Crime documentaries
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- DirectorBarbara BrancaccioJoshua ZemanStarsJoshua ZemanBarbara BrancaccioBill EllisRealizing that the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsDelbert WardRoscoe WardLyman WardThis compelling documentary details the strange-but-true murder trial of Delbert Ward, accused of the mercy killing of his brother in rural upstate NY. This real-life murder mystery won the Audience Award at Sundance.
- DirectorBart LaytonStarsAdam O'BrianNicholas BarclayCarey GibsonA 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.
- DirectorJ. David MilesStarsLisa BaerDanny BixlerDesta BixlerThe discovery of the mutilated body of a mentally challenged young mother begins a journey into madness that is so unbelievable the mastermind behind the crime ultimately got away with murder.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary 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.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRandall AdamsDavid HarrisGus RoseA film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsGary GitchellTodd MooreDana MooreA further followup of the case of the West Memphis Three and the decades long fight to exonerate them that finally gained traction with new DNA evidence.
- StarsMaggie HuculakVicki GabereauTamara HamiltonAward-winning investigation into the crimes of Robert Pickton. This documentary explores why it took so many years to capture and convict Canada's most prolific serial killer. Troubling revelations about who knew what, and when.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsAileen WuornosNick BroomfieldTerry Humphreys-SlayNick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsOto BrezinaJoe ColemanBob DunsworthA documentary about Albert Fish, who was a sadistic and cannibalistic serial killer.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsJason BaldwinDamien Wayne EcholsJessie MisskelleyAn examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- DirectorKen BurnsSarah BurnsDavid McMahonStarsAntron McCrayKevin RichardsonKharey WiseA documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.
- DirectorArthur GinsbergStarsMark MustoRocco FazzolariRichard KuklinskiRichard Kuklinski was a devoted husband, a loving father...and a ruthless killer. A decade after HBO last visited him in prison, the convicted murderer, who freely admits having whacked more than 100 people in cold blood, takes viewers back inside his cold, calculating mind. In this follow-up to America Undercover's 1992 film The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer, Kuklinski provides all-new insights about his exploits as one of the Mafia's most notorious assassins...and reveals some shocking confessions for a number of previously unsolved murders.
- DirectorRicki SternAnne SundbergStarsEvelyn JeffersonFred FlaglerJohn Reeves"The Trials of Darryl Hunt" is a feature documentary about a brutal rape/murder case and a wrongly convicted man, Darryl Hunt, who spent nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Both a social justice story and a personally driven narrative, the film chronicles this capital case from 1984 through 2004. With exclusive footage from two decades, the film frames the judicial and emotional response to a chilling crime - and the implications that reverberate from Hunt's conviction - against a backdrop of class and racial bias in the South and in the American criminal justice system. This documentary is the culmination of ten years of research and filming. In 1993, inspired by claims of injustice and police conspiracy, the filmmakers began to shoot in North Carolina. Working from a mix of formats (16mm and 24P video) the film melds the visceral reality of a murder case with first person accounts and cinematic imagery, illuminating perceptions and memories of events as they unfolded for the people closest to this haunting story. This unique look at one man's loss and redemption challenges the assumption that all Americans have the right to unbiased justice. Hunt's story - while one man's personal journey - reflects systemic issues of national concern: cross-racial eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, inexperienced defense attorneys assigned to capital cases, racial bias in death penalty cases and errors in police procedure. Barry Scheck from The Innocence Project, who worked on Hunt's case for ten years, and Gary Wells, professor and eyewitness expert, offer concrete examples where errors occurred in Hunt's saga and offer future remedies and effective ideas to prevent future "Darryl Hunts." Hunt himself addresses the need for systemic reforms to prevent wrongful convictions, underscoring the haunting reality that Hunt could have been sentenced to death and we would never have known this story.
- DirectorJoshua ZemanStarsRachel MillsJoshua ZemanStephen WinickDelving into our collective nightmares, this horror-documentary investigates the origins of our most terrifying urban legends and the true stories that may have inspired them.
- DirectorJames Ronald WhitneyStarsJames Ronald WhitneyMelvin JustDenise BensonAn 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.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsTony JayEd BertagnoliCary CallisonTorture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
- DirectorDavid PriorStarsPierre BidouRussell T. ButterbachLes LundbladRetrospective documentary covering aspects of the Zodiac investigation, including interviews with the original investigators and surviving victims.
- StarsRobert DurstAndrew JareckiCharles BagliFilmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsDamien Wayne EcholsMelissa ByersNorris DeajonThe case of the West Memphis Three, its questionable circumstances and the parties involved are followed up years later.
- StarsSal LaBarberaKen MainsKevin KnightLAPD homicide detective Sal LaBarbera and a team of master codebreakers use their unrivaled expertise to bring the most mysterious serial killer in American history into the light.
- StarsJoshua ZemanRachel MillsPeter BrendtThe Killing Season is an immersive series that follows documentarians Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills as they investigate one of the most bizarre unsolved serial killer cases of our time.
- A murder, a body, a single piece of unknown DNA. So begins the gripping story of one of the most ambitious forensic investigations ever undertaken. Science and passion collide in this 7-year saga of murder and the search for justice in the foothills of the Italian Alps.
- CreatorJoe BerlingerStarsStephen MichaudBob KeppelKathleen McChesneyA look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy, featuring interviews with him on death row.
- StarsBob PrinceNan CubaHugh AynesworthHenry Lee Lucas was known as America's most prolific serial killer, admitting to hundreds of murders, but, as DNA results contradict his confessions, will they expose the biggest criminal justice hoax in U.S. history?
- CreatorRoss M. DinersteinClay TweelStarsHeather McPhaulJohn GrishamJ.J. ArendsThe story of Ron Williamson, a man who sat on Oklahoma's death row for 11 years for a crime he didn't commit. Based on John Grisham's "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town."
- DirectorNick BroomfieldBarney BroomfieldMarc HoeferlinStarsNick BroomfieldLonnie David Franklin Jr.DonnaNick Broomfield digs into the case of the notorious serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper, who terrorized South Central Los Angeles over a span of twenty-five years.
- DirectorLaura PaglinStarsVanessa GayLatundra BillupsShawn MorrisIn 2009, police discovered the bodies of eleven women decomposing in and around the home of a known sex offender. With access to the surviving victims, Unseen looks into how the murders of those women went unnoticed for so long.
- StarsKim Hee SookPark Myung SunKwon Il-YongFollows a serial killer who came to light as a psychopath to the Korean public in 2004.
- StarsCharlie MeanyIn 1970s NYC, the "Torso Killer" preys on women to fulfill his grotesque fantasies while eluding police. A docuseries dive into crime's darkest places.
- StarsPaul SkolnickGil CarrilloFrank SalernoThis limited docu-series tells the true story of how one of the most notorious serial killers in American history was hunted down and brought to justice.
- StarsPaul GiamattiPhil AmiconeCharlie OttThe Son of Sam case grew into a lifelong obsession for journalist Maury Terry, who became convinced that the murders were linked to a satanic cult.
- StarsAlan WhitehouseKeith HellawellAndrew LaptewInvestigators and witnesses recall how a modern-day Jack the Ripper terrorized the north of England during the late 1970s.
- StarsGemma HoskinsAbbie SchaubVirginia AnzengruberA seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death.
- StarsDeanna ThompsonJohn GreenClaudette HamlinA group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of himself killing kittens.
- StarsMary WelcomeTony AxamMonica Kaufman PearsonA never-before-seen look at the killings of at least 30 African-American children and young adults that occurred over a two-year period in the Georgia capital.
- StarsPatton OswaltPaul HaynesAmy RyanGripping examination of the unsolved crimes of the Golden State Killer who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s.
- DirectorDavid PriorStarsRalph A. SpinelliDonald CheneySanto Paul PanzarellaRetrospective documentary on Arthur Leigh Allen, a prime suspect in the Zodiac investigation.
- StarsTerry SullivanPhilip HershJay LevineThe chilling story of one of the world's most notorious serial killers told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds and those who believe that the full truth remains concealed to this day.
- StarsJillian LaurenRon'NettaAlena AckerThe astonishing story of the unprecedented relationship between acclaimed author and journalist Jillian Lauren and the most prolific serial killer in American history, Sam Little.