Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes Review: Is it worth watching?

Netflix’s four-episode mini-documentary series Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes sounds pretty intriguing from the title itself and for all the right reasons.

Frankly, it had everything—crime, drama, real-life tapes, a charismatic serial killer (and chiller) and a big platform. In other words, it was the perfect formula for a success.

But unfortunately, it did not quite end up impressing me as much as I thought it would. The series is based mainly on a series of audio recordings—150 hours of conversations between journalist Stephen G. Michaud and Ted Bundy.

Naturally, you would expect some authenticity out of such a project—which is where it fails to deliver.

Quick Review

Conversations with a Killer might be an interesting but scary watch for someone who may not know much about Ted Bundy, but it offers nothing new for a viewer with adequate knowledge of the subject.

It is a good way of compiling the audio recordings of the conversations, but it does not offer a new perspective or reveal anything that has not already been widely discussed and debated.

The docuseries fails to capture the charismatic yet dark personality of the most notorious serial killer of the 1970s, which is what it intended to do through the tapes.

Is it worth watching?

The docuseries is like a monologue by Bundy—he begins by describing his childhood, followed by his high school days and finally his college days.

He mentions his numerous girlfriends as well, and certain scenes and real footage do leave a traumatic aftertaste.

1. Plot

There is no specific plot as such. The series is basically Ted Bundy focusing on his deep inner thoughts in a conversation with journalist Stephen G. Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth.

There are no narrative twists or insights into a complicated murder to discover.

Bundy seems to be candid about his life, beginning from his childhood, up until his adulthood days.

Creator Berlinger traces the most-likely-to-be-fictionalized life story of Ted Bundy according to what he said in the interviews with Michaud in prison.

The series covers his crimes across seven states, footage and conversations from his trials, and Bundy’s arguments against the judge.

2. Visuals, Direction and Screenplay

If I were to judge how well put together the series is, I would rate it pretty well. The real footage, the actual quotes by Bundy and interviews of people integral to the investigation were all featured in the series and it all came together well.

There was no scope of direction as such, since it was mostly based on pre-existing tapes but the compilation tried to put together the strange, dark and shocking personality that Ted Bundy was in real life.

3. Detailed Review

First of all, the title of the docuseries is misleading.

The series is not exactly a conversation but rather a monologue by Ted where he recounts his life, creates a persona of himself that he wants people to remember and believe about him and constantly denies his own crimes.

The interviewers do not end up getting a confession of his crimes, but appear separately where they recount their experience of interviewing Ted.

So, if you are expecting a question-answer round with the most notorious serial killer of the 1970s, you’re not in the right place.

Parts of the documentary that are actually the most interesting are when we get to see footage from his actual trial, where Bundy represented himself.

His childish complaints about his jail cell, constant arguments in favor of himself, and staunch inability to accept blame is what makes up Bundy’s persona.

If you’re a lover of crime and criminal psychology, it would leave you craving for more insight into Bundy’s mind and the root cause behind his inability to accept blame and histrionic tendency to make up stories.

As I mentioned earlier, there are no twists and turns to look forward to or keep you hooked and neither is it actually a conversation like one would presume.

Nevertheless, it is a good attempt since this is the first time that these tapes have actually been revealed to the public and can be a good watch for actual criminal psychology enthusiasts.

Final Thoughts and Verdict

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is a good compilation of Bundy’s taped interviews and tries to put forward the intriguing aspects of Bundy’s strange personality.

Some real footage is haunting to the eye, but for the most part, the docuseries remains bland and repetitive to an extent.

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

It might be a good watch if you’re craving something crime-related or want to know the Ted Bundy story in detail and get an insight into the man’s thoughts, but it may seem too long and bland at parts.

A good pick for criminal psychology lovers, though.