Premium7 spine-chilling crime documentaries that will leave you sleepless for nights
Harrowing tales of crimes beyond imagination
Raktim Das
Last Updated:
Crime documentaries are a good source of adrenaline rush from the comfort of our homes. Engaging in a mysterious story, crime entertainment fuels adult imagination in a childlike fantasy of good versus evil. Watching them also provides insights about the dark side of the society from which we are often sheltered, increasing our awareness. Moreover, on seeing the offenders getting caught, a sense of justice prevails.
Here’s a list of 7 acclaimed crime documentaries that testify for some of the most mortifying perpetrators of the century.
1
Ted Bundy: Falling For a Killer
Revisiting the horrendous story of serial killer Ted Bundy responsible for the abduction and subsequent murder of more than 30 women (only accounted), the docuseries adopts a unique approach. It retells the story from a female perspective, giving voice to the victims of these harrowing crimes as they recount the much-publicised tale. It begins with a bold statement, “This story has been told many times by men. Now’s the time to talk about our own story from beginning to end,” setting the tone for a spine-chilling and tragic watch.
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2
The Keepers
Sister Cathy Cesnik was a beloved nun and teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland. But things took a drastic turn for her, as she went missing on November 7, 1969, with her body being discovered the following year, lying on her back on a frozen hillside, far from home and her skull broken in. This documentary miniseries perfectly captures the underlying crimes that were being perpetuated against the students of the school, which Sister Cesnik tried to stop and had to pay a very heavy price for. A skilfully edited series, it investigates every small detail painstakingly, including interviews of former pupils, key witnesses and police, unravelling a complex story of the crime, hidden for ages.
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3
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
A twisted perpetrator, a cat-and-mouse chase and a manhunt by Facebook sleuths – the documentary chronicles the attempts to catch Luka Magnotta, a Montreal inhabitant who first became infamous for anonymously torturing and killing cats and posting a video of it. This was followed by the gruesome murder of Jun Lin in 2012, which initiated the manhunt.
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4
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
A crime documentary framed from the perspective of two detectives Frank Salerno and Gil Carrillo, it speaks of the dreaded Richard Ramirez aka the Night Stalker, who terrorized the streets of LA in the 1980s, before finally getting caught by the cops. A four-part docuseries, it puts together archival footage, crime scene photos, and interviews with Carrillo, Salerno, media members who reported on the Night Stalker case at the time, and a few of the Night Stalker’s victims, to portray the how dangerous the nocturnal monster was.
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5
I Am a Killer Season 4
With never-seen-before footage access from prisons across America, the one-of-a-kind documentary series is an insight into the minds of the criminals who have been convicted and given life imprisonment or death sentences. It is made up of one-to-one interviews with each of these hardened perpetrators, as they recount their past action and motives, and reveal how they view it presently, making you question whether people can really change or is it all a facade.
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6
Evil Genius
Based on the infamous Bank Heist of 2003 in Erie, PA, the documentary testimonies to the saga where a pizza delivery man, Brian Wells, was used as a bait for a twisted, convoluted bank robbery scheme. A layered tale of death, obsession, illness and rejection, it is a grisly account of a crime beyond imagination.
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7
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
One of America’s most dreaded serial killers, Ted Bundy was a man who achieved an incredible amount of fame, even after being convicted as a murderer, with many worshipping this grand idol and demanding his acquittal claiming his innocence. Containing 100 hours of interviews with Ted Bundy by journalist Stephen G Michaud, the gripping docuseries is a Bundy monologue where he reveals details about his life, and also his crimes, even if it is in a hypothetical third-person narrative.
