The true-crime genre is one of the oldest forms of human entertainment. It’s made newspapers famous and been the subject of endless theater shows. The genre is one of the oldest forms of human entertainment.
Today, the morbid attraction of learning about horrific crimes, understanding the psyche of those who commit them, and honoring the victims are more popular than ever before.
So, here are the top 5 documentaries that you should watch on Netflix if you’re a sucker for true crime. And by the way, if you watch from other streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, or Disney Plus, you might want to consider using a subscription monitoring service like the Truebill app to help you keep track of your subscription fees.
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
What if authorities had focused on the early warning signs of Aaron Hernandez’s murderous rage? This three-part series from 2020 follows the life of a New England Patriots football star as he finds glory and problems on his way to murdering several acquaintances.
Eventually, Aaron’s suicide made him the final victim, but this film shows him as a victim from the start. It’s an interesting documentary true-crime fans will love.
Amanda Knox
Now that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito’s trials and appeals are finished, Netflix recently released a comprehensive documentary on the murder of Meredith Kercher. It details the subsequent media frenzy and the confusion that ensued. The film tells the story with interviews between the cast members, which is disjointed but fair to the original material.
Casting JonBenet
Casting JonBenet is a meta-commentary on social commentary itself. The video follows a group of young children as they audition for a role in a documentary about the murder of a little girl. The actors are questioned about their thoughts and feelings regarding the crime.
Rather than capturing the murder, this documentary is concerned with the media’s response to a private tragedy. The filmmakers show how everyone is more concerned with the public spectacle than the social harm.
The movie’s concept is cruel, but it follows an actual event as it takes place. Even though it’s a sickening video, it demonstrates the general public’s interest in murder investigations.
Long Shot
Juan Catalan was wrongfully accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He was acquitted after television evidence revealed that he was at a baseball game when the murder occurred.
The true-crime documentary Long Shot tells how the system can get the facts wrong and cause harm to innocent individuals. It’s a reminder of why we always consider people innocent until proven guilty.
Don’t F**k with Cats
The murder of Jun Lin was a heinous crime that involved dismemberment and cannibalism that took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After killing Jun Lin and dismembering his body in May 2012, Luka Rocco Magnotta mailed Lin’s hands and feet to elementary schools and political party offices across the country.
Don’t F**k with Cats imagines the investigation as an online manhunt launched by amateurs. Named after an animal snuff film depicted in the movie, where kittens were suctioned to death by a man on YouTube, the film has a dark and disturbing undertone.
