Review of 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile'

Netflix has become so popular that they had started making their own movies such as All the Boys I've Ever Loved and other fun nonsensical movies. Finally, Netflix has released the movie titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile a movie that was about one of the most horrendous serial killers out there. The movie was so captivating and it terrified me in ways I thought could never happen. It was not a thriller, but it was psychologically hideous. Ted Bundy was one of the worst serial killers that had ever exist—however, his charm and wit had ladies falling for him from left to right.

Spoilers are present in this article!

The movie shows clips from the past and jumps to the present, but it is done in an excellent way because you still understand where in the story it is taking place. Netflix had taken clips from the news stories about Bundy, which is what made the movie feel so real. Then, they show some snippets of this guy playing along with a small little girl and he was making her laugh and having fun with her. His love interest had no idea what he was capable of. Lily Collins falls into a sort of depression when he is arrested because she blames herself for turning him in, even though she had definitely done the right thing. Some critics and reviews may see the film as the director/producer to glorify this toxic individual, but I feel that he showed who Bundy really was. Zac Efron was convincing in his acting. He can still flash a handsome High School Musical smile that makes you believe that the character was not guilty. Even though I know that Ted Bundy was far from being a saint, I wanted to believe that he was a good person and that's what Zac Efron succeeded to achieve.

There are certain times in the movie where you see Ted Bundy glancing at Lily Collins and it makes you wonder "will she be next?" and the whole movie it makes you nervous because he keeps calling her up, pretending like nothing is the matter.

When the credits rolled, I found myself having goosebumps and not the good kind. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms stood up on end as I watched this person. They had real clips of Ted Bundy talking and smiling and pretending to be not guilty. The film showed snippets of news stories of all the crimes he has committed. For those that did not know who Ted Bundy was, it shows that he was a real person.

Ted Bundy had kidnapped and killed a little girl. He had also raped and killed a 12-year-old, which is what led to his execution in Florida. The character Molly was left alone with Ted on many occasions and it shows that Lily Collins felt grossed out by the fact that she had left her daughter alone with him after she had learned the truth.

In the last scene, we see a charming man turn into a vile creature. Lily asks him "How did you do it?" after many times of repetition. He finally lifts a finger and writes the word "hacksaw" on the prison window. You see the darkness in Ted Bundy's eyes and that's when you feel the chills. They show the woman that was attacked, you see his beetle car and you see a bloody hacksaw proving what Ted had done. The movie comes to a close. Once the audience sees that all that time it was him, they roll credits and show the real Ted Bundy and the tapes that were recorded.

Zac Efron was afraid of actually playing the character. "Once I found out about him, I was more scared," claims Zac Efron. It was not one of those "hack and slash" movies, which is what the movie could have been. Instead, the director took it a different way. Ted Bundy was worldly, known for his charm and how he kept escaping over and over again from jail and running from the law.

I was expecting the movie to be violent. However, as stated above, the director took this situation to a whole different level. A wimp such as myself was able to sit down and watch it.

Zac Efron put on a believable front for playing Ted Bundy. The fact that Efron was scared to playing the part could not be detected while watching the film. The director did an astounding job of showing the nature of Bundy without violence or slashing and that is a challenge for sure. I would recommend this film to anyone who is an adult.