5 OF THE MOST WELL-MADE CRIME DOCUMENTARIES ON NETFLIX

Today, I wanted to talk about some of the most well-made crime documentaries on Netflix right now. I am posting this is Spooktober, but I wanted to make sure that I made clear that these are all true crime documentaries that impacted and continue to impact real families and people.

This post is a review and not meant for entertainment. Documentaries are a great way to understand the minds of criminals and understand some of the real issues that happen in our society.

All opinions are my own and actual charges and accusations should be tried in a court of law.

1. AMERICAN MURDER: THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

This documentary follows the case of Chris Watts, a man who killed his pregnant wife and two young daughters.

It is believed that Watts did this in order to be with his girlfriend, Nikki, but he is now in prison for the rest of his life. 

I loved the way the makers of this documentary just let the evidence speak for itself. It contained no interviews as a normal documentary would. Instead, it just presented all of the evidence, such as text messages, videos taken by the victim, and police interrogations. 

I think more documentaries should follow this kind of format, because it leaves no room for the watcher to be persuaded a certain way by a family member or friend talking about this or that.

2. ROLL RED ROLL

Thankfully, no one was killed in this case. However, the life a young woman was ruined after she was raped at a party.

It really shines a light on the issue women still face in more southern communities. It shows that many small southern towns would rather protect their sports teams rather than protect their daughters from predators.

Many of the people involved, including the victim, were underage. There was a ton of police interrogation footage and, interestingly enough, the case got a lot of attention thanks to a blogger in the area!

3. ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

I heard this story for the first time on Anthony Padilla's channel on YouTube. He has a series where he spends a day with ______. He spent a day with abduction survivors, and Jan Broberg was on this episode. Basically, this goes back to 1974 when a family friend who was a master manipulator convinced Jan's parents to allow him to take her on a trip alone. He drugged her and convinced her they had to have a child and were being held by aliens.

This guy managed to have some sort of sexual interaction with both of Jan's parents. It is interesting to see how the story evolves. 

4. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MADELEINE MCCANN 

This docuseries is so in depth that it makes you question every possibility of where Madeleine could be or if she is even alive.

I really liked how they put together all of the pieces and explored all of the possibilities. This got brought back up in my mind because a YouTube family I watch is vlogging in the area where she was taken, and showed a part of the area on their vlog. Very well done! It is a story the world has and continues to talk about.

5. AUDRIE AND DAISY

This documentary covers the death of Audrie, who killed herself following public shaming after a party. During the party, she was drawn on after passing out. They drew all over her body, including her private parts. The shame she experienced at school drove her to end her own life.

It also covers Daisy, who was a part of the interview. She was a freshman cheerleader who went to go hang out with some older boys. She got drunk and forgot what happened the rest of the night but a friend, who had also been sexually assaulted that night, realized she was laying on a bed in the same room she was assaulted in.

Daisy's mom found her laying in the yard, where her hair has frozen to the ground. When she was undressing her to get her in warmer clothes, she noticed parts of her body were really red, so she took her to the hospital. 

They added animation over the testimony of the underaged people or people who wanted their identity protected, which I've never seen before. Overall, a great expose of the two extreme outcomes of extreme situations.