Seriously dark documentaries.
by Visionless | created - 08 Feb 2019 | updated - 08 Feb 2019 | PublicBlah blah blah stranger than fiction... Following the tradition of my list of "disturbingly brilliant films", this is a list of the most relentlessly harrowing, unsettling and no holds barred documentaries ever made, across film and television. The items presented here are arguably even more disturbing than any of the films in the previous list because none of this is fiction, all of these actually happened!
This list also filters out the tasteless and poorly made crap and settling only for the truly informative and technically proficient film making, to help minimize time wasting.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Examination of Conscience (2019)
TV-MA | 154 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Through interviews with victims, members of the clergy, journalists and experts, this series looks at the accusations of child abuse against catholic institutions in Spain.
Votes: 488
2. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby
Votes: 40,748 | Gross: $0.02M
3. The Bridge (I) (2006)
R | 94 min | Documentary, Drama
Filmmakers use hidden cameras to capture the various suicide attempts at the Golden Gate Bridge - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
Director: Eric Steel | Stars: Eric Geleynse, Chris Brown, Susan Ginwalla, Caroline Pressley
Votes: 12,222 | Gross: $0.18M
4. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,829 | Gross: $0.49M
5. The Keepers (II) (2017)
TV-MA | 62 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
A seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death.
Stars: Gemma Hoskins, Abbie Schaub, Virginia Anzengruber, Jean Hargadon Wehner
Votes: 25,077
6. Surviving R. Kelly (2019–2023)
TV-MA | 306 min | Documentary, Crime, Music
A six-part series about the controversial R&B star R. Kelly which features several women making allegations of abuse by him.
Stars: Andrea Kelly, Tarana Burke, Touré, Candice Norcott
Votes: 5,738
7. Tickled (2016)
R | 92 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online. As he delves deeper he comes up against fierce resistance, but that doesn't stop him getting to the bottom of a story stranger than fiction.
Directors: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve | Stars: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, David Starr, Kevin Clarke
Votes: 20,756 | Gross: $0.61M
8. Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary
A documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Paul Haggis, Jason Beghe, Spanky Taylor, David Miscavige
Votes: 40,921
9. Earthlings (2005)
95 min | Documentary
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Director: Shaun Monson | Star: Joaquin Phoenix
Votes: 19,811
10. Just, Melvin: Just Evil (2000)
96 min | Documentary
An in-depth look at the director James Ronald Whitney's family history of incest spanning at least three generations and the devastating consequences that include drug abuse and alcoholism.
Director: James Ronald Whitney | Stars: James Ronald Whitney, Melvin Just, Denise Benson, Jean Benson
Votes: 1,775
11. Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
TV-14 | 91 min | Documentary, Crime
The twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naive, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.
Director: Skye Borgman | Stars: Jan Broberg, Bob Broberg, Mary Ann Broberg, Susan Broberg
Votes: 22,259
12. Jesus Camp (2006)
PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary
A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.
Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady | Stars: Mike Papantonio, Lou Engle, Becky Fischer, Ted Haggard
Votes: 28,780 | Gross: $0.90M
13. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
Director: Andrew Jarecki | Stars: Arnold Friedman, Jesse Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman
Votes: 27,145 | Gross: $3.12M
14. The Imposter (2012)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Adam O'Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson, Bryan Gibson
Votes: 50,476 | Gross: $0.89M
15. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,889 | Gross: $0.11M
16. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
TV-MA | 59 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy, featuring interviews with him on death row.
Stars: Stephen Michaud, Bob Keppel, Kathleen McChesney, Ward Lucas
Votes: 32,942
17. Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (2011)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary
An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.
Director: Jon Foy | Stars: Justin Duerr, Marc Duerr, Kevin Riley, Abby Miller
Votes: 2,314 | Gross: $0.01M
18. Child of Rage (1990 TV Movie)
27 min | Documentary
Six-year-old Beth talks to a therapist about the horrific abuse she has suffered as well as the abuse she inflicts upon small animals and her own brother. This film documents her subsequent healing and recovery.
Director: Arthur Ginsberg | Stars: Joel Craiger, Ken Magid, Beth Thomas
Votes: 1,178
19. ChickenHawk (1994)
55 min | Documentary, Crime
Members of the controversial group NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association) discuss why their organization supports "boys and men who have or desire engagements in sexual or emotional relationships."
Director: Adi Sideman | Stars: Barbara Adler, Mimi Turner, Bill Andriette, Bill Bickly
Votes: 389
Tell Your Friends