‘Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes’ review

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Netflix

Ted Bundy Tapes cover photo

Codi Farmer, Staff Reporter

Everyone knows Ted Bundy, the crimes he committed and the outcome, but it seemed rather difficult to get the full story, start to finish. Enter: Netflix. Netflix recently came out with a four-episode true crime documentary of Bundy and his actions. Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is a brilliantly crafted series composited of interviews with those who had interactions with Bundy and recordings of the actual investigation of him while in prison.

The first episode is essentially a build up, describing his childhood and upbringing, explaining the tapes, introducing psychologists and journalists who met with Bundy after his arrest, and even old friends of his from before he began committing crimes. As the show progresses it follows Bundy’s various prison escapes, how they caught him every time, without leaving out a single detail. It seemed as if every news clip, every headline, every interview, every mention of Ted Bundy went into this series. Every opinion, every analysis, it was all there.

Netflix keeps the journalistic integrity of everyone involved. The actual tapes of Bundy are played over photographs and video clips, news interviews with Bundy and recorded interviews of those who had interactions with Bundy were scattered throughout. The editing and flow of all the elements throughout the series were flawless, the fades of newspaper headlines relating to Bundy and his actions and the seamless inspection of his life leave those watching absolutely speechless.

A personal favorite element was an interview with a woman who was nearly a victim of one of Bundy’s attacks. She retold the story of how Bundy approached her in a mall one day, claiming he was a cop and that someone had broken into her car. He followed her out, trying to prompt her into leaning closer to inspect for missing items, but she knew that something wasn’t right. She said everything was fine and that all her items were still in her car untouched. He then asked her to come with him to the station to file a complaint against the person who “broke into her car.” She followed and got into his famed tan Volkswagen and was taken to an elementary school where Bundy tried to handcuff her. She managed to escape and he chased her into the road with a crowbar, trying to hit her over the head, but she jumped into a car that was driving down the road and she escaped, going straight to the police station. Later that night, Bundy claimed another victim out of rage.

The only issue to be seen with the show is that it does move very slowly. In the first episode, which is roughly an hour, the producers attempt to explore all the details of Bundy and introduce him as well as the tapes themselves make it hard to stay focused. Each episode is like an entire movie and, unless you’re very interested in true crime it may not be for you, especially if you have trouble staying focused on media.

Overall, I think the series was brilliant. It dove into the unexplored or more hidden aspects of Bundy and his killings, giving equal attention to his large and infamous attacks, as well as those that may not have been as widely known before. If you’re a fan of true crime and have the stomach for five hours of seeing the horror that Bundy inflicted in so many lives, then this series is worth watching.