Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile Review

 (A version of this article originally appeared on kernelnow.com / mynewslike.com)

In the two years since 2017s Monster Family, distributors Sky Cinema in the UK have steadily increased the frequency of their “day-and-date” original film releases. Premiering titles in select cinemas at the same time as on their movie channels, Now TV subscription and pay-to-view services, the strategy has now produced its sixth film in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile – which, in terms of both commercial and critical acclaim, is surely the most successful so far.

Presented via the power of Netflix in the US and worldwide, the film follows a key section of the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. A forewarning: there may be disappointment for those expecting gory crime scene reconstructions. This is a biopic in the most literal sense, a portrait of a man and not his acts which, though never ignored, are treated as a consequence of his mentally unstable behaviour and never the other way around. By and large, the bloodshed takes a backseat.

If looks could kill
(source: COTA Films)

Perhaps the iconic clean-cut figure of Zac Efron is the reason for this – it’s difficult to imagine audiences accepting Troy Bolton drenched in the blood of the innocent. Then again, perhaps such a handsome star was a deliberately jarring decision to highlight the opposing sides of this man’s character. Whatever the case, it cannot be denied that the former Disney star gives his everything to this performance. In so avidly fighting his own case throughout the own film, Efron’s Bundy will cause even a flicker of doubt in the most stone-faced of viewer – just like the man himself did over 40 years ago. It isn’t until his confession, comeuppance and death that the truly unsettling nature of his behaviour sinks in.

Staying away from the acts of violence is a calculated risk, inviting suggestions that the horrific nature of this killing spree is being washed over. A side-effect of the sheer number of murders is that it makes the all-female casualties feel more like statistics than victims, and it is not until a stark end title card that a substantial sense of this bloody carnage hits home. Otherwise, it is the impact on the lives directly surrounding Bundy that is examined, particularly that of Liz Kendall and Carole Ann Boone. Both are portrayed with a victim’s tenderness and a survivor’s fire by Lily Collins and Kaya Scodelario, respectively.
 

Are those that survived Bundy his more tragic victims?
(source: COTA Films)

Extremely Wicked.. expertly seizes upon the modern appetite for true-life “whodunnits” fuelled by the likes of Making a Murderer and, of course, The Ted Bundy Tapes. It shows that this film was, like those titles, intended for a streaming release in some of the low-profile locations that heists and chases take place in. However, the film manages to both ask questions of and provide a definitive answer on a man whose life and psychosexual tendencies it weaves its way through, constantly threatening to unveil the sympathetic figure he proclaimed himself to be. Admittedly, discovering this story is not an experience that will change the viewer’s life or personal viewpoint; nonetheless, it is as easy to surrender to this film as it apparently was to the man himself.

An (incomplete) list of Bundy's real-life victims