January 25, 2019

New Ted Bundy movie releases trailer with star Zac Efron

By Virginia Streva
PhillyVoice Staff

YouTube/YouTube

Zac Efron plays Ted Bundy in new film, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile." The film will be released on Netflix May 3.

A trailer for the new Ted Bundy movie, “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” starring Zac Efron, has been released - and it's surprisingly charming for a movie about a serial killer.

Directed by Joe Berlinger, who also directed Netflix's "Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes," the movie tells the story through the eyes of Bundy’s girlfriend, Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins), who slowly becomes suspicious of his behavior over the course of their six-year relationship.

The trailer begins with the night Liz and Bundy met, showcasing their whirlwind romance and yet how quickly it turned dark. Efron plays a rather charming Bundy. His good looks and enthusiasm bring to life the former Temple student's likeable qualities that drew many people to believe he was innocent.

Bundy was guilty of killing 36 women across several states in the 1970s. Though the serial killer was adamant about his innocence for years, he did eventually admit to committing the murders. Kloepfer wrote a book under the pen name Elizabeth Kendall detailing her relationship with Bundy in 1981. Kloepfer had grown suspicious of Ted’s behavior in 1974 when reports came out that witnesses were naming a man named “Ted” and a car that resembled his Volkswaggen.

Bundy received three death sentences in two separate trials for his Florida murders. He was first tried and found guilty in 1975 in Utah for kidnapping and criminal assault. He was executed on Jan. 24, 1989 in Florida.

"Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" is expected to premiere at the Sundance Festival this weekend.