REVIEW: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile Never Fully Finds Its Focus
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a mouthful of a title, one that can lead audiences to assume the film is robust. While Extremely Wicked is packed with recreations of real-life happenings, it never quite decides what the movie’s main focus will be, to its own detriment.
The title, pulled directly from a quote by a judge during Ted Bundy’s trial, is apropos for the film. Parts are definitely wicked, evil, and vile, which make some scenes hard to watch, namely the ones that are almost exact reenactments of serial killer Ted Bundy’s trials.
The movie isn’t based solely on those trials, instead the film attempts to focus on Liz Kendall, Ted Bundy’s girlfriend. Extremely Wicked is based on Liz Kendall’s memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy. Where Extremely Wicked loses itself is in not keeping Liz and her struggles the main point of the film.
Extremely Wicked, directed by Joe Berlinger, opens with Ted Bundy (Zac Efron) and Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) meeting in a bar. Liz apparently brought Bundy home with her the night they met and the next morning it’s quite clear Bundy’s behavior is odd. Despite his peculiarities, and the fact that he is away quite a bit during their relationship as he allegedly attends law school in another state, Liz seemingly falls in love with Bundy. When Bundy is arrested, Liz and her story take a backseat to the circus that was Bundy’s trials.
From the point Bundy is first arrested to his final meeting with Liz, Liz becomes a secondary character. Several moments from Bundy’s trial in Florida are exactly replicated in this film which makes the audience wonder who the real star of the movie is. Liz’s attempt to reconcile her feelings for Bundy while self-medicating are glanced over which is a real shame. Knowing what the world knows now about Ted Bundy, it’s hard to believe anyone could love him. But someone, actually someones, did. Keeping the emphasis on Liz and the challenges she faced to put her life back together would have been an much more interesting take on this sordid tale.
The fact that the movie is a bit disjointed doesn’t downplay the film’s performances. Efron tackles Bundy with vigor and displays his proclivity for handling more challenging performances. Efron also doesn’t shy away from showing all facets of the serial killer which is good as it’s important to not forget Bundy was horrific. Collins is underutilized as her character is put to the side for most of the movie. She does well with the little she had to work with.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is not easy viewing. The subject matter is abhorrent and it’s important to remember that throughout the film. Ted Bundy was a violent serial killer who committed atrocious crimes. The fact that he was seen as charming and came off as the boy-next-door enabled him to commit his crimes. The film seems to forget that at points during this film. Not continuing to focus on Liz Kendall’s tale is a serious missed opportunity and prohibits the movie from being elevated to the next level.
Grade: C+