Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Netflix | Release Date: May 3, 2019
6.8
USER SCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 127 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
76
Mixed:
43
Negative:
8
Watch Now
Stream On
Review this movie
VOTE NOW
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Check box if your review contains spoilers 0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
5
eagleeyevikingMay 4, 2019
While it is engaging, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" doesn't know what it wants to be. While it aims to provide a fresh perspective of Ted Bundy by filming the biopic through the perspective of Elizabeth "Liz" Kendall, the filmWhile it is engaging, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" doesn't know what it wants to be. While it aims to provide a fresh perspective of Ted Bundy by filming the biopic through the perspective of Elizabeth "Liz" Kendall, the film abandons this approach most of the time to recreate big events that we already know without going deep into the psychology of Ted Bundy or Liz. Despite these flaws, Zac Efron is absolutely phenomenal as the serial killer.… Expand
2 of 2 users found this helpful20
All this user's reviews
6
TryASummersaultMay 5, 2019
5.8/10 Essentially a watered down glossier version of the Bundy story mostly focused on his womanizing and massive ego, and not on his actually wicked acts. The potential was blown completely with this Bundy story. It's shot well, and acted5.8/10 Essentially a watered down glossier version of the Bundy story mostly focused on his womanizing and massive ego, and not on his actually wicked acts. The potential was blown completely with this Bundy story. It's shot well, and acted mostly standard but Efron is not convincing at all in the slightest as Bundy. He does not embody the actual Ted Bundy in any aspect other than the looks. He could've at least tried to adopt Ted's dialect or personality traits in the portrayal. The soundtrack is obnoxious and the editing is way too rushed. The ending is actually very well done as they actually touch on one of his murders, but when thats the only actually wicked scene for the entire film its underwhelming. You're better off watching Berlinger's other Ted Bundy production which was excellent; The Ted Bundy Tapes.… Expand
2 of 3 users found this helpful21
All this user's reviews
6
RalfbergsNov 3, 2019
It was good movie based on real actual things, but I expected it more focus on the Ten Bundy, but this is more about (in my opinion) his wife's struggles and how many women didn't believe what he is at first. What I disliked is that theyIt was good movie based on real actual things, but I expected it more focus on the Ten Bundy, but this is more about (in my opinion) his wife's struggles and how many women didn't believe what he is at first. What I disliked is that they focused more on that but almost didn't show the harsh side of what happened and all the bad things Bundy did, and felt a bit mellowed down on that.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
JLuis_001May 16, 2019
An incredibly limited fim that cannot even be at the height of the title that carries and whose only real redeeming factor is the surprise that Zac Efron turns out to be, who really consolidate his work and yet the film never seems to be sureAn incredibly limited fim that cannot even be at the height of the title that carries and whose only real redeeming factor is the surprise that Zac Efron turns out to be, who really consolidate his work and yet the film never seems to be sure how to exploit him 100%

There was material for something much more interesting here and sadly it will ended up as a very forgettable piece.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
5
GrantD243May 12, 2019
Eh, this film provides nothing new, especially if you watched the docuseries on Bundy. It's well acted, but that's really about it.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
6
Bertaut1Jul 21, 2019
An interesting approach to the story, but the tone is poorly managed

Directed by Joe Berlinger immediately after he completed work on Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is worthAn interesting approach to the story, but the tone is poorly managed

Directed by Joe Berlinger immediately after he completed work on Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is worth seeing for Zac Efron's performance if nothing else, but is a strangely muted affair. Telling the story of Bundy from the perspective of a woman who was oblivious to his true nature is an interesting narrative choice, and had Berlinger stuck to this format, it could have made for a fascinating film. However, what begins as an intriguing insider's look at living with a killer shifts into an underwhelming courtroom drama, only returning to its original tone in the final (fictional) scene.

The film begins in 1969, the night Bundy (Efron) and Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) first met in a Seattle bar, with the duo quickly falling in love. However, six years later, when he is stopped in Utah for a minor traffic violation, he finds himself accused of a series of murders across California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Meanwhile, it becomes harder and harder for Liz to deny there's more to her boyfriend than she ever imagined.

Very loosely based on Liz Kloepfer's memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy (1981), and written by Michael Werwie, one of the biggest appeals of the movie is the casting of Zac Efron as Bundy. And it has to be said, he's excellent. Especially if you watch the film after the docu-series, you'll pick up on the depth of the performance; his every movement and gesture, the way he smiles, the way he stands, the tone of his voice, everything is perfect.

One of the film's most notable components is that, apart from one brief scene near the end, there is no depiction of violence, attempting to present Bundy not with the 20/20 hindsight of history, but with the same degree of ambiguity with which Liz would have viewed him. Instead of the nature of his crimes, Berlinger focuses, at least in the first half, on how a killer can lie and manipulate, coming across as completely normal to all who know him. Berlinger has said that the film is about the mechanics of how a person can be "seduced by someone capable of evil", and it was his intention that the audience actually like Bundy – just like Liz, he wanted them to be seduced by evil.

However, the film has a lot of problems. For one thing, because it depicts Bundy not as we now know him but as his contemporaries saw him, it means we only see the performative side, never the monstrous underbelly. Sure, this means that the film avoids exploitation, but in doing so, it could be accused of sanitisation, as the film's Bundy is a lovable rogue who bites his thumb at the system, not a murderer, a man who raped and butchered a 12-year-old child.

I understand that Berlinger wants to depict how Liz could have been blinded by devotion to a man that she thought (correctly, as it turned out) was too good to be true. But the problem is that she herself is never characterised enough for this to work; everything we learn about her is predicated on her relationship with him - there's nothing about her life prior to meeting him, for example. Additionally, the focus shift as the film transitions from Liz as subjective focaliser to a more objectively focalised courtroom drama makes very little tonal sense. It's almost as if Berlinger loses interest in Liz when the sensationalist trial begins. This transition reduces Liz to a cycle of watching the trial, crying, doubting his guilt, and drinking, as she's effectively stripped of what little agency she had in the first half.

Another problem is that we learn nothing new about Bundy himself; there's nothing about his childhood, for example, or how he got away with the murders for so long, whether he really loved Liz, or if he genuinely lacked the ability to feel empathy. Along the same lines, we learn nothing about the victims. This was also a problem in the docu-series, but it's far more pronounced here, and because of this, the decision to put the names of his known victims on screen at the end of film is unearned, crass, and meaningless.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is by no means a bad film. But it could have been so much better. It initially looks at how evil can hide in plain view, creeping into our lives under the guise of normalcy, but Berlinger allows this theme to recede into the background as he hands the narrative over to Bundy. If this was supposed to be Liz's story, Berlinger takes his eye off the ball badly. And although the film certainly doesn't sympathise with him, and although the decision not to show any of the murders is commendable, the fact is that, yet again, Ted Bundy has become very much the star of his own show.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
6
MrScallopsJul 3, 2019
Zac Efron makes the performance of his career in a film that struggles to find its own identity and never reaches its full potential.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
5
afairreviewerMay 15, 2019
It was one of those movies that you know is kind of boring while watching, but you've invested too much interest to turn away. Ted Bundy alone is an interesting character so there's that. There is no part of the movie that lives up to theIt was one of those movies that you know is kind of boring while watching, but you've invested too much interest to turn away. Ted Bundy alone is an interesting character so there's that. There is no part of the movie that lives up to the title other than a very brief exchange between Ted and Liz at the very end. Unless the title bears the "irony" of such a wicked, evil and vile person not seeming to be any of those things on the outside. I don't like irony so there's my personal bias. It's not clear what the were going for as far as story-telling, but it was entirely too careful with getting into these "wicked and vile" crimes - it seems they were trying to keep as much of his actual crimes out of the film as possible, but most people familiar with Ted Bundy are probably anticipating a good deal of those gruesome details in a film about him. Maybe they were avoiding depicting the "murder porn" that Ted himself claims influenced his actions, if I'm to give the benefit of the doubt. Truthfully I just think they were trying to make the film palatable (boring) to all audiences. With all of its failures, I can say that Zac Efron carried the entire film with an excellent performance of a man who staunchly denied and deflected from his heinous crimes until the very end, pretending to be truly innocent and flabbergasted at the accusations of what he clearly and prolifically had done, and was able to pull so many in on his side through his charm and humor, even the judge who sent him to death with what seemed like sympathy on Ted's behalf. If this is how it all transpired, even I'm kind of surprised that he got the death penalty. Good on that particular Florida jury for finding him guilty. But I digress, Zac Efron's performance really overpowered everyone else and he was interesting to watch if anything. He's certainly proven himself to have range as an actor and I hope to see more.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
More From This Movie

52 Critic Reviews

6.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL