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Chrys Weedon<\/strong> | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States according to history.com. Aside from his trial being the first televised in history, Bundy\u2019s trial was unique in many ways. Bundy acted as one of his own defense attorneys, escaped twice and even gained an immense fan-base.<\/span><\/p>\n Released on Netflix on May 3, \u201cExtremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile\u201d was released not long after the docu-series \u201cConversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes\u201d was strategically made public by the same streaming site on January 24.<\/span><\/p>\n While \u201cExtremely Wicked,\u201d whose title is too long to say naturally in conversation and is therefore always referred to as \u201cthat new Zac Efron movie,\u201d could be seen as a complementary fictionalization of \u201cThe Ted Bundy Tapes,\u201d it watches as a slightly fuzzier iteration of the same show. It seems as though nothing much happens that watchers familiar with the case wouldn\u2019t have already known about the Bundy case.<\/span><\/p>\n Every event was predictable, and the liberties that were included weren\u2019t shocking \u2014 to me, this film really didn\u2019t shine a new light on the case or the characters involved. The film often flip-flops between painting Bundy in a sympathetic light and trying to make him out to be the manic killer that he was. In my opinion, we really didn\u2019t need another \u201cslightly-sympathetic serial killer\u201d story in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n I did appreciate a look at the ways in which Liz Kendall, played by Lily Collins, was affected by her long-term relationship with Bundy, but it all felt like a glorification of Bundy thinly veiled through a \u201cdifferent\u201d perspective. I would\u2019ve been more intrigued with a story from the point of view of Carol Daronch, the woman who successfully escaped Bundy\u2019s attempted kidnapping.<\/span><\/p>\n Arguably the most disappointing aspect of the movie was Zac Efron\u2019s performance. Efron, I believe, embodied Bundy in an extremely believable way, but \u201cExtremely Wicked\u201d overall was an underwhelming film and I feel like Efron\u2019s performance was wasted. I was honestly surprised at how effectively creeped out I was at the actor whose breakout role was Troy from the \u201cHigh School Musical\u201d franchise. I believe this could\u2019ve been a breakout role for Efron, if only it wasn\u2019t an overrated, over-told story.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall Rating: <\/b>I would not recommend this film.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n