Zac Efron plays Ted Bundy, in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, a film about the famous serial killer from the perspective of his longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer
Many know Zac Efron for his cheesy, hunky characters in films like Baywatch, but this time, the actor takes on a more serious role as Ted Bundy, the man who murdered 36 women (possibly more), in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, directed by Joe Berlinger and also stars John Malkovich as Judge Edward Cowart.
UPDATE: The movie is on it's way to Netflix
The "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" movie had a successful world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the beginning of the year. The movie is now heading to Netflix this summer.
His transformation into the famous serial killer is uncanny.
The movie highlights the time leading up to Ted Bundy's capture and imprisonment through the eyes of his ex-girlfriend at the time, Elizabeth Kloepfer, played by actress Lily Collins. His girlfriend, Kloepfer, originally denied the fact that the monster who killed all those women were committed by Bundy. In the end, she was the one who led authorities to Ted before he was executed by the electric chair on January 24, 1989.
Zac Efron posted a few sneak peeks on his Instagram with the latest one captioned, "Ready for Sundance! #extremelywickedshockinglyevilandvile," in whichhe appears to be in a courtroom.
Lily Collins, posted a pic from the film on her Instagram page. "The #SundanceFestival lineup has just been announced and I'm so proud to be included!" she wrote. "Here's a glimpse of the film @zacefron and I worked with @joeberlingerfilms and our incredible team, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile. Here we go!"
Short biography about Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy (born Theodore Robert Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer,kidnapper, rapist,burglar, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered young women during the 1970s. He confessed to 30 homicides that he committed between 1974 and 1978 before his execution. The number of victims could be higher.
Ted was born in Burlington, Vermont, but lived in Philadelphia with his grandparents early on in his life. He didn't know who his real father was. During an interview, Ted revealed that his grandfather, who had a hot temper, would beat his grandmother, dog, and would throw cats by their tails. In 1950, Ted and his mother moved in with cousins in Tacoma, Washington. His mother eventually married and Ted soon had 4 step-siblings.
In 1965, Ted Bundy attended the University of Puget Sound and University of Washington to study Chinese. He later dropped out of college in 1968 and worked minimum-wage jobs to get by. In 1969, Ted met Elizabeth Kloepfer, who was a divorcee from Ogden, Utah. During the same time, Ted was also dating Stephanie Brooks, both didn't know about each other. He eventually went back to school and was an honor student with a psychology major. During this time he took a job at Seattle's Suicide Hotline Crisis Center around 1971. In 1973, he attended law school at UPS and University of Utah.
During these years, Bundy would use his charm and good looks to win the trust of his victims where he would usually approach them in public places, feigning injury or disability, or impersonating an authority figure, before assaulting them. He would sometimes return to the crime scene where the bodies would be to continue to continue assaulting them. He would also store human heads in his apartment. Ironically, he was also an assistant director of the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Commission during this time and even wrote material for women on rape prevention.
He was arrested in Utah in 1975 for kidnapping and escaped from jail to go on and commit more offenses. He was later caught in Florida in 1978 and received three death sentences in separate court trials.
Before he was set to be executed by electric chair on January 24 of 1989 he interviewed a psychologist named James Dobson where he blamed his pornography addiction to eventually leading him to murder countless women. His attorney, Polly Nelson, described him as "the very definition of heartless evil."