Hard hitting true crime documentaries

MichaelDebeve

MichaelDebeve

Well-known member
I watched 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' on Netflix recently (I think its been on there for a while) and I was really taken aback by it.

Rarely does a documentary 'get me' - as my Wife usually says, I've got the emotions of a stone 😂 , but after watching that it really stayed with me.

Probably a combination of it being built up of actual footage (bodycams/ cctv etc) and then seeing/hearing it all unfold, mixed with being a parent myself (to similar aged kids) and just not being able to comprehend at all the coldness of the father. It really did have an effect!

On the back of that - any other documentaries (not necessarily true crime to be fair) that has had a lasting effect, good or bad on you? this is a bit of a fishing/ looking for inspiration post!
 
Cocaine Cowboys (Griselda Blanco - Not Kings of Miami)
The Seven Five
Some of The Killer Women episodes with Piers Morgan are seriously grim
 
MichaelDebeve said:
I watched 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' on Netflix recently (I think its been on there for a while) and I was really taken aback by it.
Click to expand...
Credit to you… I couldn’t even get through the trailer!

It shouldn’t make a difference but having two young girls made it impossible for me to watch.
 
boringblock_21 said:
Credit to you… I couldn’t even get through the trailer!

It shouldn’t make a difference but having two young girls made it impossible for me to watch.
Click to expand...

In all honesty I had no idea what it was about - just had a gamble on it, assuming it was a run of the mill typical american nutter kills someone!

So completely caught me off guard
 
MichaelDebeve said:
I watched 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' on Netflix recently (I think its been on there for a while) and I was really taken aback by it.

Rarely does a documentary 'get me' - as my Wife usually says, I've got the emotions of a stone 😂 , but after watching that it really stayed with me.

Probably a combination of it being built up of actual footage (bodycams/ cctv etc) and then seeing/hearing it all unfold, mixed with being a parent myself (to similar aged kids) and just not being able to comprehend at all the coldness of the father. It really did have an effect!

On the back of that - any other documentaries (not necessarily true crime to be fair) that has had a lasting effect, good or bad on you? this is a bit of a fishing/ looking for inspiration post!
Click to expand...
Probably the hardest one i have watched.
 
MichaelDebeve said:
I watched 'American Murder: The Family Next Door' on Netflix recently (I think its been on there for a while) and I was really taken aback by it.

Rarely does a documentary 'get me' - as my Wife usually says, I've got the emotions of a stone 😂 , but after watching that it really stayed with me.

Probably a combination of it being built up of actual footage (bodycams/ cctv etc) and then seeing/hearing it all unfold, mixed with being a parent myself (to similar aged kids) and just not being able to comprehend at all the coldness of the father. It really did have an effect!

On the back of that - any other documentaries (not necessarily true crime to be fair) that has had a lasting effect, good or bad on you? this is a bit of a fishing/ looking for inspiration post!
Click to expand...
That was a brilliantly made documentary..
I love true crime documentaries and that was probably the best I've seen.

Totally agree that it has a long lasting effect on you.

Making a Murderer was great and highlighted a lot of the issues faced in rural America but after doing further reading and realising how biased the documentary was, I think Steven Avery is probably guilty. The nephew however...
 
Last edited:
Monster in the Morgue on Sky Documentaries is a good British one. All happened in Tonbridge Wells, of all places.
 
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

Is an excellent documentary. The less you know about it the more hard hitting it is.
 
The staircase is great, but still unsure of if he did it or not and really shows how you won't get anywhere in the justice system without having the money to afford a top tier lawyer.
 
Another "true crime" documentary on Netflix that I just watched was 'Victim/Suspect.'

It brings out some really shocking and troubling trends in US law enforcement.

It touches on a topic that has come up on here a few times - the prevalence of false reporting of rape/sexual assault.

At least in the US, it seems that it might be even less common than the raw numbers suggest. Multiple police departments are shown using techniques that are normally used to elicit confessions from suspects, to pressure women and men reporting sexual assaults into recanting their accusations - and then charging them with false reporting.

Also powerful stuff and a really good watch in a related area is 'Unbelievable,' starring Toni Collette. It's a docudrama based on a true case involving a similar-type incident.
 
Last edited:
I watched 'Confession Killer' a while ago on Netflix - which although not particularly hard hitting, was an eye opener.
It was about a convicted killer in America who confessed to hundreds more murders. The police were happy to clear their open cases and were actually feeding him info and case details so he would add them to his list. They would 'reward' him with cigarettes and milkshakes.
 
MrMacca said:
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father

Is an excellent documentary. The less you know about it the more hard hitting it is.
Click to expand...
I was going to say the same. Whenever this type of question pops up it is the one I recommend and I fully agree that it should be watched without doing any research first.
 
GeneParmesan said:
The staircase is great, but still unsure of if he did it or not and really shows how you won't get anywhere in the justice system without having the money to afford a top tier lawyer.
Click to expand...
I watched that as did my daughter. We both thought there wasn't enough evidence to convict him but he may well have done it. He was a very unlikeable bloke though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top