in some ways, I understand why the story was presented like that. The first act is told through Liz's perspective, who did see Bundy as just a normal guy. That's why we get early scenes such as him cooking breakfast for his family, playing in the snow with his daughter, dancing with his girlfriend at a bar, and other normal things that a lot of us have done. He's presented as the everyman because the thought that such horrible and atrocious acts could be performed by such a seemingly average man is very frightening, and I can only imagine the horror that Liz must've felt in real life when she first found out. In the movie, we do see Liz reacting to Bundy's crimes, yes, and I'll get to that in a moment, but the problem that I found with how the story is presented (which admittedly is purely personal) is that, at the end of the day, it's still Ted Bundy. I have a hard time feeling sympathy for Ted Bundy. I feel bad for Liz, her daughter, and her friends, but not for Bundy. Not even a little bit. Now, I'm not saying that it's impossible for me to be invested in an evil character. Quite the contrary, actually. I find Jigsaw, Dexter, Thanos, or people like them to be interesting and complex villains, whether it be because of how the thing they're in presents them, how they're portrayed, or their backstory. In the case of Ted Bundy, the only thing he really has going for him is Zac Efron. I felt like, as far as how Bundy was presented, he was downplayed quite a bit. For example, his necrophilia isn't even hinted at. Not even once. We get a passing statement saying he forced himself onto a few of his victims, yes, but they were all alive. Bundy was also famous for having sudden mood swings, which we're kinda hinted at when Liz is visiting Bundy in jail on the day of his execution (which, by the way, didn't actually happen in real life, so hooray for artifical drama). There were also several incidents of Bundy attempting to hurt/kill Liz in real life that were omitted from the film, to the point where Bundy explicitly says "I would never hurt you" a few times. Yes, it's really intriguing to see the softer side of such a notoriously hated psychopath, but it stopped being interesting about halfway into it. I feel like this is due to a noticeable shift in tone I felt about halfway through the film. It went from Liz telling her side of the story to Bundy living his. Now, don't take this the wrong way, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Putting the spotlight more on Bundy allows Zac Efron's performance to really shine. I'm not too sure if that's what the filmmakers were going for, it's just how I saw it. Maybe I'm alone in having that feeling. I probably am.
When the big, climactic trials finally do happen, it's shot and edited like a sitcom. Everyone's cracking jokes left and right, even the judge. After John Malkovich enters the movie, it stops being a serious biopic and turns into The Ted Bundy Show. I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, though, cause it's true to how Bundy was in real life. Him acting as his own attorney, and not really taking the case seriously because he has himself convinced that he's innocent, is true to life. It's also really fun to watch, because Efron is clearly giving his all. Him and Malkovich play off of each other very well. The problem I have with it is the aforementioned shift in tone that I noticed. These goofier, more comedic-feeling trial scenes aren't like what the first act was at all. That kind of mood swing was a little jarring, to me. I initially took issue with a lot of the dialogue in the trial scenes, until the end credits happened and we saw actual footage of Bundy going through the trials in real life. The judge calling Bundy a "bright young man" actually happened. Bundy confessing to stealing a comic book when he was five actually happened. The way Bundy heckled Sheriff Ken Katsaris while he was reading off Ted's indictment actually happened. The parallels are there, and they're done very well. I admit that it's very entertaining to watch, but I still can't deny that the change in tone really bugged me. I'm not sure if other people feel this way, but I sure do. The courtroom scenes felt like something out of a sitcom from the Eighties, which is such a shame because I know how true to life it is. The actors are portraying the events accurately and they're doing a great job, but it all feels very campy to me. I don't know how much of the dialogue is real and how much of it was written specifically for the movie, but a lot of it is really narmy. As fun as it was to see Efron and Malkovic play off of each other, I simply don't believe that Bundy and the judge would be cracking jokes like old college friends. Maybe it actually happened like that, I don't know. It wasn't shown in the end credits, and I was unable to find good footage of it. His "You're on thin ice, and ice doesn't last long in Florida" line was funny, but I half expected a laugh track to happen after he said it. I expected the same for a lot of the dialogue during the courtroom scenes, because it felt like it was being filmed in front of a live studio audience. In Bundy's case, it can be argued that he's just putting on a show for the cameras. His behavior is excusable when you think about it like that, so why, in that case, would the judge also be acting like a cartoon character? I'd expect at least him to be serious about the matter at hand, but nope. He's spouting off one-liners, too A lot of the people in those scenes are, and it was really weird. I'm not expecting it to be perfectly straightforward all the way through, but I also wasn't expecting it to turn into Family Matters halfway through it. That is all.
I will admit, though, despite the glaring flaws I found in the movie, it absolutely nails the atmosphere. This is a movie centered around a notorious serial killer and, as such, there's an aura of uneasiness around the whole thing. Not to sound repetitious, but a lot of that is thanks to Zac Efron. He really does nail Bundy's more sinister side when he has to. Despite how goofy Bundy can get at times, I do really like how realistically he's portrayed. We see him jumping off of his prison bed to try to strengthen his feet, which is paid off when he leaps out of the window in one of the trials. That's a clever payoff to an unusual build-up, and the "Ohh" moment is a lot of fun. The reveal that Liz was the one who called Bundy's name in to the police in the first place was great, but I wish it had been set up a little better. Ted Bundy is a creepy guy with weird behavioral traits, and almost none of them are explored in the movie. We see Bundy staring at Liz under the bedsheets with a flashlight, but it's brushed off as him just not wanting to disturb her while he's reading (which Liz initially believes). Almost every other strange tic Bundy had is omitted from this movie. His key collection, carrying a hatchet under his car seat, telling her to pretend to be dead when they have sex, none of it is explored. Clearly, it's meant to make Liz slowly picking up on Bundy's shtick more chilling, which it does, but it also makes the reveal that she was the one who reported him as a suspect in the first place come out of nowhere. It's a great moment, don't get me wrong, and finally seeing her tell Bundy what she did was immensly satisfying, but, in my opinion, it ultimately just didn't feel earned. Still, though, the last scene between Liz and Bundy is very good. It's shot well, it's extremely well-acted, the score is nice. Bundy writing "hacksaw" into the moisture on the glass is such a good moment. It doesn't matter that it didn't actually happen, I don't mind the addition. Really, a lot of the reason why this movie works is because of Zac Efron giving it 110%. I'm sorry if me singing his praises is getting annoying, he was just so good! I was interested to see how he'd play Bundy, and he completely blew me away. If for no other reason, I can at least recommend this movie just for Efron's brilliant performance.
On a purely technical level, this is a very competently made movie. As I said before: Take away Bundy, and you're still left with what could have been a truly great film. The cinematography is superb. Everything from close-ups of people's faces to wide-shots showing entire rooms look great and do a lot to add to the mood of the scenes, whatever they may be. I loved when the camera slowly zoomed in on Malkovich's face while he delivered Bundy's death sentence/said the name of the film. This movie used "emotional close-ups" beautifully when it needed to, and it did a very good job of expressing a character's emotion without having that character explicitly say how they are feeling. Here's an example: After Bundy is arrested for "running some stop signs" and he finally comes back home, Liz confronts him about it. We as the audience know the real reason why he was arrested, but Liz doesn't yet. He starts feeding her a bunch of lies, and she eventually just accepts it, but you can see it on her face that she doesn't quite believe it. This is the moment that starts the rift between them, and you can see it on Liz's face. I gotta once again give major props to Lily Collins for her performance, especially in this scene. I wish the rest of the movie had been presented as well as that scene was. This movie also had a good soundtrack, both with it's original score and with it's use of licensed songs. The score itself is chilling and worked really well in some of the more sinister scenes, although I'm really getting tired of the violin sting cliche we hear in everything nowadays. It plays in this movie when Bundy confesses to Liz one-on-one and it almost ruined the scene. Aside from that, the score was great. The licensed songs are nicely used, too, for the most part. "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful playing when Bundy first meets Liz, for example, is a great way of showing the audience that Liz has met the person she feels is the one. "The Four Horsemen" by Metallica was used nicely (even though I'd imagine it was only used because James Hetfield is in the movie), Beethoven's 9th Symphony is used well. I have no complaints about the soundtrack. I also really enjoyed the costume and set designs, it helped sell the period piece aspect of the film quite well. The dialogue was okay. A bit cringy at times, but it gets a pass because a lot of it is things that were actually said in the real trials. Still felt a little odd to hear at times, however.
On a purely technical level, this is a very competently made movie. As I said before: Take away Bundy, and you're still left with what could have been a truly great film. The cinematography is superb. Everything from close-ups of people's faces to wide-shots showing entire rooms look great and do a lot to add to the mood of the scenes, whatever they may be. I loved when the camera slowly zoomed in on Malkovich's face while he delivered Bundy's death sentence/said the name of the film. This movie used "emotional close-ups" beautifully when it needed to, and it did a very good job of expressing a character's emotion without having that character explicitly say how they are feeling. Here's an example: After Bundy is arrested for "running some stop signs" and he finally comes back home, Liz confronts him about it. We as the audience know the real reason why he was arrested, but Liz doesn't yet. He starts feeding her a bunch of lies, and she eventually just accepts it, but you can see it on her face that she doesn't quite believe it. This is the moment that starts the rift between them, and you can see it on Liz's face. I gotta once again give major props to Lily Collins for her performance, especially in this scene. I wish the rest of the movie had been presented as well as that scene was. This movie also had a good soundtrack, both with it's original score and with it's use of licensed songs. The score itself is chilling and worked really well in some of the more sinister scenes, although I'm really getting tired of the violin sting cliche we hear in everything nowadays. It plays in this movie when Bundy confesses to Liz one-on-one and it almost ruined the scene. Aside from that, the score was great. The licensed songs are nicely used, too, for the most part. "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful playing when Bundy first meets Liz, for example, is a great way of showing the audience that Liz has met the person she feels is the one. "The Four Horsemen" by Metallica was used nicely (even though I'd imagine it was only used because James Hetfield is in the movie), Beethoven's 9th Symphony is used well. I have no complaints about the soundtrack. I also really enjoyed the costume and set designs, it helped sell the period piece aspect of the film quite well. The dialogue was okay. A bit cringy at times, but it gets a pass because a lot of it is things that were actually said in the real trials. Still felt a little odd to hear at times, however.
All in all, Extremely Wicked was a good movie that could have been a great movie had it existed under a different concept. I'm fine with it being about Bundy, but I wish the concept had been presented a little bit better. It's no surprise at this point that I'm conflicted with this movie. On one hand, technically speaking, this movie works quite well. On the other hand, it leans a little to heavily into humanizing, borderline romanticizing Ted Bundy for my tastes. I get that that was the point, but it still felt a little weird. I know I'm saying that a lot, but it really does bug me. I still had fun with the movie, though. I'm gonna give Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile a 5/10. It's not great, but it's also not bad. It's somewhere in the middle. There's things in the film that I both admired and took issue with, so 5 seemed like a good score for it. Thanks for reading, I hope I didn't offend too many people. Don't kill me, Zac Efron.
