What does the response to Ted Bundy's tapes about our relationship with real crime tell us

the Ted Bundy Tapes, Recent Netflix documentary about the famous American serial killer, The reception has been rather mixed – although we probably all agree on one point, this is one of the most scary crime documentaries to have arrived in a long time. Heck, even Netflix warned not to look at him alone (something we would have liked to take into account, but hindsight is a wonderful thing).

The first critics seem to have understood that nothing offered anything more, but with a confessed case concluded 30 years ago, it was always going to be a stumbling block. We believe that, even if it does not throw any revelation of bomb, it is following up on the promise to provide a new portrait of a man steeped in notoriety.

Netflix

Related: questions we have after watching Ted Bundy's tapes on Netflix

Where this series in four parts Is Excel, plunges into the psychology of Bundy. It's a disturbing and uncomfortable dive, it's true, but that can advance the kind and understanding of crime.

As the title indicates, audio tapes of the man himself have been enamelled throughout the episodes. Between archival footage, survivor testimonies, police interviews and comments from those who really knew him, Bundy's distinctive but ever-changing sounds resonated, providing a unique insight into the story.

Netflix

Everyone knows that for decades, Bundy has denied his involvement in the crimes for which he was convicted – a challenge that journalists Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth were determined to overcome when they were offered to enter. contact with the person sentenced to death.

The couple developed a strategy to get Bundy to talk about third-person crimes. After all, he had a degree in psychology and knew every case thoroughly since reviewing documents for his trial and reading generalized media coverage. In doing so, we, viewers, had a frightening understanding of the thought process behind the monstrous actions of Bundy.

Netflix

Related: Have you noticed this Hunter of spirit link in Netflix Ted Bundy Cbadettes?

This can be illustrated by one of the most disturbing moments of the documentary. In the fourth episode, we watched audience images from one of Bundy's trials. While he was his own lawyer, he cross-examined one of the officers called to visit the scene of the murder of a sister house in Chi Omega.

Bundy went on to ask the police officer for further details on what he had seen, even going as far as to coax more complicated descriptions of the victim's injuries. Naturally, the jury looked visibly uncomfortable, but Bundy continued despite the fact that it was at the expense of his own lawsuit.

Netflix

As discussed in the documentary, one could interpret that Bundy had already met the scene of the crime and was taking pleasure in repainting the painting in order to relive it.

In the very words of Bundy, played right after the movie, he states, "If we recognize that the person of this type could receive a gratification by committing suicide, it is reasonable to think later that it could be safe." to dwell on it because it could fit into the structure of fantasy. "

As with most movies of its kind, Ted Bundy's tapes incorporates photographs of crime scenes and details of murders, but only to contribute to the understanding of the man behind them. He does not feel free or operator.

Netflix

Related: Ted Bundy's wife and daughter – Where are they now?

Much of the true nature of the murders and the extent of the heinous treatment inflicted on Bundy with regard to his victims has in fact been left out. Instead, the series builds a profile of the serial killer, using his own words to do so.

This is a lot more series based on the psychological aspects of the actual crime. And to qualify this "boring" or "unoriginal" says more about the unhealthy relationship of the public with the genre than on this documentary in particular.

Conversations with a killer: tapes of Ted Bundy is now available for streaming on Netflix.

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