The first teaser for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile has been released today (January 25), giving viewers the first real glimpse of Zac Efron as Ted Bundy.
The film is premiering at Sundance and stars Zac Efron as the photogenic serial killer, who committed many unthinkable crimes during the 1970s – and possibly earlier.
And today viewers were given an insight into how dark the film will truly be; in less than two minutes, we see Efron commit numerous crimes involving a hammer and other sinister looking tools.
As reported by IndieWire, the film is directed by Joe Berlinger, who also directed Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes – a docu-series on the serial killer, which was recently released on Netflix.
The feature film stars Zac Efron and Lily Collins, who plays Bundy’s longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer. And if the teaser is anything to go by, the film will focus a lot of its attention on this relationship.
In particular, it looks set to explore Bundy’s manipulation of Kloepfer, who struggled to believe that her partner was capable of such unthinkable crimes.
You can take a look at the teaser below:
The teaser shows the couple meeting at a bar in Seattle in 1969, after which they embark upon an intense-looking relationship. Flashes of family life are then entwined with police pick ups and interviews, with Kloepfer not knowing who to believe – her doting boyfriend or the rest of the world.
Efron, as Bundy, remains adamant that he hasn’t committed any of the heinous crimes he’s accused of, responding with ‘absolutely not’ when Kloepfer asks if he has anything to do with them.
And as Bundy quite clearly loves being in the spotlight for his trial, smiling at the cameras and putting on a performance in court, Collins’ character can be seen struggling to come to terms with reality.
Berlinger has promised the film will not glorify Bundy or his actions, IndieWire reports, but will instead explore his crimes from both sides, particularly Kloepfer’s perspective.
This isn’t the only exploration of Bundy’s crimes; Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes was released on Netflix yesterday (January 24), 30 years after the murderer was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison.
Featuring interviews with Bundy which the public have never heard before, the four-part series is said to be a chilling watch – Netflix even warned viewers on Twitter.
The streaming service took to their UK Twitter account soon after the docu-series was released – not just to keep their followers in the loop, but to warn them too.
They wrote:
For those of us with a PhD in true crime podcasts, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is now streaming.
Maybe don’t watch it alone x
One of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, Bundy confessed to killing 30 people in seven states between 1974 and 1978 – but the true number is thought to be higher.
Also a kidnapper, rapist, burglar and necrophile, Bundy received three death sentences for the murders of Lisa Levy, Margaret Bowman and Kimberly Leach in Florida.
The Netflix series aims to give viewers a unique insight into the killer’s life, as well as his supposed motives for his crimes as he tells his story.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).