Netflix is nearing a deal for Zac Efron's Ted Bundy movie, and could drop up to $9 million for it

extremely wicked

Netflix is closing in on a deal to buy the rights to Zac Efron's Ted Bundy movie, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix could drop $9 million for the movie, and would release it during awards season in the fall, THR reported.

Zac Efron's Ted Bundy movie, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile," took the Sundance Film Festival, and the internet, by storm recently. Now, Netflix has its sights on it.

The streaming giant is nearing a deal to buy the US rights, and some international territories, to the Joe Berlinger-directed drama that premiered at Sundance last month, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, which cite anonymous sources. THR reported that the deal could be for $9 million, while Variety reported $8 million.

Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal comes after a bidding war that involved STX and Lionsgate, and Netflix is expected to give the movie an awards-friendly release date in the fall to draw attention to Efron's performance, according to THR.

That wouldn't be the biggest deal to come out of this year's Sundance, though. Amazon scooped up "Brittany Runs a Marathon" and "The Report" for $14 million each, and "Late Night" for $13 million.

The film is told from the perspective of serial killer Ted Bundy's (Efron) girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer. It sparked controversy online recently for "romanticizing" Bundy. Berlinger, who also directed Netflix's documentary series "Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes," defended the movie in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.

"I certainly don't think we're glorifying him because he gets his due," he said. "If it was a typical serial-killer movie ... I think that would just so poison the audience into being able to have this experience of being able to be deceived by somebody who's so believable and charismatic."

Reviews have been mixed, and the movie currently has a 62% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. Many reviews praise Efron, but criticize the movie's portrayal of Bundy and its point-of-view.

"Berlinger's aim, it seems, is to cast doubt on whether or not Bundy actually murdered anybody until the very end of the movie to maintain suspense," The New York Post wrote.

"Berlinger’s film gets sucked into the gravity of sensational events that are already a matter of public record, and spends so much time meticulously recreating them that the perspective is diluted," Vulture's Emily Yoshida wrote.

Watch the trailer for the movie below: