Featuring one of the most notorious serial killers of all time, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile charts the double life of Ted Bundy (Zac Efron). Told from the perspective of Bundy’s long-term girlfriend Liz Kloepfer (Lily Collins), the film explores how a smooth-talking, handsome murderer was able to charm so many while leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. As Bundy is charged with increasingly grotesque crimes and plays a game of cat and mouse with authorities across several state lines, Kloepfer is left alone to consider the truth about the love of her life.

The violence remains mostly off screen in Joe Berlinger’s finely paced film. With a script based on Kloepfer’s real life memoir The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy, the camera focuses on the domestic bliss of Liz and Ted before things unravel. Collins breathes a steely strength into her nuanced portrayal of a single-mother living with a monster, while Efron’s performance is masterful, exploring the full range of Bundy’s charm and malice. With a scene-stealing cameo from John Malkovich, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile is full of surprises, gripping the viewer until the final frame.

—Jessie Fairbanks