You’d have to be living under a rock if you didn’t know by now that Netflix has an abundance of true crime documentaries. And if you’ve watched most of them as I have, then you might’ve found some them already repetitive, especially those that focus on serial killers and murderers.
However, there are those true crime docus that have stood out to me more than the rest. Some have stood out because the disbelief I felt while watching them was too great. Others stood out because they remind you that just when you thought there is evil in this world, apparently there’s a whole never level of it that’s much worse.
Trigger Warning: What will be discussed from this point on involve topics such as sexual assault, suicide, and the like. Please do not proceed if you are very uncomfortable.
Spoilers up ahead. You have been warned.
Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
Don’t F**k with Cats, to simply put, shows how acts of animal cruelty, specifically towards cats, by a pornographic actor named Luka Magnotta, eventually led to him murdering a Chinese international student.
The docu focuses on amateur online sleuths who took it upon themselves to organize a manhunt for Magnotta after he uploaded a viral video of him killing two kittens using a vacuum cleaner in 2010.
This is definitely one of the true crime documentaries that will leave you on the edge of your seat. It is also one that will amaze you, especially as you watch the amateur sleuths, who even started a Facebook group dedicated to finding Magnotta, basically do a better job than the police.
Girl in the Picture
Girl in the Picture starts with a girl found nearly lifeless on the street after what seemed to be a hit-and-run incident. The victim eventually dies and the police try to find out what happened to her. It all sounds like your stereotypical true crime story, but you very quickly realize that it’s not.
First, the victim, Tonya Hughes, isn’t exactly who people think she is. In fact, it’s not even her name. Second, her much-older husband isn’t exactly who people think he is either. Throw in murders, kidnapping, sexual assault of a minor, and so many more and you end up with the horrific documentary that is Girl in the Picture.
It’s one of those documentaries that make you realize that just when you thought it’s already so bad, it gets worse. But what has stood out for me after watching it is how in the midst of so much evil, the one person who had all the reason to be evil herself chose to be a loving friend and mother during her tragically short life.
House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths
If you’re up for a true crime documentary that doesn’t involve violent crimes but is no less disturbing, House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths is one you should check out.
The three-part docu revolves around 11 members of one family from Burari, India, who are all found dead in their home. 10 of them are found, the youngest ones being only 15 years old, by neighbors hanging from the ceiling with their mouths taped, their faces almost completely wrapped up, and cotton in their ears. The oldest member of the family, the grandmother, has been strangled in another room.
Unsurprisingly, the police investigate if the the family had been murdered. However, investigators soon discover that it is not the case. In fact, it’s actually a mass suicide. What leads the whole family to do so is what’s most disturbing about this documentary.
