Joe Berlinger says reaction to 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' is 'naive'

Joe Berlinger has defended his latest directorial "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile", saying the argument that the film glorifies serial killer Ted Bundy is a "naive and knee-jerk reaction". The film, starring Zac Efron as Bundy, who confessed to killing at least 30 women during 1970s, has been a subject of criticism with many people claiming that it adores the killer by portraying him as suave, handsome and desirable figure.

Responding to the backlash, Berlinger told Bustle, "I think the idea of this particular story, making a movie about Bundy, equals glorification of him is a very naive and knee-jerk reaction." "... If you actually watch the movie, the last thing we're doing is glorifying him. He gets his due at the end, but we're portraying the experience of how one becomes a victim to that kind of psychopathic seduction," he added.

Berlinger, who earlier directed Netflix's special "The Ted Bundy Tapes", said a number of films are made about Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust but if a filmmaker has something new to offer on these subject, then he should not be stopped. "...I think telling filmmakers any subject matter is off limits is a very slippery slope that leads us to Trump declaring that the media is 'fake news'," he said.

"I think there should be no censoring of subject matter, if it's done responsibly. And even if it's done irresponsibly, people have the right to tell any story they want to tell," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)