Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is the new four-part doco series from Netflix. As per the title, there is a strong focus on tape recordings made with Bundy by the journalist Stephen G Michaud.
Over one hundred hours were recorded by Michaud, but due to Bundy's evasiveness, he gave little away when questioned directly. However, when Michaud asked Bundy to describe the killings in the third party, things get a little more interesting.
Ted Bundy confessed to murdering thirty young women, just before his execution, after denying it for a decade. These brutal and horrific murders were carried out between 1974 and 1978 across seven states.
Bundy himself appeared to be a charismatic, well-presented individual that went against the police profiling at the time. But it was his charm and looks that he used to win his victims trust with horrendous consequences.
Countless books have been published about Bundy, mainly due to the way he completely changes the way we view serial killers. There is a deep fascination with Bundy the person, so it is no surprise that on the 30th anniversary of his execution we are seeing new material.
Directed, written and produced by Joe Berlinger (The John Wayne Gacy Tapes) this series was released on the date of the anniversary. Berlinger does a great job with the documentary, but it is clear that this is also a promotional tool for his new movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
Generally, this is a well-structured documentary that does give an insightful look into the events. Joe Berlinger manages to piece together lots of footage and interviews all complemented by the recordings.
However, the title is a little misleading as the actual amount of recordings we get to hear is quite limited.
Whilst being a solid documentary, I personally thought it did not reveal a great deal more about Bundy that has not been told before.
But given that it is just four episodes, it is quite easy to binge your way through. There is speculation that Ted Bundy will be part of the new season of the show Mindhunter.
So here you get to see the real people who profiled the man before you see the dramatised version.
