Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes

Joe Berlinger's back with yet another serial killer documentary, this time centered around the ruthless John Wayne Gacy. I was afraid he'd waste time focusing on Gacy being a "killer clown" when, in fact, he wasn't - he simply was evil personified! The manner in which he elaborates how he treated his victims and the horrifying aura of feeling powerful from doing such acts is something that's really tough to digest as a viewer. The second episode considerably slows things down, with too many back-and-forth jumps in timelines. However, the third and final episode wraps things up nicely, and seeing the victims' pictures will make any viewer feel a lump in their throat. This is especially the case when you hear Gacy's voiceover proclaiming that society can kill him only once when he's killed 33 times, followed by laughter that sends chills down your spine.

Some people say Gacy was racist because he only killed white guys.

I wasn't going to watch this, due to the horrific subject matter and the fact so much has already been done about the waste of space known as John Wayne Gacy.

It was pretty informative. There are interviews with people who knew him personally.

It reminds us that if you were a runaway back then, you were basically forgotten.

The coverage was great and the events reconstructed in depth but I feel it wasn't as shocking as it should've been. I've watched the episodes about Ted Bundy from the same creators and I remember feeling disgusted and upset about the way he killed and tortured his victims. Now, I know there are certain things you can't say on tv but in a 3 hours documentary not once it was mentioned (they never dared to even say the word) what he did to his victims before he killed them. There were really slight allusions to tortures in the last minutes but overall it made it seem like he "just" killed his underage victims and it's just not acceptable that a documentary about a "man" like Gacy tries to sugarcoat his crimes. I'm not saying it should've contained gory descriptions and details to the point it becomes morbid and in no way I am one of those sickos who like hearing about stuff like that, but to me these documentaries should be about raising awareness and turning the general public's interest away from this type of individuals; they're doing the opposite, and if Netflix wants to turn serial killers into easily digestible mass-consumable entertainment it should stick to its shows about imaginary ones.

This is one of those sick stories based on real events that really make you feel for the victims. John Wayne Gacy is probably the sickest serial killer in the history of all serial killers.

Good docuseries that gives you all the information about the killings and the victims (and survivors for that matter) without the series being dragged out. The three episodes were nicely done.

A concise and well put together documentary on John Gacy, focusing on the investigators and putting a positive highlight on the victims. The interviews were relevant and good use of archival footage.