FilmSnobReviews

Title: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Rating: R
Director: Joe Berlinger
Starring: Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Angela Sarafyan
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

What is it: A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy, from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years.

What we think: Not the best film I have ever seen but certainly not the worst. The acting was absolutely incredible. Given the script and material they were working with, both Zac Efron and Lily Collins pull off amazing and very believable performances from beginning to end. As far as the production value is concerned, cinematography, lighting, sound, costumes, as well as production design were all done well. The issues with this film more rely on the pacing, the visual representation of their developing relationship, and the fact that there were many things missing from this story that should have been included. Despite that this film is supposed to be from Liz’s (Ted Bundy’s ex-girlfriend) point of view, there were many things that this film didn’t do but should have. It would have been helpful to see more of a buildup of their relationship at the beginning to really establish their relationship more. The film made it seem as if one night they met and then a week later, suddenly they are in love. The pacing of the film felt completely rushed. Another thing that would have made this better was if they had included more of the real-life events that surrounded Ted’s accusations and claims made against him. There were several situations that Liz was in and witnessed that alluded to her realizing that Ted was indeed a Serial Killer that was not included. From the perspective of fact and reality, given the lack of information kept out of this film, it seems this film was not as accurate as it could have been. This film seems to have been made for the intention of filming a mystery and drama rather than detailing the reality of Liz’s unfortunate romantic relationship with a serial killer.

Our grade: C, So this is a film which is great for people seeking a mystery and drama however not the best film if they want to actually learn what really happened between Liz and Ted. They are better off just reading her book which is what this movie is supposed to be based on.