A few days back we got our first glimpse at Zac Efron’s transformation into serial killer Ted Bundy for a brand new biopic: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
After being premiered at Sundance Film Festival, the trailer was released on Friday, though the reaction to the new clip has been mixed to say the least.
A lot of people have taken issue with the trailer seemingly sexualising Bundy, who was convicted of and confessed to murdering more than 30 women in the 1970s. His trial became one of the strangest in history, with Bundy achieving a celebrity-like status.
Can we not sexulize Ted Bundy?
He raped, murdered, and decapitated women and had sex with their dead bodies. Not here for this hyper-sexualized Zac Efron film.
I know the youth of twitter will obsess over him, and I’d prefer not to read thirst tweets about a serial murderer
— Kayla Stetzel (@KaylaStetzel) January 26, 2019
The wink is extremely disturbing and the romanticization of a serial killer is exactly why these sick fucks continue to do things like this to women. Notoriety. This is appalling. https://t.co/l3ZoPhtcCz
— Lauren Jauregui (@LaurenJauregui) January 26, 2019
This man murdered children and Hollywood is editing the trailer like some funny, sexy action movie https://t.co/WlDdCYURBe
— (@LolGrainger) January 26, 2019
Bundy’s unassuming demeanour and charm have often been cited as major factors in him getting away with his crimes for so long.
Others have argued that the trailer had been shot in this style to reinforce the way many people viewed Bundy at the time.
People thinking Ted Bundy is being “romanticized” by using a hot actor is exactly the problem with us – it is hard to accept someone as good looking as Zac Efron as capable of evil. That’s called the “Halo Effect”, and celebs, good-looking people, politicians get away coz of that
— Albert Pagunsan (@albert_pagunsan) January 28, 2019
They’re not romanticising him, tho? The way Ted Bundy was portrayed here is EXACTLY how he was like irl. We’re uncomfortable watching this bc we KNOW who he is, what he does, yet he acts so charmingly as he does and manages to continually draw people in. pic.twitter.com/sECMlw6aXJ
— ☇ Peach (@peachedsoda) January 28, 2019
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is said to be told through the eyes of Ted’s girlfriend Liz (Lily Collins), a single mother who was oblivious to what her boyfriend was capable of until he was arrested for a string of murders.
he biopic is directed by Academy-Award nominee Joe Berlinger, who also directed the new Netflix documentary Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which has already been met with positive feedback.
The Netflix documentary features four episodes of previously unheard audio taken from interviews with Bundy while he was on death row in Florida. It also focuses on the killings, the strange idolisation of Bundy by a number of women, his in-court marriage to Carol Ann Boone and the media frenzy that surrounded his trials.
Featured Image Credit: Netflix