'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile' Trailer: Zac Efron Becomes Ted Bundy

Zac Efron gives what is undoubtedly the performance of his career in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Efron plays notorious serial killer Ted Bundy in a film that attempts to show how Bundy manipulated those closest to him into believing he was a perfectly normal, perfectly nice guy. Netflix scooped up the film at Sundance, and will bring it to viewers this May. Watch the Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile trailer below.

Right before Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile premiered at Sundance, a trailer debuted online, and raised a few eyebrows. The footage was cut in such a way that it made the Ted Bundy movie look like a wacky, farcical comedy – almost in the same style as I, Tonya. This new trailer is a lot better – it doesn't lean into humor at all, and is instead full of menace and dread.

Extremely Wicked is a curious film, because director Joe Berlinger and writer Michael Werwie structure the film in such a way that Bundy's terrible crimes remain off screen. The film is primarily told from the point of view of Bundy's girlfriend Liz (Lily Collins), who keeps trying to convince herself that her longtime boyfriend is innocent. Of course, everyone watching the movie will know that Bundy was indeed guilty. This makes for an interesting and unconventional twist on your typical serial killer movie. And while I don't think the film entirely comes together, I was very impressed with Efron's performance. The actor does a remarkable job channelling the notorious killer, to the point where it's a bit eerie. As I wrote in my Sundance review:

Bundy is played by Zac Efron, and while the actor is a little too good-looking to be playing the character, he nails down the part in an absolutely eerie way. It's a transformative performance – Efron takes on Bundy's mannerisms perfectly, to the point where it no longer feels like we're watching Efron – we're watching Bundy resurrected from the grave. Efron has been doing good work in so-so films for a while now, but here, he gives the best performance of his career.

Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil and Vile hits Netflix May 3, 2019.

A chronicle of the crimes of Ted Bundy from the perspective of Liz, his longtime girlfriend, who refused to believe the truth about him for years. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger and starring Zac Efron, Lily Collins, Kaya Scodelario, Jeffrey Donovan, Angela Sarafyan, Dylan Baker, Brian Geraghty, Terry Kinney, Haley Joel Osment, James Hetfield, Grace Victoria Cox with Jim Parsons and John Malkovich. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile launches on Netflix May 3, 2019.