Crime, Chaos, Corruption Documentary Reviews
What Captive Audience: A Real American Horror story is all about without spoiling the show Captive Audience: A Real American Horror story is a tale in two parts covering two different cases very much related to each other. First, it’s the story of Steven Stayner who at seven years old is abducted by Kenneth Parnell.... Continue Reading →
When I watched Who Killed Lt Van Dorn I was hoping for something different. I don’t always read the descriptions of the documentaries I watch. Maybe I am partly to blame for not enjoying this one as much as other people could. Who Killed Lt Van Dorn sounds like a case of a military person... Continue Reading →
Pharma Bro is a documentary about the life, times, and possible heel character created by Martin Shrkeli. He’s more than a vowel short of being a nice person. Known mostly for raising drug prices several years ago for his own profit, this documentary sets out on a mission to uncover whether or not Shkreli is... Continue Reading →
The trial of Alex Murdaugh is ongoing and will be one of the big ones in 2023 to follow. If you are unfamiliar with the story, the true crime documentary Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty will catch you up. You also have me to provide some insight and a few tidbits as to why this is... Continue Reading →
The Paradise Lost trilogy is the quintessential true crime series. On its own, the first film stands the test of time. We get a behind-the-scenes look at a murder trial, the families of the victims, and the three teenagers whose future will be determined by a jury. No true crime documentary may ever knock Paradise... Continue Reading →
What Evil Genius is all about without ruining the show Back before I knew how much I enjoyed true crime documentaries, I heard on a sports radio show of all places, a recommendation for a Netflix series called Evil Genius. I took the recommendation to heart and watched what became one of my early favorites... Continue Reading →
There are a lot of true crime documentaries I think fall into the underrated category. I certainly enjoy some of the classics like Paradise Lost, The Staircase, and the forgotten gem from the 1980s, The Thin Blue Line. Some more modern ones that have fallen under the radar stuck with me just as much, if... Continue Reading →
It’s not always easy to find a good true crime documentary to watch. I’ll watch at least three a week. Too many times I’ll spend a few minutes searching only to settle for whatever series I’m also putting on in the background during work. My enjoyment of true crime documentaries on a near-daily basis is... Continue Reading →
What Dreams of a Life is all about without spoiling the show Unless you count being a bad friend a crime or a disaster, the documentary Dreams of a Life is quite different from many of the others reviewed here. It’s the story of a woman named Joyce Vincent who was found dead in her... Continue Reading →
What Have You Seen This Man? is all about without spoiling the show Have You Seen This Man is the story of John Ruffo who, after being sentenced to a 17-year prison term for his connection to a scam, disappears. Ruffo’s whereabouts are unknown but alleged connections to the FBI, Russia, and maybe even the... Continue Reading →
What Untold: Crimes and Penalties is all about without ruining the show The Untold Series is pretty consistent in putting together documentaries of the nefarious nature from the sports world. In Untold: Crimes and Penalties, we get the story of an alleged mobster who buys his 17-year-old son a minor league hockey team, the Dansbury... Continue Reading →
What Murder in the Valleys is all about without spoiling the show Never judge a true crime documentary by its title. Nothing about Murder in the Valleys seems attractive by looking at the title. It gets lost in the world of much more inventive true crime documentaries like The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker or Don’t Fuck... Continue Reading →
When Tiger King came out in early 2020, it helped a lot of people through the pandemic by keeping us distracted. It was one of the few big hits on Netflix early in the year while everyone was trapped at home surrounded by toilet paper. It became a quick phenomen. People in all walks of... Continue Reading →
What Bender is all about without spoiling the show Bender is a scripted film loosely based on the Bender Family that terrorized citizens in Kansas during the 1800s. Known as the Bloody Benders, the foursome has the reputation as the first serial killer family. Here you are thinking the Partridge Family was it. The film,... Continue Reading →
What The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is all about without spoiling the show The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker is to true crime documentaries what Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town is to the Pearl Jam catalog. It’s a mouthful yet beautifully titled piece of true crime documentary. This story begins with how Kai, a... Continue Reading →
What Tickled is all about without spoiling the show Tickled has one of the strangest premises of any documentary in any category. A journalist and filmmaker goes into the world of competitive tickling. Who knew this was a thing? Do they make trading cards? What he discovers is as strange as one might think. Is... Continue Reading →
The name Skye Borgman is one to know in the world of true crime documentaries. In fact, she’s the unofficial queen of the genre. Let’s make the title official. Skye is to true crime documentaries what Ken Burns is to films about boring old-timey topics. This isn’t to insult Mr. Burns. I like his work.... Continue Reading →
What Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street is all about without spoiling the show Uh, this one is pretty self-explanatory. Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street is about none other than Bernie Madoff and the Ponzi Scheme which made him a household name and not for a good reason. Judging by the title, you can... Continue Reading →
What Dead Asleep is all about without spoiling the show The true crime documentary Dead Asleep covers the case of Randy Herman and the murder of Brooke Preston. Why is this one worth a documentary? Randy admits to the crime immediately and later uses sleepwalking as the defense. Dead Asleep examines the details of the... Continue Reading →
What The Keepers is all about without spoiling the show The Keepers is a layered true crime documentary about more than the death of a nun in Baltimore. While the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik is a focal point of the story, there is a lot more to uncover. Along with trying to find the... Continue Reading →
What Down the Hill is all about without spoiling the show Down the Hill is the story of what became known as the Delphi Bridge Murders. By the time I watched it, the story was very outdated because it was a newer case and there was a lot of mystery at the time when Down... Continue Reading →
The true crime genre of films and series is ever-growing. Every streaming platform seems to have one come out each month. Peacock even gave Casey Anthony an opportunity to explain herself. I haven’t watched it. From what I’ve seen and heard, it didn’t change anyone’s minds. The growth of true crime documentaries is something I... Continue Reading →
What Into the Deep is all about without spoiling the show In the most simplest explanation, Into the Deep is a one-part documentary film about an inventor who murders a woman on a submarine. Into the Deep tells the story in a unique way. The murderer, Peter Madsen, was already being filmed around the time... Continue Reading →
What The Confession is all about without spoiling the show A married woman, Patricia Hall, has gone missing in Yorkshire, England. Who do you think the prime suspect is? In The Confession, many clues point toward the husband, Keith Hall, who at times comes across as a little cocky and arrogant with the police and... Continue Reading →
What The Anthrax Attacks is all about without ruining the show A well-documented case anyone who was around in 2001 will remember, The Anthrax Attacks is the story of the post-9/11 mailings of anthrax to both prominent people and regular citizens. The documentary uses some good reenactments to tell the story of the man, Bruce... Continue Reading →
What Don’t Pick Up the Phone is all about without spoiling the show Don’t Pick Up the Phone is one of the most unique true crime documentaries you’ll come across. A manager at McDonald’s has received a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer. He says one of her employees is... Continue Reading →
What The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is all about without spoiling the show I’ll refer to this one simply as The Volcano in my descriptions to save your eyes from getting too tired. This documentary is about the 2019 eruption of a volcano in New Zealand and the ensuing rescue. It’s a basic premise. Do... Continue Reading →
What Sins of Our Mother is all about without spoiling the show Sins of Our Mother is far too difficult to describe without giving away too many spoilers. The basic premise is a mother, Lori Vallow, who seems to have an affinity with a strange cult-like belief about the end of days and a chubby... Continue Reading →
There will be a season two of Ryan Murphy’s show Monster. Season one focused on the notorious boogeyman, Jeffrey Dahmer. Season two’s main subject has yet to be named but there are plenty of candidates out. Unfortunately, serial killers walk among us. Our fascination with them, in documentary or scripted biography format, only seems to... Continue Reading →
Season one of Ryan Murphy’s show Monster took a scripted look at the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer. There will be a second season. With Dahmer already getting his head bashed in, Murphy will need to look somewhere else. The first season did feature scenes with Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy. Gein might... Continue Reading →
What The Tetris Murders is all about without spoiling the show The Tetris Murders covers the story of a Russian immigrant, Vladimir Pokhilko, who was involved in the creation of the video game Tetris. Years later, he allegedly killed his wife and young son while taking his own life. The problem is that much of... Continue Reading →
What The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness is all about without spoiling the show What is it with true crime documentaries and their long titles? Books are guilty of it, too. In any case, The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness will be referred to as The Sons of Sam moving forward... Continue Reading →
What The Thin Blue Line is all about without spoiling the show This 1980s true crime documentary is the story of a man imprisoned for murdering a police officer. It sounds simple enough, but The Thin Blue Line sets a high bar. Both the imprisoned and the only other suspect in the case, a much... Continue Reading →
What Sole Survivor is all about without spoiling the show Sole Survivor has an incredibly unique premise. It follows the story of several individuals who were the lone person to survive a major plane crash. The focus is on one man in particular who, as a teenager, survived a plane crash. Now, as an adult,... Continue Reading →
What Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is all about without spoiling the show The documentary Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, which’ll now be referred to as The Texas Killing Fields from now on in this review, is about a well-known case in, of all places, Texas! A series of bodies are found along... Continue Reading →
What The Watcher is all about without spoiling the show This scripted series is the story of a family that moves into a new home in Westfield, New Jersey only to soon receive threatening letters in the mail from someone who calls themselves The Watcher. The neighbors and other people the family interact with are... Continue Reading →
What Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is all about Also well-known as the case of the West Memphis Three, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is a three-part documentary film series about murder of three children: Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers. They, however, are not what... Continue Reading →
What FIFA Uncovered is all about without completely ruining the show Every four years, the world gathers around to enjoy the World Cup. The organization running this soccer tournament isn’t the cleanest. FIFA Uncovered does exactly what the title of this documentary claims it will. It uncovers FIFA, strips it naked, and reminds sports fans... Continue Reading →
What The Clown & The Candyman is all about without spoiling the show Two of the sickest serial killers might have actually had a connection according to thise true crime documentary. The Clown & The Candyman proposes an idea that John Wayne Gacy and Dean Corll may have been part of a pedophile ring extending... Continue Reading →
What FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened is all about without spoiling the show For the sake of keeping it simple, I’ll refer to this documentary simply as FYRE. Repeatedly mentioning it as the greatest party that never happened will get tiring. We all know it didn't happen. Let's not waste words. Deal? Not... Continue Reading →
What The Killer Nanny: Did She Do It? Is all about without spoiling the show The Killer Nanny: Did She Do It? is the story of and English woman who comes to the United States, lives in Boston, and ends up on trial for the murder of an infant. Did she do it? The documentary... Continue Reading →
What Two Shallow Graves is all about without spoiling the show The high-profile disappearance of the McStay Family of four (Joseph, Summer, Gianni, and Joseph Jr.) is the case discussed in this true crime documentary. This is a case many people followed when it was merely a missing persons case. There was a ton of... Continue Reading →
Practically Trouble 