With the release of series like Inventing Anna and The Tinder Swindler, Netflix is able to create a massive viewership of crime documentaries and docu-series. All of them might not be about some charming con-man taking girls out on private jet dates, however, what is attracting the audience to such kind of titles is the dark side of human conscious.
People who do horrible crimes just don’t see it as barbaric and inhumane as any sane person would do. That ‘far from normal’ process of mind is what makes audience watch it and make them ponder upon the extent of inhumane nature of humans. If all this is ringing bells in your head, check out the following true crime documentaries which take one through pools of blood, raw violence and barbarity, and the minds working behind it.
Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer (2021)
Directed by: Tiller Russell and James Carroll
The true crime series follow two detectives hustling day in and out to track a serial killer who hunts at night in the streets of LA, back in 1980s. Slashing men, women, old and young alike, this man terrorized the mind of each individual living in vicinity. With no pattern and no specific motivation, the killer was convicted of thirteen counts of murder, five attempted murders, eleven sexual assaults, and fourteen burglaries. Sounds insane, right? His cruelty, callousness, and viciousness was beyond any human understanding.
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)
Directed by: Chris Smith
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann follows the story of disappearance of three-year old Madeleine from Portugal where she was on a vacation with her family. Till date, no one could figure anything about the child’s whereabouts. The case created a huge stir in the media back then and detectives tried all they could do to locate her but all the efforts just went in vain. The docu-series includes interviews from most of the related people to the case including the investigators, tourists and resort personals as well.
American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
Directed by: Jenny Popplewell
The story revolves around the infamous Watts Family Murders in Colorado where 15 months pregnant Shanann Cathryn Watts mysteriously disappears along with her two girls, Bella and Celeste. The investigators went through all hard evidence they could find including camera footages, text messages, social media posts and more. With all the evidences and investigations, what came out was nothing like a usual disappearance and the three or should we say four people were mercilessly slain.
The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea (2021)
Directed by: John Choi, Rob Sixsmith
This true-crime series takes one in the streets of Seoul which are otherwise considered safe but were terrorized by a serial killer, a sex offender, and a self-confessed cannibal in 2000s. A killer who would smash a person’s skull with a customized hammer and break it into pieces was on loose and investigators were always two steps behind him. Convicted for at least twenty cold blooded murders, The Raincoat Killer set some really high standards of barbarity for ‘aspiring’ criminals.
The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
Directed by: Joe Berlinger
Now here comes a smart man with a super charming smile, who would feel like a next door crush if one bumps into him in a supermarket, and who would be able to guess that this man is responsible for 30 homicides or more. This is Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy, an American serial killer who went on a women killing spree in the 1970s. He confessed 30 murders after almost a decade of denial but nobody knows for sure if that’s the correct number or there are more. This docu-series was made by combing through over 100 hours of interviews of Ted’s family, friends, co-workers, journalists and the infamous killer himself.