10 Worst Movies Of 2019 (So Far)

6. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile

There was a noble goal at the heart of Extremely Wicked: to tell the tale of Ted Bundy not in a way that glorified or revelled in his murderous actions, but presented them from the unknowing perspective of his girlfriend. It could have made for an extremely unconventional thriller, digging into the psychology of someone under Bundy’s spell (as so many people were for a time) and exploring how the perception of him clashed with the horrific reality.

Sadly, while that was the initial premise, it must have gotten swept away the minute the filmmakers realised that stupid, sexy, serial killer Zac Efron was by far the most interesting thing about the film. The actor breaks type really well here, and delivers a genuinely intense performance, but it’s not supported by a strong script, or any real cohesive focus to give it life.

He gets his moments, but the rest of the film is so pedestrian, in its writing, acting and visual style, that it’s easy to get bored and for his performance to get lost in a murky sea of nothing. It's the wasted potential that's so egregious, but there's also outright poor filmmaking on display, especially in how Kaya Scodelario's character is handled.

As it stands, Extremely Wicked, lives up to all of the adjectives in its title, but for all the wrong reasons.

[JB]