It may have received rave reviews following its world premiere on January 26, but audiences across the UK are yet to see what all the fuss is about with Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. All we've seen so far for the flick is the trailer, and people aren't too happy with Zac Efron's portrayal of real-life serial killer Ted Bundy.

Some claimed the film will be 'glorifying' a serial rapist and murderer, and 'sexualising' Ted Bundy by casting Efron in the role. What many don't realise however, is that the movie will be focusing on the story from Bundy's girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer's point of view.

Director of the film, Joe Berlinger, responded to the backlash and said in an interview with Bustle: “I think the idea of this particular story, making a movie about Bundy, equals glorification of him is a very naive, knee jerk reaction.

"If you watch the movie, the last thing we’re doing is glorifying him. He gets his due in the end, but we’re portraying the experience of how one becomes a victim to that kind of psychopathic seduction.”

As Berlinger mentions, ‘seduction’ was a big part of who Ted Bundy was said to be. Described as an extremely charming man, maybe the casting of Zac Efron actually makes perfect sense.

The casting isn't the only thing to cause upset, as the music for the trailer has also been criticised across social media for being too ‘upbeat’ and making the film seem like a comedy-drama rather than a very real, serious story about a man who hurt a lot of people. Music is usually a good indicator of the nature of a film, so perhaps they did pick the wrong song this time.

Zac Efron has spoke about why he took on the role despite the criticism. He told Variety: "Initially, I had reservations about playing a serial killer. I’ve seen people make horror films like this before, and it seems like an aggressive play to separate yourself from a perceived image. This movie was really about a human being, somebody that perhaps I would have been friends with. And a love story from a very unique perspective. I’ve never seen that before. It’s intriguing to me. I think it’s more psychological and even more kind of a mindf**k.”

Unfortunately, the UK will have to wait for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile to premiere in cinemas to make a full, informed decision on whether the film is too insensitive to the victims of Ted Bundy’s actions.

MORE: The Ted Bundy Tapes and seven other true crime series you need to watch on Netflix

The film is set to come to UK and Irish cinemas, as well as Sky Cinema, soon.

Words by Vienna Bottoms, who you can follow on Twitter HERE and Instagram HERE.

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