As soon as I saw the first image released of Zac Efron portraying serial killer, Ted Bundy, I became invested in this movie. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile was released at the Sundance film festival on January 26th 2019. The reviews of the movie aren’t great due to the tone they decided to portray Bundy. This inspired me to watch The Ted Bundy Interview Tapes documentary on Netflix. If you’re interested in true crime, this is a thrilling show to watch. Be warned, I felt some of the details of his crimes were gruesome, so I only watched an episode a day because I felt it was all I could take.

Trigger Warning: Discussions of killings, rape, sexual violence etc.

Ted Bundy Interview Tapes: Photo owned by Netflix. 

The tapes review Bundy’s life, his romantic relationships and how he escaped from captivity twice. This man is extremely intelligent and was able to evade authorities which allowed him to kill again in Florida. It wasn’t until a day or two before his execution where he finally admitted to his crimes killing over 30 women across 6 states. Many of his victims will never be identified and I feel for their families.

Many of the details of his crimes are revealed as to how he treated these women including different markings on their bodies. What really sticks with me is the rape and bite marks to his victims. Rape and sexual violence is occurring at rapid rates in today’s society and still not being prosecuted like it should. That’s why with most types of media, if rape is included in a graphic manner, it’s extremely difficult for me to watch that media. Not necessarily because I have been assaulted, but it pains me to have to be conscious of my surroundings, so I don’t become a potential victim of sexual violence.

I have been pondering why we have a fascination with serial killers in our culture. I believe it’s the fear of the unknown chemical or nurturing environment that causes someone to commit acts of violence. We don’t have a reason why criminals do the things they do which could be applied to every killer. That scares me. H.P. Lovecraft wrote about fear of the unknown by creating mythical creatures in his stories. However in society, we have Ted Bundy who looks like a typical man, but is capable of so much more.

True crime fanatics will enjoy this documentary. It’s short with only 4 episodes and it tells a concise story about Ted Bundy. It doesn’t answer the question as to why Bundy is the way he is, but at least justice was served to prevent Bundy from killing again. I’m not going to debate the death penalty on this post, but if anyone didn’t deserve to live, it would be him.