Film director Joe Berlinger has responded to the suggestion his upcoming biopic of Ted Bundy is guilty of glorifying the serial killer’s horrific crimes.
Joe’s film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile tells the story of Ted Bundy from the perspective of his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, and debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last month.
Although the film is yet to get an official release, some have already voiced their concerns that it might put Bundy on something of a pedestal, particularly as the murderer is played by Zac Efron.
However, the director has now had his say on the matter, insisting this is far from the case.
“I think the idea of this particular story, making a movie about Bundy, equals glorification of him is a very naive and knee-jerk reaction,” he told Bustle. “If you actually watch the movie, the last thing we’re doing is glorifying him.
“He gets his due at the end, but we’re portraying the experience of how one becomes a victim to that kind of psychopathic seduction.”
He did point out that “making entertainment out of other people’s tragedy” is in itself problematic, though.
Joe recently helmed the Netflix docuseries Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which began streaming last month on the 40th anniversary of Bundy’s execution.
The popularity of the Netflix show prompted the streaming platform to issue a statement, reminding certain viewers of what sort of person Bundy really was.
“I’ve seen a lot of talk about Ted Bundy’s alleged hotness,” a post on Netflix’s Twitter page read. “And would like to gently remind everyone that there are literally THOUSANDS of hot men on the service — almost all of whom are not convicted serial murderers.”
As well as Zac Efron, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile stars Lily Collins in the role of Elizabeth Kloepfer, while John Malkovich plays Edward Cowart, the judge who sentenced Bundy to death and uttered the line from which the film takes its name.
The film is expected to be released later in 2019. Watch the trailer below: