The chilling story of a serial killer and hours of newly unearthed recordings are at the center of Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. The trailer dropped today. 

Archival news clips, expert testimony and recordings of Gacy himself, who killed 33 young men over the course of four years, take the viewer into the terrifying atmosphere of the 1970s murders. “There is a right way, there’s a wrong way, then there’s my way,” Gacy says at one point in the trailer.

The documentary features people who either worked on or closely followed the case speaking about the social conditions that helped Gacy elude capture for so long. Prominent status in his community gave Gacy ties to powerful locals, and the disappearances of his victims — primarily gay men who were ostracized by their families and society — were sometimes brushed off by police. 

Portions of the 60 hours of previously unreleased recordings of Gacy’s conversations with his defense team offer new dimensions to the story, as do recollections from Gacy survivors who haven’t spoken publicly about their brushes with death. 

Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes premieres April 20. Watch the trailer below. 

Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes