Last week, the trailer for "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" was released to the public; a biography about who most would say is the "most notorious serial killer," Ted Bundy.
Documentaries, movies, books, etc., of Ted Bundy are not new to the public. A movie about the serial killer was released in 2002, a documentary was released on Netflix this month, and now this: "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile."
The factor that sets this movie apart from previous media, is the actor portraying the serial killer: Zac Efron.
Zac Efron is not a face that is unrecognizable to the public. Appearing in numerous films, essentially starting with his lead role as "Troy Bolton" in "High School Musical" back in 2006, he is actually one of the more popular actors at this time. "Neighbors," "Baywatch," and most recently, "The Greatest Showman," just include a few of Efron's majorly successful work.
Efron is definitely known for playing a certain role, though. He is charming, good-looking, and maybe his characters aren't always the brightest crayons in the box. Therefore, he has been stereotyped as an actor that can only play these characters.
The new role Efron plays as a serial killer has a lot of people up in arms. The movie has received backlash and critics accusing them of romanticizing the character of Ted Bundy. This results solely on the fact that Zac Efron is playing the character. And we all know what kind of character Efron normally portrays. (If you don't, maybe you skimmed the previous paragraph. Read it again.)
However, upon doing research, you may come to learn that Ted Bundy was charming. He was good-looking. He was known to not fit the appearance of your typical "serial killer," if there is a stereotypical serial killer. This might be something that the casting for "Extremely Wicked..." went after.
The trailer did throw everyone off because, hey, Zac Efron isn't a serial killer! He could never play one! That's Troy Bolton!
Maybe those are some of the thoughts you had when you watched the trailer. I believe that is a reason Efron was cast as Ted Bundy. Bundy was not someone many considered a "serial killer," until he was discovered and eventually confessed.
If you are one of the people that did not approve of Zac Efron being cast as Ted Bundy, maybe take a second and think again. The casting was specific to fit the characters. I'm sure many people would agree that Zac Efron is not someone you'd imagine playing a "notorious serial killer," but Ted Bundy was someone many people didn't think could be a "notorious serial killer."
The film recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. If you haven't seen the trailer, check it out. Now you can see how you feel about Efron portraying Bundy.
