My biggest form of entertainment is watching documentaries. I love learning so many new things on so many different topics, however my favorite documentaries are political and true crime mysteries. So here is a list of my 10 favorite documentaries (in no particular order), all of which are on Netflix!
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I Am A Killer- This docuseries interviews different people who were sentenced to death row for their crimes. The viewer gets a deeper understanding of the criminal as a person and the reasons for the crime they committed. When I first saw this on Netflix, I fully expected for the producer to discuss what life was like on death row, but they, in turn, made you feel sympathy for these “monsters” and reminds the viewer that death row criminals are people just like us.
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The Propaganda Game- This is one of the first documentaries I remember watching on my own. This documentary follows a man named Alvaro Longoria who travels to isolated North Korea. Longoria goes into great detail about how North Korea uses propaganda to brainwash its people and what life is truly like for them.
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Casting Jonbenet Ramsey- This documentary was filmed in such an intriguing way. In this Netflix Original, the producers recast the Ramsey family with actors from the family’s town as they, the actors, try to explain what they witnessed that night and what they thought really happened.
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The Keepers- In this six part docuseries, a few women in small town Maryland try to solve their high school teacher’s murder from 50 years ago. The women explain the cruelty they experienced at their high school and how they turned to Sister Cathy for comfort. This exposé not only attempts to solve a murder but also the scandals that high school girls experienced at Catholic school.
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Interview with a Serial Killer-This documentary does exactly what is in the title- interviews a serial killer. But not just any serial killer, they interviewed Arthur Shawcross, who was known for murdering multiple prostitutes and young women in the Spencerport area of Rochester, NY. This documentary was particularly interesting for me to watch because you can see the insanity in everything that Shawcross says and does during his interview.
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Russia’s Toughest Prisons- I watched this with my sisters a few years ago and we still talk about this documentary today. It follows the producer to Russia’s toughest prisons and what life is like behind bars for these criminals through interviews with serial killers and cannibals and how extreme the rules are. It scared me then, because it was that real and raw.
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Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer- This documentary discusses the life of Aileen Wuornos, the first woman put to death for the murder of 5 men. It also features interviews with Aileen before her death and seeing her insanity was so fascinating to me.
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The Staircase- This docuseries was so trippy for me to watch. It follows the investigation of Michael Peterson after his wife’s mysterious murder, as he was accused of the murder. But at the end of the show, you can’t tell who did it and what to believe.
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City 40- This fascinating documentary is forced to use secret filming to capture life in a secret city in Russia. The city is kept secret due to a nuclear agreement between the government and the city’s people.
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Icarus- This is quite honestly my favorite documentary of all time! It won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2018. Following a man named Brian who enlists the help of a man named Grigory to experiment with athletic doping, the two men expose the Russian government and their system of doping in the Olympics and it only gets more insane from there!