Zac Efron’s good looks and charms have made him a compelling actor in a number of romantic and comedic movies, with the upcoming Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile allowing him the opportunity to apply these talents to darker subject matter. The film’s first teaser, depicting Efron as real-life serial Killer Ted Bundy, can be seen above. The film makes its debut at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Set in 1969, Ted (Zac Efron) is crazy-handsome, smart, charismatic, affectionate. And cautious single mother Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins) ultimately cannot resist his charms. For her, Ted is a match made in heaven, and she soon falls head over heels in love with the dashing young man. A picture of domestic bliss, the happy couple seems to have it all figured out … until, out of nowhere, their perfect life is shattered. Ted is arrested and charged with a series of increasingly grisly murders. Concern soon turns to paranoia—and, as evidence piles up, Liz is forced to consider that the man with whom she shares her life could actually be a psychopath.
The film also stars John Malkovich, Jim Parsons, Kaya Scodelario, and Haley Joel Osment.
Michael Werwie wrote the script for the film, which “is told through the perspective of Elizabeth Kloepfer, Bundy’s longtime girlfriend, who went years denying the accusations against Bundy but ultimately turned him in to the police. Only nearing his execution, when Bundy began talking about his extensive and heinous murders, did Kloepfer, and the rest of the world, learn the true scope of his numerous and grisly crimes.”
Joe Berlinger directs the film, having previously established himself as a compelling documentarian of a variety of true crime stories.
John Henry Browne, who served as Bundy’s lawyer in the ’70s and ’80s, previously shared with TMZ that Efron’s charisma could effectively recreate what were components in Bundy’s coercion of his victims. Efron may already possess these various similarities to Bundy, but Browne claims the true test will be if Efron can capture Bundy’s “essence of evilness.”
Ted Bundy takes credit for having killed at least 30 people, mostly women, and young girls, between 1974 and 1978 across seven states. He received three death sentences for his crimes, dying in the electric chair in 1989.
With the film premiering at Sundance, it’s unclear when the film will see a larger release. The dark subject matter might see it debut in a limited run or through video-on-demand, though the star power of Efron could see a wider release.
Stay tuned for details on Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
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