Ever since the release of The Ted Bundy Tapes and Abducted in Plain Sight, documentaries involving crime have become many people’s new guilty pleasure. I, myself, have also become a victim to this, and thanks to Netflix, I’ve discovered a few more murder mysteries that will keep you hooked the same way Making a Murderer did.
1. Amanda Knox (2016)
This unexpected documentary details a controversial trial held back in 2007, where Amanda was in the center of it all. Knox, then 21 years old at the time, was studying abroad in Italy when her roommate Meredith Kercher was brutally murdered. Not only is the film narrated by Amanda Knox herself, but it also includes other key characters in the trial including her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito, and Italian Prosector Giuliano Mignini.
2. Evil Genius (2018)
Based on a bank robbery involving a pizza delivery man named Brian Wells, this mini series goes through the investigation that leads up to finding out who actually committed the crime. Wells’s death was first thought to be a suicide, but later turned out to be a murder after it was found that he was forced to rob a bank through an anonymous call to the pizza place. In the four episodes, watchers are treated to real life footage and commentary from those involved.
3. Casting JonBenet (2017)
Taking a different approach to how true crime documentaries are usually depicted, this story is told through auditions for what would be a film about the cold case of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996. In the film, locals from Colorado audition for the parts of JonBenet and her family as well as police officials. While going through the whole audition process, the actors are asked to share their opinions on the unsolved case.
4. Strong Island (2017)
With the director having a deep connection to the crime, this documentary adds a personal view to the murder of William Ford in 1992. Directed by Yance Ford, he films his opinion as well as those of his family towards the event, as well as the verdict that was reached in the murder of his brother. Throughout the film, Yance investigates the crime for himself and looks at what actually happened, which was something he couldn’t have done in the past because of grief.
5. The Keepers (2017)
This seven-part series details the unsolved murder of nun Sister Cathy Cesnik in 1969. Cesnik was an English teacher at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, where A. Joseph Maskell, a priest at the school, had been found guilty of sexual assault in 1992. After the news of Maskell came out, the cold case was looked into again when past students alleged that Maskell had been involved in the murder because Cesnik suspected he had been assaulting students. The series uncovers long held secrets and commentary from people who had known Sister Cathy Cesnik.
Even though true crime documentaries create fear in us, there’s also a fascination and interest that comes with murder mysteries, especially when the crime hasn’t been solved. And although they all recount different incidents and time periods, all five documentaries are a must-watch that will definitely keep anyone’s documentary addiction alive.
