In 1989, Ted Bundy was executed by electric chair after he had been convicted of murdering numerous women, performing sexual acts on dead bodies, and being - in his own words - "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet."
In fact, biographer Ann Rule described Bundy as "a sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human's pain and the control he had over his victims...", and is generally considered to be one of vilest serial killers to ever walk the earth.
When you look at the trailer for 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile', there isn't a trace of any of this - not to mention anything even close to the explicit nature of his crimes. Instead, what you see is a jazzily edited trailer that focuses in how charismatic Bundy was, how he was good with kids, and how people seemed to believe him innocent.
Zac Efron plays Bundy, Lily Collins plays his girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall, and 'The Big Bang Theory' star Jim Parsons plays Florida prosecutor Larry Simpson. You've even got Metallica frontman James Hetfield in there as well.
Technically speaking, some of what's shown in the trailer is correct. Bundy did have "groupies" who'd turn up at his trial. He was known for being charismatic, handsome - a fact he exploited on his victims. On the night before he was executed, Bundy recounted 30 of his victims to FBI agent Bill Hagmaier.
Whether 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile' recounts all of these or what isn't immediately clear, but you've got to wonder about the tone if this trailer's anything to go by.
The movie will premiere today at the Sundance Film Festival, with a release date for Ireland to be announced in the coming weeks.
