One day psychologists will ruin true crime content by discovering that it's bad for us. Until then, let’s pack in as many shows about nefarious characters as we can! Starting with these 3 documentaries with killer plot twists. Pun intended.
GLADBECK: THE HOSTAGE CRISIS | NETFLIX
We stumbled upon this doozy through pure happenstance – then spent 90 minutes repeatedly picking our jaws up off of the floor. This German-language film chronicles a terrifying (yet at times confusingly casual?) 1988 bank-robbery-turned-hostage-ordeal that stretched on for 54 traumatizing, mind-boggling hours. Astonishingly, nearly every step of this crime was captured in real time by German media who conducted interviews with the criminals and hostages, giving the film an immersive yet unseemly feel. Think we've shared too much and spoiled this doc for you? Au contraire mon frère. This true crime documentary's insanity must be seen to be believed. But a warning: it’s been panned for seeming exploitative of the crime’s violence and it is a dark, daunting ride that pulls no punches when it comes to outcomes and hard truths.
Prefer not to have subtitles and chain smoking, egomaniacal bank robbers in your true crime docs? See what other real life baddies you can find on Netflix!
DON’T F**K WITH CATS | NETFLIX
With the rise of true crime shows we've also reached peak Internet sleuthing levels and Don’t F**k With Cats is the disturbed love child of both. Like I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, this story is as much about the cyber sleuths as it is about who they’re chasing: a man who posted a disturbing and sickening video torturing and killing two kitties. (Full disclosure, we FF’d through the cat stuff). With remarkable tenacity and attention to detail, these armchair detectives worked together to identify the monster: Luka Magnotta aka Eric Kirk Newman. But he’s not about to stop at cats. Inspired by the online attention he receives, he publishes another disturbing video suggesting his next victim will be a person. And he wasn’t bluffing. Grab some popcorn and strap in for a wild ride.
Not in the mood for emotionless sociopaths and their criminal perversions? Go find some lighter crime chronicles in Netflix’s offerings!
TICKLED | HBO MAX
When you watch HBO Max's Tickled, you'll go from “what’s this?” to “wait, WHAT?” to “WTF?!!?” in record breaking time. Kiwi director David Farrier (Webworm, Flightless Bird, Arm Chaired and Dangerous) has a penchant for picking at things that don’t pass the smell test and it has given us the documentary with the best sudden left turn in the history of left turns. (We just made that a thing) And because, like your mother, we only want what's best for you, we’re not going to ruin the surprise by giving you too much detail. Tune into Tickled and find out what happens when a curious, tenacious, investigative journalist stumbles upon an ad for competitive tickler auditions and decides to find out what the hell it’s all about. And hurry up - the doc leaves HBO Max at the end of August!
If docs about strange, dark corners of the Internet aren’t your cup of tea, well, quite frankly we weep for you. But go look at what else HBO Docs has to offer...you big baby.
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