In the upcoming film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, actor Zac Efron portrays one of the world’s most heinous and notorious serial killers, Ted Bundy. The trailer for the film was recently released amidst a storm of mixed reactions. Though Bundy was known for his good looks, charm and charisma, many fans are calling out the actor and the filmmakers for romanticizing a horrific and violent figure. Bundy was convicted for having assaulted and murdered at least 30 women. After viewing the trailer, which features incongruously upbeat music, people took to Twitter to voice their outrage at the protagonist’s ‘insensitive’ portrayal.
Many voiced that they felt the music was an inappropriate choice while others offered their sympathies for the surviving family of Bundy’s victims. One Twitter user shared, “I feel so bad for the families of the victims that have to sit there and see their terrors revived as a witty romantic thriller.” Another said, “Imagine being the mother, father, brother, sister, etc. to one of those women who was violently taken from this world by this devil. And instead of their memory being respected, having people going to see their killer romanticized and their death reenacted for entertainment.”
Despite the backlash, there were fans who defended the trailer. Many claimed that the teaser portrayed Bundy as he was; charming and indeed romanticized by the then-media. Efron has yet to make any acknowledgement of the controversy. You can watch the trailer for the upcoming thriller, here.