Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

2.5/5

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile brings to life the true and disturbing story of serial killer Ted Bundy, who was responsible for the brutal murders of over 30 women across multiple states of America during the 1970s. The feature is led by director Joe Berlinger, who has a clear fascination with the character and subject matter. He also directed Netflix’s documentary ‘The Ted Bundy Tapes’.

Zac Efron once again proves his versatility, with a show stopping lead performance as the infamous serial killer. However, he may be one of the few components that keeps the film from falling completely flat.

In fact, much of the film passes by feeling as clunky and cumbersome as its title. There is a glaring lack of directorial vision, with unnecessary back and forth time leaps and a continuous jump between character perspectives which creates jarring tonal shifts. By the time the credits roll round, you will have picked up multiple themes the feature started to explore but never delved into deeply enough to receive gratification from any of them.

Overall, a fascinating subject matter and a strong leading performance means there is some enjoyment to be had with Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. However, a lack of focus or audacity to explore its central ideas will likely leave you rueing over a huge waste of potential.