Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, TV and Film
Alex Fleming-Brown
Netflix has finally released the trailer for their next true crime series: Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. Take a look below:
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes is the second instalment in Netflix's true crime series, which began with The Ted Bundy Tapes.
So, who was John Wayne Gacy and what chilling crimes did he commit?
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According to the Netflix trailer, he "dined with the powerful and preyed on the vulnerable. Beneath a smiling exterior was the horrifying darkness of a sadistic serial killer."
But what does that actually mean?
John Wayne Gacy was an aspiring politician, popular local contractor, part-time clown-for-hire and, you guessed it, a serial killer.
His killing spree saw him murder 33 young men between 1972 and 1976.
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The majority of his victims were found buried under his house, in the quiet northwest suburbs of Chicago. Shockingly so, half a century later, DNA scientists are still trying to identify all of his victims.
Netflix say: "Thanks to 60 hours of unearthed audio between Gacy and his defence team, we have fresh perspective on the narcissistic mindset of the murderer and a deeper understanding of how he operated for so long with impunity."
The documentary series has been crafted by Joe Berlinger, an Emmy-winning documentary maker who previously directed a feature film of Ted Bundy, titled Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
He's something of a true crime genre specialist, with 2021 credits including Murder Amongst the Mormons and Confronting A Serial Killer.
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All episodes of the upcoming series Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes will be available to stream April 20 on Netflix.
The three-part documentary will apparently feature new interviews with key participants, "some of whom have never talked before, including gut-wrenching testimony from one of Gacy’s survivors – all in search of answers to a crucial question: How was a public figure like Gacy able to get away with murder for so long?"
True crime fans have been driven to distraction by the trailer announcement, with one commenting: "The fact that 2 or 3 people said he tortured them and the cops never believed their stories because they were teenage 'Runaways' just makes me sick!"
It would appear that the public has a long-dormant, grim fascination with true crime documentaries and Netflix will be hoping to repeat the success of previous hits such as Making a Murderer, Evil Genius and The Staircase.