X
- 2019
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2019
- TV-MA
- Netflix
Summary The four-part documentary series from Joe Berlinger features previously unheard audio of interviews with serial killer while on death row in Florida.
Created By: Joe Berlinger
- 2019
- TV-MA
- Netflix
- 2019
- TV-MA
- Netflix
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Season 1 Premiere: Jan 24, 2019
52
6.8
Where to Watch
Summary The four-part documentary series from Joe Berlinger features previously unheard audio of interviews with serial killer while on death row in Florida.
Created By: Joe Berlinger
Where to Watch
All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
52
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
52
25% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
63% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
13% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The result is haunting, underscoring the evil you feel emanating from your screen that sticks to your bones. [25 Jan 2019, p.47]
Berlinger arguably could have kept much of the documentary’s archival source material, with its heavy emphasis on Bundy, while reframing the killer’s story as one about the women whose lives he cut short. Instead, he produced a perfectly serviceable Conversations that adds little to the conversation at all.
Ethical questions aside, the series’ dependence on Ted Bundy to tell the truth about Ted Bundy means that it doesn’t really bring much new information to the table.
Winding up with well-worn footage of Bundy’s trial and execution, this docuseries contains nothing that true crime fans haven’t heard before.
There are no narrative twists awaiting us here. No miscarriages of justice straining to be heard. No insights into the complexities of an unfolding case or scandal of corrupt policemen, judges, clergy or politicians. The tapes themselves are the USP here. ... The only truly chilling thing about Conversations With a Killer was how unchilling it was.
Despite the editors’ superb interweaving of personal photos, police evidence, and archival footage of ’70s Seattle, Conversations with a Killer seems largely unaware of its own obliviousness. Just because the series, like Michaud, can’t get to the center of Bundy doesn’t mean that the only potentially interesting storytelling avenue has been obstructed, and therefore there’s nothing a filmmaker can do but say, “People are ultimately unknowable, and Bundy is no exception.”
Bundy is at best an unpleasant companion through four long episodes, and at worst repellent--makes Conversations With a Killer a must only for true-crime completists. ... For the uninitiated, though, the film takes the form of the banal audio footage at its core. ... [Director Joe Berlinger] never proves why Bundy matters as anything other than a case study in narcissism.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 42 User Ratings
6.8
67% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
24% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
10% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 42 User Ratings
6.8
67% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
24% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
10% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company:
- RadicalMedia
- Elastic
- Gigantic Studios
- Outpost Digital
Initial Release Date: Jan 24, 2019
Number of seasons: 1 Season
Rating: TV-MA
Genres:
Awards
Critics' Choice Real TV Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Realscreen Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Primetime Emmy Awards
• 1 Nomination
