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Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Director – Joe Berlinger
Note – 2.5 / 5
"Extremely nasty, terribly mean and mean." The judge described the crimes of serial killer Ted Bundy before he was sentenced to death. These words, taken in the same order, will also serve as the title for a forthcoming film on Bundy, directed by Joe Berlinger.
Berlinger is somehow a pioneer of the real crime genre, having burst at the beginning of the month. 90s with his Paradise Lost trilogy co-directs with the late Bruce Sinofsky. These films, told over the course of a decade, literally helped save the lives of three young men convicted of murdering three children. They are, to this day, despite the overabundance of podcasts being the subject of exhaustive research and a lavish documentary series, the gold standard of real crime.
Watch the conversations with a killer: the Ted Bundy Tapes trailer here
While the genre is currently experiencing a golden age, Berlinger before debuting on Extremely Wicked … published a preamble, the four-part documentary of Netflix, titled Conversations with a Killer: Ted Bundy's tapes – titled, you'll agree with less panache.
This is an interesting scenario, which offers the same filmmaker two bites to the apple, in two very contrasting forms. It reminded me of the moment when Andrew Jarecki directed All Good Things, a drama about the accused murderer Robert Durst, with Ryan Gosling in the lead role, and followed him in 2015 with his HBO documentary series, The Jinx, which had led to the arrest of Durst.
As with the Jinx, the biggest card that Conversations with a killer has is that it offers viewers a narrative of the story directly from the horse's mouth. Excerpts from audio recordings made during multiple interviews conducted by a journalist while Bundy was in prison are scattered throughout his four episodes. Unlike the Jinx, however, Bundy has virtually no value or interest – it's hardly the denominational that has been advertised.
In such situations, when the subject has already been described in such a broad and complete manner, it is profitable to give a unique insight into his methods or psychology. Conversations with a killer do not do either. This only makes the most shy – forgive the pun – try to understand why Bundy did what he did. It's mostly happy to tell what happened, with little or no subtext.
Bundy was a women killer, perhaps the most infamous since Jack the Ripper. This in itself, especially now, is an idea worth exploring. It is said that he murdered, over many years and in several states, more than 30 young women. And the way he killed them – his crimes, including necrophilia, all carried out with brutal violence – with a badual connotation, was particularly horrible. And yet, Bundy maintained his innocence until the end and retained his disarming charm. Many women in the show point out how strangely handsome he was, a trait that he had tragically used to attract many of his victims. "He looked like one of us," says a future lawyer, also referring to Bundy's university studies and his strong family support. It is perhaps this mysterious look that inspired Berlinger to interpret Zac Efron as Bundy in his next film.
The twists and turns of his life are undeniably interesting. For example, Bundy has successfully organized several jail-breaks. And toward the end of his life, he took on the role of advisor to the FBI's nascent serial killer department, much like Hannibal Lecter. Maybe a new Mindhunter season from Netflix will revisit this story.
Read also: Mindhunter Chronicle: David Fincher kills him with his new show Netflix, one of the best of the year
But Conversations with a killer do not seem interested. undermining Bundy's thrill-seeking life, or looking for emotional catharsis for her victims and their families. It just looks like reading a Wikipedia page, which blames electronic music.
For crime fans – and I consider myself as such – Bundy and his terrible misdeeds will be reason enough to stay up at the end, in particular. since four episodes is hardly a commitment. But for curious strangers, the story will prove too dry to evoke a visceral emotion – the key to the success of a real crime story.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
The author tweets @RohanNaahar
First published: January 28, 2019 10:52 IST
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