Rating: 4 Stars
True crime shows and documentaries have taken over the world as a new entertainment trend. Seemingly outdated and forgotten stories of murder, harassment and crime have become popular because of the increase in publicity centered around these infamous cases.
One particularly controversial case in true crime history was the case of Ted Bundy, a man from Burlington, Vermont who killed and sexually assaulted an estimated 36 women. “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” are a four-episode Netflix Original mini-series based off of Bundy’s life and crimes. Although each episode varies in length there is never a dull moment. The documentary includes real footage, newscasts, videos, and tape recordings surrounding the Bundy trials and his personal story. If you are a true crime enthusiast, this is the show for you.
In the first episode of the mini-series, Bundy’s voice recording plays over the film. While in prison, Bundy was asked to tell his personal story and reveal more about each crime, he was accused of and the victims of these crimes. The show is centered around these confessional tapes. In the second episode, investigators search for suspects who could have committed a string of murders near the University of Washington Campus in Seattle, Washington. Over the course of a few months, several young women had gone missing, but the police had no direct evidence to tie Bundy to these crimes.
The documentary was gripping, and a at times scary to watch as a female who is the same age as these women. The college students were introduced and described in much detail and the pictures of their bodies at the scene of each crime made it sometimes hard to watch. Overall, the documentary did an excellent job of convincing the audience that no matter how innocent and charming Ted Bundy was, he was nothing short of a killer.
This Netflix series is unique in the fact that every piece of footage is real, and taken from the time and place these crimes were being committed. Even though many other crime documentaries are nonfiction and just as accurate, many of them don’t include the details and personal accounts from the criminal, or from the victims themselves.
In the third episode of “The Ted Bundy Tapes,” Bundy escapes from prison on two different occasions and eventually flees to Florida. While in Florida, Bundy broke into the Chi Omega sorority house in Tallahassee, murdering two more women, and attempting to murder a third.
Although a sensitive and graphic topic, I could not keep my eyes off the screen and ended up watching all four episodes in one night. The dramatic music, video recordings and sound bites of the show all came together to produce something that was powerful and engaging.