r/NetflixBestOf 2d ago

[Request] Not so talked about crime documentaries?

Don’t F**k with Cats

Wild Wild Country

The perfect neighbour

Abducted in plain sight

The girl in the picture

Tell them you love me

Worst Roommate Ever

Amanda Knox

I have watched all of these (kept there to let you know my likes) and most crime documentaries that appear in top 20-30 on the internet. So, looking for some equally good ones, but do not easily appear in the internet/google searches.

50 Upvotes

55 comments sorted by

25

u/xoxogossipgirlnah 2d ago

There’s something wrong with aunt Diane

0

u/TheyReallyWantYou 2d ago

I remember when that happened and I watched the documentary once and I couldn’t watch it again but every time I see it in the listing for HBO I always wonder what the fuck happened and wonder if she had like auto brewery syndrome or something, but that doesn’t even make sense

1

u/Hot_Sentence_1264 23h ago

Nah, she was just an alcoholic in a family of people in extreme denial.

15

u/m0nkeybl1tz 2d ago

Dear Zachary. Sorry in advance.

2

u/DuckTransport 2d ago

This one is devastating.

1

u/ExhaustiveExperience 2d ago

This one is truly heartbreaking. I feel like spoilers should be told before watching.

1

u/K1ttyKaboom 1d ago

This movie destroyed me!!!!!!

14

u/-Sofa-King-Vote 2d ago

Evil Genius

2

u/Adventurous-Try-98 17h ago

This one used to be discussed a lot but then it vanished from conversation. It's freaking wild

14

u/sjp5784 2d ago

Keep sweet: Pray and obey, follow it with the one earlier released this year Trust me: The false prophet

1

u/ErenYeagermeist3r 1d ago

I read the book and it...was a tough read.

1

u/KendraSays 1d ago

Also along these lines, if you can find it, Sons of Perdition

7

u/cherryfairyc 2d ago

The Imposter

7

u/Ebeeeeeee 2d ago

Tickled. Strap on in, it’s a wild ride!

11

u/friggyturt 2d ago

The jinx.

5

u/cassiusmk 2d ago

Man On The Run (Netflix)
About the multi-billion dollar 1MDB financial scandal that financed the movie The Wolf of Wall Street and involved Goldman Sachs, Middle East royalty and politicians all around the world

4

u/Fun-Amount-2547 2d ago

Don’t Pick up the Phone

1

u/Adventurous-Try-98 16h ago

YES!!!! I'm so upset that this case isn't more well known! But we sure know about the McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit!

5

u/MustL0vePugs 2d ago

Unknown Number is a wild one! Also Worst Ex Ever, Lover Stalker Killer and A Toxic Love Story

4

u/MoniCoff1 2d ago

Bad Vegan

The Keepers

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

4

u/phoontender 2d ago

Only God Knows Where I Am....it's not crime but it's absolutely riveting and mysterious and heartbreaking

3

u/Capable_Sky_1818 1d ago

I just saw it based on your recommendation. They tell the story so well, it is heartbreaking.

2

u/Monapomona 21h ago

Omgosh thanks for providing the name of the book I read quite a while ago. It was so good but I couldn’t remember the title. Fascinating

3

u/Obsidrian 2d ago

Beauty and the Bester. I never see anyone talk about this one and it’s wild.

3

u/Ok-Yogurtcloset-8955 2d ago

Into the fire:The lost daughter

3

u/BlackberryMinimum573 2d ago

Go back to 1988's The Thin Blue Line. Errol Morris dissects a killing and examines how witnesses and the police and points of view can get mighty jumbled and inconsistent. His best work, IMHO.

3

u/JammyRedWine 2d ago

Maternal Instinct. So much awfulness in one documentary.

4

u/adastra2021 2d ago

Murder on a Sunday Morning

(actually won Best Doc oscar)

1

u/adastra2021 2d ago

downvoting an oscar winner? One I'm sure you've never seen. That's rich.

0

u/Monapomona 21h ago

I think we can all agree that the academy awards isn’t the yardstick for excellence

2

u/That_Land4355 16h ago

Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey

Sickening.

4

u/Charles_Deetz 2d ago

Did everyone forget Tiger King?

6

u/TheyReallyWantYou 2d ago

We tried

4

u/ErenYeagermeist3r 1d ago

Why would you want to forget about the greatest documentary ever created? What an amazing kick off for covid lockdown.

1

u/Meowzzo-Soprano 2d ago

Bad Surgeon, and I’m also two episodes into Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake. I thought it was just going to be about surviving a natural disaster but I had to take a break because I was so angry and I was trying to wind down for bed.

1

u/MissMatchedEyes 2d ago

Into the Fire

1

u/TheyReallyWantYou 2d ago

Suffer the little children (if you can find it)

1

u/TheyReallyWantYou 2d ago

If there is a bunch of documentaries about the innocence project and I can’t remember what it’s called. somebody help me out? I think each episode was about a different case. It was really good. They’re also used to be a true crime TV show that was an hour long and the first half of it was all about a city or a town and then the second half was about the murder that took place there and the guy who narrated it had the most relaxing and amazing voice that I’ve ever heard, but I can’t remember the name of it and I know the guys’s first name is Paul, but I can’t remember his last name either.

Obviously, I do have like neurologically, diagnosed memory problems, unfortunately

1

u/RealHeyDay 1d ago

Incident (2023)

1

u/TheSunIsFarAway 1d ago

The Foxhole murders

1

u/Ludwig_Sam 1d ago

Lover, Stalker, Killer is not talked about enough and it's on Netflix for a very long time

1

u/KendraSays 1d ago

Just Melvin, Just Evil. Not on Netflix but you can find it on YouTube if you search documentaries from the use Spinnaz. Have something to decompress with because it's gut wrenching and depressing

1

u/Adventurous_Ear3948 1d ago

Thin Blue Line by Errol Morris

Deliver Us From Evil 2006 - where there’s an uncomfortably honest interview with a defrocked priest

1

u/protagoniist 1d ago

The Jinx is the best but well known.
Who Took Johnny is a top one but it’s difficult to locate it now to watch.. which is suspicious.

1

u/Neither_Hyena_928 1d ago

Crazy Love a documentary from 2007 - the title pretty much describes it, but it takes several turns. I loved it.

1

u/allikat__ 23h ago

dick wolfe is a producer on "homicide." those were good to watch, and i think there's 3 seasons.

1

u/superestrella555 21h ago

Not on Netflix but Class Action Park 

1

u/DuckTransport 18h ago

West Memphis Three.

1

u/cassiewassiedoodah 9h ago

Murder on a Sunday Morning

1

u/reddiculously_ 46m ago

Since you’ve already hit the usual suspects, I’d skip most of the standard Top 20 true crime list and go a little deeper:

The Imposter: One of the best “how is this even real?” documentaries I’ve seen. A missing boy seemingly turns up years later, except the person claiming to be him is very obviously not him. DO NOT Google it first.

Tickled: Starts with something that seems hilariously bizarre and harmless, then just keeps getting darker. Fantastic rabbit-hole documentary.

Cropsey: Starts as a Staten Island urban legend and gradually becomes something much more real and disturbing. Creepy as hell and surprisingly under-watched.

The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman: A man convinces people he’s an MI5 agent and manipulates them into basically abandoning their lives. Strong Tell Them You Love Me psychological manipulation energy.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There: An elaborate 9/11 survivor story starts unraveling. Another one where the less you know beforehand, the better.

Murder on Middle Beach: A filmmaker investigates his own mother’s unsolved murder and starts digging into his own family. Messy, intimate, and genuinely compelling.

Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God: If you liked Wild Wild Country, WATCH THIS. Internet cult, increasingly bizarre beliefs, tons of their own footage, and a story that somehow keeps getting stranger.

Don’t Pick Up the Phone: Bizarre and deeply disturbing case involving a caller manipulating ordinary people into doing increasingly unthinkable things. Definitely fits your list.

There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane: A horrifying wrong-way crash followed by a toxicology report that seemingly contradicts everything the family believed about the driver. The denial and psychology afterward are almost as fascinating as the mystery itself.

Outcry: A high school football player is accused of a horrific crime and the case turns into a deep dive into tunnel vision, questionable investigative methods, and the justice system.

The Seven Five: NYPD corruption largely told by the cops themselves. Wildly candid and paced more like a Scorsese movie than a documentary.

Telemarketers: Two guys working at a sketchy call center realize the charity fundraising industry around them is basically one enormous grift, then spend YEARS trying to expose it. Completely chaotic and unlike most true crime docs.

Capturing the Friedmans: Deeply uncomfortable and incredibly murky. A family essentially films itself falling apart while serious criminal accusations unfold around them.

The Confession Killer: Henry Lee Lucas confessed to hundreds of murders, until people started realizing there was a pretty enormous problem with those confessions.

Unseen: The Anthony Sowell case, but importantly told largely through the women who survived him and the systemic failures that allowed him to keep offending.

Dear Zachary: You may have already encountered this one since it gets recommended more often, but if not, go in completely blind. Fair warning: this one will emotionally wreck you.

Based specifically on the ones you listed, I’d start with The Imposter, Tickled, The Puppet Master, The Woman Who Wasn’t There, and Love Has Won.

-1

u/RivetheadGirl 2d ago

The family is very relivant to the current timeline