American film and television has changed dramatically throughout history. It is somewhat difficult to imagine that television series and movies used to be silent and without color compared to the remarkably produced projects of today, and with that seismic shift in quality came an even greater shift in its focus. While television and film were originally tools used primarily for entertaining the masses, the bravely creative minds have taken the entertainment industry in a myriad of directions which have completely redefined film and television as we know them. One prime example of this is the true crime genre which puts viewers on the edge of violence and inhumanity unimaginable a century ago, and it has seen massive success. Now the genre is about to get a new addition in the form of a documentary about one of the most vicious serial killers in American history with Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes.
There have been a variety of serial killers in American history up to this point, but John Wayne Gacy is amongst the most notorious of all. His reign of terror spanned the 1970’s and included at least 33 confirmed victims, all of which he committed behind hiding behind his job entertaining children as a circus clown. It worked well, and Gacy has lived in infamy ever since. Now his story is set to be reexamined by one of the powerhouses of the entertainment industry in Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. Set to be produced by Joe Berlinger, whom also produced the acclaimed hit Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, the series will tell the story of Gacy and his life as a closeted homosexual who would murder the young men he slept with and how he did it with virtually no suspicion at all for the span of six years before going down as one of the country’s most notorious criminals. The trailer for Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes can be seen below and features an array of chilling interviews from law enforcement officials and others close to the case as they relive the horror that was John Wayne Gacy, and it looks like Netflix has done it again. If the trailer isn’t enough to hold you off though, you won’t have to wait long: Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes is set to premiere on Netflix on April 20, 2022.
While I’m not sure anybody expected Conversations with a Killer to become a series, I think fans of the Ted Bundy installment would agree it’s a pleasant surprise. Given how successful that documentary was though it certainly makes sense Netflix would want to continue down this path, and they’ve picked another great subject for the sequel. Though his crimes were heinous to say the least, the retelling of Gacy’s story should captivate fans when Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes premieres on Netflix in just under 2 weeks.
