- 4 months ago
They say truth is stranger than fiction, and these films prove it. Join us as we count down our picks for the documentaries that tackle dark subjects in unsettling ways. From disturbing true crime cases to shocking social experiments, these real-life stories will haunt you long after the credits roll. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
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00:00You can't prove anything that happened yesterday.
00:04Now is the only thing that's real.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the documentaries that tackle
00:11dark subjects in unsettling ways. For this list, we'll only be looking at standalone projects,
00:17so no docuseries as they deserve a list of their own. There will be spoilers.
00:21Why? How could you not tell us?
00:2650. Tell Me Who I Am
00:29If you forgot your worst experiences, would you want to hear about them or live in blissful
00:34ignorance? That was the struggle Marcus Lewis went through when his brother Alex lost his
00:38memory at 18.
00:40I said to Marcus, who is she? And he just said, she is our mother.
00:47Tell Me Who I Am follows the two siblings. It starts out wholesome with Marcus painting
00:51a picture of a perfect childhood. Things fall apart when Alex finds a horrific childhood
00:55photo, leading to the revelation that their mother had abused them.
00:58It was too weird. It was just too, too strange.
01:03The final part reveals what Marcus could never say to his brother, that she allowed men to
01:07hurt them as well. It's a harrowing look into the effects of trauma, and how telling a happy
01:12lie can help the one telling it cope with the truth.
01:15Number 49. The Witness. For decades, Kitty Genovese's murder was explained away as a result of the
01:27bystander effect.
01:28She didn't quite make it halfway down the block before the killer drove a knife into her.
01:33It wasn't until her brother Bill's investigation in The Witness that the truth came out. It follows
01:38Bill as he investigates the then 50-year-old case, from tracking down known witnesses to looking through
01:43interviews conducted by officers. It revealed that the initial story of 38 people ignoring
01:47her cries for help had been a fabrication. Many called the police, but were rebuffed as they had
01:52already been told about it. Others were unaware of the true nature of the attack. One woman even held
01:57Kitty as she passed.
01:59It would have made such a difference to my family, knowing that Kitty died in the arms of her friend.
02:04It deconstructs everything the world has known about the case, and forces us to see it for the tragedy
02:09it was.
02:10I've come to realize that the whole truth about Kitty's death will never be known.
02:15Number 48. Gladiator Days. Anatomy of a Prison Murder. What drives a person to murder? It's hard
02:21to say for sure. Gladiator Days. Anatomy of a Prison Murder attempts to answer that question by showing
02:27the viewer the lead-up to and carrying out of a violent killing. It's centered around Troy Kell,
02:32a convicted murderer who earned his spot on death row by repeatedly stabbing another inmate to death.
02:37You shouldn't respect anybody. It's kind of like, you know, just, it doesn't matter.
02:43In his interviews, he gives the audience glimpses into his mind, from his hateful white
02:48supremacist viewpoints to the apathy driven into him by the prison system.
02:51I would classify myself as a separatist.
02:55While neither excuses his actions, it gives insight into some of the factors that may have
02:59contributed to the act.
03:01If the state doesn't kill me, eventually someone will get me.
03:06Number 47. Three Identical Strangers. As adults, Edward Galland, David Kelman,
03:11and Robert Schaffrin learned they were each other's long-lost triplets,
03:15but that was just the beginning of their story.
03:17He had the same grin, the same hair, the same expressions. It was his double.
03:25Three Identical Strangers delves into their discovery and how they learned that their entire
03:29lives had been the result of a psychological study. At birth, they were separated and placed
03:34into different homes in order to study the nature versus nurture phenomenon.
03:38Even their adoptive parents were left in the dark.
03:41And they had me taking tests.
03:44They did IQ tests, personality inventory.
03:47The cherry on top? The results won't be published until 2066, leading to both the subjects and the
03:53audience wondering if it was worth it. Not only did it reveal a less known form of human
03:57experimentation, it also showed how it manifested into each of their psyches as adults.
04:02There may be still twins out there who still don't know that they're twins.
04:05Number 46. An Unknown Compelling Force.
04:08One of the most compelling mysteries of the 20th century is explored in An Unknown Compelling Force,
04:13which offers an in-depth analysis of the Dyatlov Pass case.
04:16In 1959, after failing to report back, nine students were found frozen to death in subpolar
04:24condition. The film attempts to answer the question of what happened the night a group
04:28of hikers chose to flee their tent despite being unprepared for the freezing weather.
04:32Interviews with outside sources helped fill in some of those missing pieces,
04:36interspersed with re-enacted footage of what occurred the night of their deaths.
04:39Could ask God only one question? That would be, what happened to my friends?
04:46There are also various theories presented, including one that suggests they had been
04:50attacked. Though it ends without any conclusive answers, it's so well done that it will leave
04:55you at the edge of your seat the whole time.
04:57Because they're so different, there had to be three or four assailants involved in whatever
05:04this incident was.
05:05Number 45. Hated. Gigi Allen and the Murder Junkies.
05:09If there was ever a documentary that perfectly summed up its subject, it's this one. Hated.
05:13Gigi Allen and the Murder Junkies shows us the subject's incredibly literal take on the phrase
05:18sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
05:19I don't know. I don't think about the future. I think about what's happening today. I don't...
05:23It showcases Allen's career, from his intense and often nude performances to his sexual proclivities
05:28offstage. His penchant for violence and obscenity helped create a punk persona to hide the broken
05:33man behind it.
05:34I do my own thing. My mind is a machine gun. My body is a bullet. The audience is the target.
05:41From self-harm to admitting that he felt he would be a serial killer if he wasn't performing,
05:46it's clear that there was much more than met the eye. It didn't take away from any of the
05:50vile acts he committed, but did offer another perspective of his mindset.
05:54If you know Gigi the way I do, you can't talk Gigi out of doing anything that he wants to do.
06:00Number 44. Jonestown, the women behind the massacre. By now, it's clear just how evil
06:06Jim Jones was. However, he wasn't the only one pulling the strings. Jonestown, the women
06:11behind the massacre, puts the female companions in his life on the metaphorical stand. Though
06:15they were likely ensnared in his manipulative trap, they still had a hand in carrying out
06:20his infamous massacre.
06:21Jim Jones is everything to me.
06:25Not only did they reportedly come up with the correct poison-to-flavored drink ratio for each
06:29person, they may have even helped distribute it to minors. The documentary reveals their
06:34correspondence, wherein they were candid about their own eventual deaths and the love they
06:38had for the People's Temple. It's a fascinating look into how one can be a victim and a perpetrator
06:43all at once.
06:44They are Jim's girls.
06:45Number 43. Just Melvin, Just Evil.
06:49After hearing about the contents of this documentary, you will vehemently agree with its title.
06:53Just Melvin, Just Evil is centered around Melvin Just's family and how he permanently
06:58impacted them. He sexually assaulted nearly a dozen of his relatives from the time they
07:02were young.
07:04And it just totally, just destroyed our lives.
07:09Yet the true focus of the film is about how several of them had gone on to live hollow lives.
07:13Several of his daughters, blood-related or not, were shown struggling with substance use disorder,
07:18homelessness, physical trauma, and even thoughts of taking their lives. The worst part? He was never
07:23punished for these attacks.
07:25Why did you do that?
07:27I didn't do that, son of a bitch.
07:28It is a bleak yet eye-opening look into how trauma is the antithesis of linear progression,
07:33and how some never fully recover from what they've been through.
07:36What was the worst crime he did in your mind?
07:40Commerce.
07:41Number 42. Black Gold.
07:43You may not think the coffee industry has much to offer in the way of dark entertainment,
07:47yet black gold is proof that there's much more to the beverage than we think.
07:51Despite Ethiopian coffee being sought after in the Western world,
07:54those growing it hardly get to reap the benefits.
07:57The coffee collectors, coffee suppliers, coffee exporters who are bidding for the coffee.
08:02The documentary follows their union's leader on his journey for the price of the beans to be
08:06raised so that those growing them can be fairly compensated.
08:09They work eight hours, full eight hours, and they are getting half a dollar a day.
08:15This leads to the farmers praying to a higher power for their struggles to end.
08:18It is a stark look into how something many in the United States take for granted
08:22is the key to someone's success and livelihood elsewhere.
08:26I'm very tired because I'm looking at just, it reminds me of my farmers.
08:30Number 41. Paradise Lost.
08:32The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills.
08:34Their case is an infamous miscarriage of justice,
08:37and this documentary was among the reasons the defendants in the case were eventually freed.
08:41It focuses on the 1993 case wherein the West Memphis Three,
08:45Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miskelly,
08:48were accused of assaulting and killing three boys while partaking in a satanic ritual.
08:52Damien Echols told the church's youth minister he had a pact with the devil,
08:57and he was going to hell.
08:59The film documents their trials, from a dubious confession from Miskelly
09:03to religious imagery being used against Echols.
09:05The parents of the deceased were also interviewed,
09:08serving as a reminder that despite the injustice,
09:10the crime led to understandably heightened emotions.
09:13To me, this place as I stand is like hell on earth.
09:18The movie gives a glimpse into how easily manipulated the justice system can be,
09:22especially when it comes to securing a guilty verdict.
09:25I don't worship the devil or anything like that.
09:28Number 40. Experiments in the Revival of Organisms.
09:31Some of our greatest advancements have come at the expense of others, particularly animals.
09:36There's no greater example of that than experiments in the revival of organisms.
09:40As you can imagine, technique is everything.
09:45The Soviet Union documentary follows the process of using machines to replicate bodily functions
09:49in order to reanimate organs.
09:51The parts in question were sourced from a dog, whose decapitated head even makes an appearance.
09:56It's exposed to aerated oxygen, which then allows it to briefly respond.
10:00It is distressing and fascinating all at once.
10:03That description becomes even more apt when they temporarily put another dog down,
10:07before connecting the corpse to their machinery and successfully bringing it back to life.
10:12However groundbreaking it may be, it is a hard watch, especially for dog lovers.
10:17After the experiment, dogs live for years, they grow, they put on weight, and have families.
10:24Number 39. Orozco the Embalmer.
10:27When a death occurs, most of the ceremonies following it sanitize the reality of what just occurred.
10:32Events like wakes and funerals focus more on the memory of the deceased rather than the death itself.
10:37There's one place where the reality comes out.
10:40The Embalming Table.
10:41Orozco the Embalmer is centered around a man working in the death industry in Colombia.
10:45The viewers are treated to close-ups of the corpses as they're worked on.
10:49It highlights the underappreciated work he and others do to prepare bodies,
10:53from washing and dressing them to casually slicing into them.
10:56The non-glamorous presentation highlights just how mundane both death and the violence nearby have become.
11:02And how it's just another day for him.
11:04Number 38. Missing 411.
11:06People go missing every day.
11:08But when multiple cases all look eerily similar to one another,
11:11some connections are going to be created.
11:13Missing 411 is a documentary investigating the disappearances of five youths.
11:18And as I ran up that trail, I yelled and yelled and screamed his name and screamed Jared.
11:23Yet rather than assuming this was carried out by another human,
11:26director David Politis suggests they fell victim to something more fantastical or even paranormal.
11:31The victims all have similar disappearance stories,
11:34all the way down to having supposedly traveled miles despite being young.
11:38Though there were no definitive conclusions by the end of the film,
11:41the evidence being presented forces viewers to consider that these coincidences may be more intentional.
11:46Some of these situations are so unusual,
11:49you have to think beyond the bounds of what's normal.
11:52What's a normal explanation for this?
11:54Number 37. Gimme Shelter.
11:56What was intended to merely be a free show ended in horror.
12:00We need a doctor under the left-hand scaffold as soon as possible, please.
12:05Gimme Shelter followed the Rolling Stones on the tail end of their 1969 U.S. tour,
12:09including a ticketless concert in California.
12:12We're gonna kiss you goodbye.
12:14The security was handled by the Hell's Angels, a notorious biker gang.
12:17The film shows the copious drugs being taken and fights breaking out.
12:21Things only got worse.
12:22At one point, 18-year-old Meredith Hunter got into a fight with one of the Angels,
12:26who then stabbed him to death on camera.
12:28It is a harrowing look into one of the most controversial nights in rock and roll,
12:32and the worst part is that it was entirely avoidable.
12:35Come on now!
12:37That means everybody just cool out!
12:40Number 36. I Am Jane Doe.
12:43It's no surprise that the internet can be a seedy place,
12:46especially when it comes to personal ads.
12:48I Am Jane Doe exposes just how horrific it can be.
12:51It investigates a now-removed website called Backpage,
12:54where users could and did pay for sex.
12:56Many of those being advertised were underage.
12:58It's an incredibly profitable, as horrifying as it is to say, business.
13:03The documentary focuses on two girls that had been kidnapped and trafficked,
13:06with posts advertising them appearing on Backpage.
13:09The families tried suing the site, but courts were siding with the business.
13:13While they had more luck with the Senate,
13:14by the time the film ended, nothing had come of the suits.
13:18What if it was your daughter?
13:19How would you feel then?
13:22Number 35. The Dying Rooms.
13:24We entered China separately on tourist visas,
13:27each carrying parts of a hidden camera that were only assembled once we were in the country.
13:31The one-child policy in China was intended to reduce the population.
13:35It succeeded, but at the cost of countless girls across the country.
13:38The Dying Rooms focuses on orphanages that house minors,
13:42particularly girls and disabled boys that have been abandoned by their parents.
13:45This law, hated by the people of China, has brought the state international condemnation.
13:51There, they were left to die of neglect.
13:53What the crew found while filming can only be described as horrific.
13:57Victims were tied in place on makeshift potty chairs or packed together in cribs,
14:01and protocols confirming safety and hygiene were ignored.
14:04Despite the horrific footage, the policy remained in place for another 20 years.
14:09That that problem is likely to get worse, very much worse, in the near future.
14:14Number 34. Tell Them You Love Me.
14:16The thought of someone abusing their position to take advantage of others is awful.
14:21Tell Them You Love Me follows Anna Stubblefield,
14:23a former college professor who'd been helping Derek Johnson,
14:26a non-speaking man with cerebral palsy, express himself.
14:29And when I asked him to spell as many words as he could using these four letters,
14:35he made a very good showing.
14:37The documentary shows examples of their communication,
14:39giving off the impression that they were becoming closer.
14:42Eventually, Stubblefield took advantage of him, claiming they were in love.
14:46He asked me to kiss him, and I did.
14:48That's when it was revealed that he was incapable of communicating with her in the way she claimed,
14:53and that there was no way he could have consented.
14:55This reveal recontextualized both their entire relationship and the film as a whole.
14:59Even after being convicted in 2015, she is still convinced she hasn't done anything wrong.
15:05From my perspective, she was having conversations with herself.
15:08Number 33. The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan.
15:11It's shocking how normalized some acts are, even if they are technically illegal.
15:152010's The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan delves into one of the more twisted underground sects of society,
15:21Bacha Bazi.
15:21But to expose this secretive culture, first he has to get inside it.
15:27Boys are kidnapped or coerced into dancing for older men,
15:30under the guise of making money for their families.
15:32Though banned in Afghanistan at the time of filming, it was still a thriving industry.
15:37Between footage of victims dancing while dressed in feminine regalia
15:40were scenes depicting men training a new child.
15:42What's even worse is that the abuse goes far beyond the performance,
15:53and that they are harshly punished if they fight back.
15:55It is a stark, brutal reminder of the dark underbelly of society,
15:59and how it continuously preys on the most vulnerable.
16:02Number 32. Manson.
16:09The Tate-LaBianca slayings of 1969 shocked the country.
16:12Four years later, a documentary centered around the perpetrators,
16:16Charles Manson's cult The Family was released, offering an in-depth view into their lives.
16:20I know Charlie. I know him inside and out.
16:23I became Charlie.
16:24Manson had begun filming the year of the massacre.
16:27Afterwards, Charles allows him to continue documenting them.
16:30The result is a compilation of disturbing interviews with members.
16:34Multiple clips make it clear just how revered Manson was,
16:37with him even being referred to as a god.
16:39I've been laying up here paying for your sins for 2,000 years.
16:42That, combined with their penchant for guns and violence,
16:45makes it clear just how dangerously unhinged the cult was.
16:48The creepiest part is members' old photos edited in next to scenes of their new selves,
16:53showing how far they'd fallen since getting swept into his cult of personality.
16:56The Manson family is now serving a combined sentence
16:59of 321 years.
17:02Number 31.
17:03Zoo.
17:03You may remember this incident from the infamous video that circulated the web in the mid-2000s.
17:08Zoo covers not only Kenneth Pinion's, more commonly known as Mr. Hands' life,
17:13but also the horrid act that led to his death and permanent notoriety.
17:16Before I knew Mr. Hands' real name, it was always Mr. Hands.
17:20In 2005, his passing following a sexual act with a horse
17:24led to an investigation that would unsettle even the bravest viewers.
17:28The farm Pinion had utilized was a cover for an underground zoophile ring,
17:32where several men gathered to engage in adult activities with stallions.
17:36The documentary includes interviews with those engaged in the acts and even reenactments.
17:40It is an insane deep dive into one of the most disturbing paraphilias,
17:44and how it went unpunished for years.
17:47The brother just kept saying,
17:49keep me away from this guy.
17:50Just keep me away from this guy.
17:52Number 30.
17:53Killer Legends.
17:54They had a lot of speculations on who did it,
17:57but it was never, no one was ever brought.
18:00Telling scary stories is a formative experience for many,
18:03but the roots of some of the most iconic ones have often been ignored.
18:07Killer Legends sets out to fix that,
18:09by taking four of the most well-known urban legends and delving into their history.
18:13Some schools stop celebrating Halloween,
18:16they start, stop using the word Halloween,
18:18and they start talking about having a fall festival.
18:22New Jersey passed a law specifying penalties for people who were caught contaminating Halloween treats.
18:30From the Candyman to evil clowns, each villain is analyzed,
18:34with some of the most wicked having connections to serial killers like John Wayne Gacy.
18:38It perfectly hits the balance between creepy and informative.
18:41It makes viewers realize just how much overlap there is between reality and horrific fiction.
18:47After watching this, it'll be practically impossible to hear a haunted tale
18:50without wondering what real-life monster served as the inspiration.
18:54Everybody knows that people are afraid of clowns.
18:56Everybody knows that something's up with clowns.
18:59And the last couple of decades have just been confirmation of everything they ever feared.
19:03Number 29.
19:04The Blackout Experiments.
19:05I started to have some second thoughts about whether or not I should do this.
19:12I signed my life away going to this place.
19:15Despite it going against so many of our natural instincts,
19:18there are still people that will intentionally put themselves through the most extreme or terrifying circumstances.
19:24So what exactly drives them to do this?
19:26The Blackout Experiments dives into this phenomenon
19:29by interviewing those who had taken part in an uncomfortably immersive haunted house experience.
19:33You know, we all live once and I guess we all want to do something that's risk-taking or scary.
19:40Although they're put through extremely intense scares,
19:43ranging from being partially stripped to being put through various methods of torture,
19:47they still come back for more.
19:49As the sessions continue to ramp up,
19:51the audience is left wondering when it will all go too far.
19:54It is a fascinating look at how far some will go to push themselves,
19:58even when there's no reward for doing so.
20:01It felt like S&M.
20:03Upon receipt of this email, fill out the questionnaire below and send it back today.
20:08I see a camera on and it's watching me.
20:11Number 28, Grizzly Man.
20:13I'm out on the prime cut of the Big Green.
20:15Behind me is Ed and Rowdy, members of an up-and-coming sub-adult gang.
20:20They're challenging everything, including me.
20:22Goes with the territory.
20:23If I show weakness,
20:25if I retreat,
20:27I may be hurt, I may be killed.
20:29I must hold my own if I'm going to stay within this land.
20:32This demonstrates that nature isn't as docile as it's portrayed in Disney movies.
20:37Following the final years of Timothy Treadwell's life,
20:40Grizzly Man is the ultimate cautionary tale.
20:42It documents his steadily increasing delusions of befriending bears,
20:46and how this leads to his horrific fate.
20:48It's July 26th and I've been dropped off all alone again here in the Grizzly maze.
20:54And it's always such a surreal feeling as the plane takes off
20:57and it doesn't quite sink into you,
20:58but just how alone you are.
21:01That for the next two months or more,
21:03you will be alone in this wild wilderness,
21:06this jungle that the Bears have carved tunnels through.
21:09It's made even more hard-hitting with clips and recordings made by Treadwell himself,
21:13including one that captures every grizzly second of his and his girlfriend's deaths.
21:18The audio was reportedly so horrific that the director omitted it,
21:22meaning it was left to the viewers' imaginations to fill in the blanks themselves.
21:26It is a harsh reminder on the mindless brutality of nature,
21:29and how love for a wild animal will always lose to its base instincts.
21:34Truly, you must never listen to this.
21:36I know, Werner, I'm never going to.
21:39And you must never look at the photos that I've seen at the coroner's office.
21:45I will never look at them.
21:46Yeah.
21:53They said it was bad.
21:56Number 27, Beware the Slender Man.
21:58One thing about Morgan that always struck us as a little odd
22:05was that she didn't react the way that you would expect her to react like at the movies.
22:16The internet has allowed even the creepiest creations to become widespread phenomena,
22:21for better or for worse.
22:22When Slender Man first took the web by storm,
22:25no one could have ever guessed it would culminate in a brutal murder attempt.
22:28The documentary about the case delves into the teenage suspect's mentalities,
22:32such as their belief in the boogeyman and their insistence that the stabbing was at his bequest.
22:37If you're a proxy,
22:40supposedly you live in Slender Mansion
22:42that all the creepypastas supposedly live in,
22:46and it's supposedly in the middle of Nicolette National Park.
22:54I wanted to prove all skepticism.
22:56Despite physical proof of their obsession,
22:59such as chilling drawings,
23:00their parents were still left in the dark up until the stabbing took place,
23:04showing how easily concerning behavior can slip under the radar.
23:07As if the crime itself wasn't enough,
23:10it's accompanied by unsettling animations and visuals
23:13that would frighten even the bravest souls.
23:15It's hard with kids because
23:17they don't necessarily know how to differentiate between
23:22fantasy and reality to begin with.
23:25So it's just hard to know where to draw the line.
23:30Where does that become abnormal?
23:35Number 26.
23:36Jonestown.
23:37The life and death of People's Temple.
23:40Jim was not celibate.
23:42Nobody knew that
23:43until perhaps it was their time to find out
23:46what he spoke from the pulpit wasn't what he did behind the scenes.
23:51Although the fates of Jim Jones and those he led were heavily covered by the media at the time,
23:56the full extent of his abuse wasn't really known by the general public.
24:00In 2006, the public was given fresh insight from surviving members themselves.
24:05The movie covered the cult's history from indoctrination to death.
24:09In between stories of his unfettered perversion were clips of his speeches,
24:13wherein he pitted his followers against the rest of society.
24:16We had a lady who visited us a week ago here and was speaking to one at the door
24:21and she was a member of a prominent church, a pastor's wife.
24:24And she said,
24:24I think that the poor should be made to control how many children they bring into the earth.
24:29You remember?
24:31Some leading scientists say,
24:33we have to have euthanasia.
24:34Oh, no.
24:36Each lurid detail reveals more of Jones's twisted intentions and acts,
24:40all leading to the mass death event orchestrated by him.
24:43While undoubtedly gripping,
24:44it's hard not to watch without realizing just how easy it is
24:48to fall victim to manipulation disguised as charm.
25:03She's calling Jim Jones on some of the things that he has promised them that they were going to do.
25:09Number 25,
25:10A Certain Kind of Death.
25:11In the modern age, practically everything is turned into an industry,
25:15even death itself.
25:16Covering every step of the process from the moment a body is found to the moment it's disposed of,
25:21A Certain Kind of Death is a raw look at what occurs after someone passes away.
25:26The film pulls no punches whatsoever,
25:28showing everything from recently deceased corpses in all their glory to smoldering bones.
25:33I can just imagine if we do find a relative,
25:40the response is going to be probably non-emotional.
25:46Oh, okay.
25:49Well, we always wondered what happened to them.
25:52The macabre imagery is coupled with the mortician's seemingly detached emotions from their work,
25:57proving that one can become numb to even the most upsetting things.
26:01The result is an undoubtedly fascinating yet dark look into a process that everyone will eventually go through,
26:07even though they won't be aware of it.
26:09Looking through Mr. Tanner's things, he may have had a pre-need.
26:15And here's actual pictures with his name written on his plot,
26:19which I've never seen that type of an organized situation.
26:24So, he had buried his partner in a plot that he originally owned.
26:32One of the reasons that it's hard for us to go on camera or to take part in a documentary
26:38is that, first of all, we don't think it would be very good for the company that we work for,
26:44because it seems like the spin, we have no control over what the spin would be.
26:48The internet is full of strange rabbit holes that are often tempting to dive down.
26:53However, in doing so, you may come across something you can never unsee.
26:57The director of Tickled experienced this firsthand
27:00after stumbling across a video depicting competitive endurance tickling,
27:04and immediately knew he had to know more.
27:06I wake up every morning to a message from Jane and Brian Media,
27:10who you guys work for,
27:11with a list of various personal attacks and also legal threats.
27:17That's been happening daily.
27:19You started this fight.
27:20I didn't.
27:21You were the one that decided this is what you were going to do.
27:24The film covers his descent into the phenomenon,
27:27all while being insulted and threatened by the company distributing tickling videos.
27:31Things only become more twisted
27:33as victims remarked on the financial abuse and blackmail they underwent by the perpetrator.
27:38After seeing this,
27:39it'll be near impossible to see a piece of odd content
27:42without wondering about the person on the other end,
27:44or their true intentions for making it.
27:46You're not welcome here.
27:48We're not welcome here?
27:49And I'm calling the police.
27:51Bye.
27:52Out.
27:53All right, well, we'll hit off.
27:55You don't want to do any final chats or anything?
27:57Last opportunity?
27:58Number 23.
27:59The Nightmare.
28:00Last ditch effort of everything I had,
28:02I just, like, wrenched my body.
28:05As soon as I, like, flipped over on top of her,
28:08I woke up.
28:10And I was still laying in my original position.
28:13Like, none of it had happened.
28:15I was just completely shocked.
28:17I had no idea what was going on.
28:20I just did not know what to make of it.
28:22While we may think bad dreams are only confined to our minds,
28:26there are ways they can manifest in the real world.
28:28Sleep paralysis,
28:29a temporary condition wherein one's brain wakes up,
28:32but their body remains frozen,
28:34is the center of the nightmare.
28:36Sufferers recount their experiences with the state,
28:38including visual and auditory hallucinations,
28:41and even feeling as though they were being touched.
28:43The person on the other end was just, like,
28:45this very pleasant man.
28:47And he was like,
28:48hello, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.
28:50If you could do me a favor.
28:52What kind of favor?
28:58Let me get!
29:00As if that isn't off-putting enough.
29:02They then recreate each person's tale
29:04with visual representations of the supposed demons bothering them.
29:08They also delve into how other cultures see the phenomenon
29:10as proof of demonic possession
29:12and the ancient rituals they use to expel them.
29:15It shows how our minds will find ways to work against us,
29:18even while unconscious.
29:19There was never an explanation for the shadow man
29:24except for hypnogodic hallucinations,
29:26which is a nice word that the doctors like to throw around,
29:30but it really means you just imagined it.
29:32My guess is we conceptualize things in our unconscious
29:35based on, like, snippets of information
29:38that we picked up along the road, somehow.
29:40Number 22, Girl in the Picture.
29:43When I first learned that Tanya was actually killed
29:47by a hit-and-run driver,
29:48it was more than likely Franklin Floyd
29:50that had committed that.
29:52I mean, this guy was going to be violent.
29:54Catching him might be tricky.
29:55Even the worst crimes can go on
29:57completely unnoticed for decades.
29:59No case exemplifies that more than the kidnapping
30:02and eventual murder of a girl known only in life
30:05by her fake name, Sharon Marshall.
30:07Her tragic story lives on in Girl in the Picture,
30:10which details every aspect of her horrific torment
30:12leading up to her death,
30:14and the search to find her true identity.
30:16In the 1990s, again, he attacked a woman,
30:20so we begin to see the pattern of violence and abuse.
30:24While the details of her upbringing,
30:26including being forced to marry the man who abducted
30:28and raised her,
30:29were horrid enough on their own,
30:31what makes it even scarier
30:32is how it went unnoticed until her mysterious death.
30:35It is unfortunate proof of how we truly never know
30:38what's going on behind closed doors,
30:40often until it's too late.
30:42When we examined the skull,
30:43we found two bullet holes to the back of the skull,
30:46and the orbital bone was broken under one of the eyes.
30:49It was definitely not a natural death.
30:52There was definitely homicidal violence involved in it.
30:55So, yes, it was classified as a homicide almost immediately.
30:58We looked at all of the local agencies.
31:01We weren't able to identify the skeleton.
31:05Number 21, deliver us from evil.
31:07I mean, he took me out of the house.
31:10I said, you know, sometimes I get carsick on the road.
31:12He said, put your head on my lap,
31:14and boom, the abuse started.
31:16I mean, I was on Highway 12, you know,
31:18two minutes away from my house, and it started.
31:20And for 96 hours, that abuse was happening
31:23until my parents came and said,
31:25did you have fun with Father?
31:26And I'm like, he tickled me too much.
31:28The Catholic Church has had a hand
31:30in covering up numerous underage abuse cases.
31:32This documentary dives into one case in particular
31:35and how the internal protection of a predator
31:37had a ripple effect across several lives.
31:40It's centered around a Californian priest
31:42responsible for the assault
31:43of over two dozen young victims during his tenure.
31:46Here's somebody that I like.
31:48Here's somebody that I respect,
31:52or family I respect.
31:54What will he feel like at the end of this?
31:58Yet at the other side,
31:59there was urges within me to be sexual with him.
32:04Between haunting letters he sent
32:06detailing his horrific acts
32:08to testimonies revealing his vile manipulation tactics,
32:11it's hard not to watch without feeling extreme disgust.
32:14It was even revealed that other officials
32:16were aware of his crimes for years
32:17and took measures to shield him from the law,
32:20implying that they silently allowed
32:22the mistreatment to continue.
32:23Are you at all concerned, Oliver,
32:25that if you give testimony that hurts the diocese,
32:27that they might revoke that?
32:31I have a lot of concerns about a lot of things,
32:34and I guess that would be one of them.
32:36Number 20.
32:37Mommy Dead and Dearest
32:38Released by HBO,
32:40Mommy Dead and Dearest chronicles the events
32:42that led to Dee Dee Blanchard's death.
32:44The truth is, okay, I'll admit it.
32:46I did actually...
32:47It details how she committed factitious disorder
32:54imposed on another,
32:55or what was once known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy,
32:58on her daughter, Gypsy Rose.
33:00Blanchard essentially made it seem like her daughter
33:02suffered from a number of terrible ailments.
33:04While upholding the lie,
33:06the mother put her child through unnecessary surgeries
33:08and other terrible things.
33:10Gypsy Rose then conspired with her boyfriend,
33:13Nicholas Godijan, to kill Blanchard.
33:15It's unsettling to think of the horrors
33:17that pushed a daughter to slay her own mother.
33:19No matter how you view it,
33:21Mommy Dead and Dearest makes for one creepy viewing experience.
33:24I take blame on myself,
33:25and I blame other people,
33:26but I never want to blame y'all.
33:28Number 19.
33:29Tabloid.
33:30Back in September of 1977,
33:33Mormon missionary Kirk Anderson
33:34was supposedly abducted and abused
33:36by a woman named Joyce McKinney.
33:38The story became known as the Manacled Mormon Case.
33:41She said to him she was going to go on having sex with him
33:44until she found she missed a period
33:47and would then hopefully be pregnant by him.
33:51This terrifying story was extensively covered
33:53in the British tabloids,
33:54specifically the warring rivals Daily Express and Daily Mirror.
33:58The documentary tabloid conveys these events
34:00with unnerving detail
34:02and is even narrated by Joyce McKinney herself.
34:04That shocking choice immediately brings viewers
34:07closer to the case than they expected.
34:10As a result,
34:11those watching will further question the story that she weaves
34:14because it has multiple viewpoints and perspectives.
34:17I made everything that he wanted.
34:19I was like his little, you know, wifey almost.
34:22Number 18.
34:23There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane.
34:25This troubling documentary tells the story
34:27of the 2009 Taconic State Parkway crash,
34:30a nasty traffic collision that resulted in eight deaths.
34:33It was a horrific scene on a Taconic Parkway
34:36near Route 117 this afternoon.
34:38This burned-out shell was all that remained of a minivan
34:40after the head-on crash which left eight people dead.
34:43It was caused by a woman named Diane Shuler,
34:46the titular Aunt Diane.
34:47On that fateful day,
34:49she was the one traveling on the parkway
34:50in the wrong direction.
34:52It's a very disconcerting story
34:54that is rooted in unimaginable tragedy.
34:56Throughout the documentary,
34:58upsetting questions are raised
34:59about Shuler's state of mind.
35:00Between footage of the accident,
35:02interviews with grieving individuals,
35:04and some rather uncomfortable topics,
35:06There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane
35:08puts forth a very uneasy atmosphere.
35:10I feel like someone's gonna say,
35:1210 years later, it proves what happened.
35:16There's so much more to the story.
35:19Number 17.
35:20Team Foxcatcher.
35:21The story of John DuPont was famously captured
35:23in the 2014 film Foxcatcher,
35:26which earned five Oscar nominations.
35:28You have a problem with me?
35:30John, don't join.
35:31John, I don't have a problem.
35:34Hey, John.
35:35Team Foxcatcher was released two years later
35:37and serves as an eerie companion piece,
35:40retelling the story with a more grounded
35:42and arguably more disturbing angle.
35:44This Netflix documentary uses harrowing archival footage
35:47to tell its story.
35:49Viewers are also given a rather personal
35:51and alarming glimpse into the mind of a killer.
35:53By incorporating all these details,
35:55viewers get a sense of what led to DuPont's horrifying actions.
35:59The documentary explores how mental illness,
36:02wealth, and power can create a nightmarish situation.
36:05Dave Schultz was the truest friend John had.
36:09Kill them all!
36:10Number 16.
36:11Capturing the Freedmans.
36:12Well, this is private,
36:14so if you're not me,
36:17then you really shouldn't be watching this
36:19because this is supposed to be a private situation
36:21between me and me.
36:23It's between me now and me in the future.
36:27So turn it off.
36:28Don't watch this.
36:29This is private.
36:30What started as a short film
36:32about birthday party entertainers
36:33devolved into something much, much darker.
36:36Capturing the Freedmans
36:37delves into the activities
36:38of a disturbed man and his son,
36:40whose crimes are thought to range
36:41from possession of abhorrent material
36:43to using computer classes
36:45as a guise for luring in victims.
36:47Once that came to light,
36:48the rest of the dominoes came crashing down.
36:51If you were going to be the first one abused
36:53on a particular day,
36:54he would pull up a chair and sit next to you.
36:56Maybe it would start
36:57with his arm around your shoulder
36:59or on your leg.
37:01You gradually move it up,
37:03touching private parts.
37:04It features recordings made by some of his sons,
37:07giving the audience glimpses
37:08into their troubled home life.
37:10However, even more disturbing
37:11is the defense of his vile actions.
37:14Both aspects make an already off-putting documentary
37:16all the more disturbing,
37:18creating a watch that is difficult
37:19for many viewers to get through.
37:21The types of behaviors which were described,
37:24which were, well,
37:26just downright satanic in nature.
37:28I mean, they make him sound
37:29like some kind of brutal sadist,
37:31whereas, you know,
37:32I had just always thought of him
37:33as being kind of a nebbish.
37:35Number 15.
37:37This is the Zodiac Speaking.
37:39Much has been written
37:40about the Zodiac killings.
37:41Get on your stomach
37:42so I can tear your feet.
37:44Okay.
37:44It gets really cold out here at night.
37:46We could freeze.
37:49At this point,
37:50the case is among
37:51the most discussed serial tragedies
37:53in American history.
37:54This is the Zodiac Speaking
37:56is one of the most definitive
37:57documentaries about the case.
37:59It contains interviews
38:00with retired police officers
38:01and criminal profilers.
38:03Their firsthand accounts of the case
38:05give viewers unfettered access
38:06into the distressing story
38:08that has captivated Americans
38:09and true crime enthusiasts
38:11for decades.
38:12The disturbing story
38:13covers how Zodiac targeted
38:14innocent people
38:15and flippantly discussed his crimes.
38:17All the interviews
38:18in the documentary
38:19play on his notoriety.
38:21Seeing the impact
38:22the case has had
38:23on people's psyches
38:24is arguably even scarier
38:25than the story itself.
38:27I would say
38:27the paranoia in the initial
38:28lasted a good six to seven months.
38:30people were very concerned
38:32and it escalated
38:33every time after
38:34another reported killing.
38:36Number 14.
38:37The Killing of America
38:38Released in 1982,
38:41The Killing of America
38:42argues that the United States
38:43is in the midst
38:44of a messy cultural collapse.
38:46The title has both metaphorical
38:48and literal layers to it.
38:49Much of the film
38:50is centered around
38:51the incredible wave
38:52of violence
38:53that struck America
38:53in the 60s and 70s.
38:55A few weeks
38:56after the assassination
38:57of President Kennedy,
38:58the murder rate
38:59exploded upward,
39:01tripled in just 10 years
39:02and continues
39:04to the present day.
39:05This includes
39:06the assassination
39:06of John and Robert Kennedy,
39:08the rise of serial killers
39:10and a very distressing shooting.
39:12It's a shocking documentary
39:13that leaves viewers
39:14feeling extremely uncomfortable.
39:16Featuring genuine footage
39:17of violence
39:18and interviews
39:19with the likes of criminals
39:20like Sirhan Sirhan
39:21and Ed Kemper,
39:22The Killing of America
39:23makes for one distressing watch.
39:25A new breed
39:25of killer appeared.
39:27They didn't want money
39:28or sex
39:29or revenge.
39:31It was a new kind
39:32of murder.
39:34The senseless killing
39:35of random strangers.
39:36Number 13.
39:38The Cannibal
39:38That Walked Free
39:39Having aired
39:40on the British station
39:41Channel 5,
39:42The Cannibal
39:42That Walked Free
39:43is a nightmarish glimpse
39:44into one of humanity's
39:46darkest crimes.
39:47Through the lens
39:47of Japanese criminal
39:49Issei Sagawa,
39:50it explores the psychology
39:51behind cannibalism.
39:5226 years ago,
39:53this man murdered
39:55and ate a woman
39:56in Paris.
39:57He has never
39:58stood trial.
40:00Today,
40:00he walks the Tokyo
40:01streets a free man.
40:02In June of 1981,
40:04Sagawa killed
40:05and desecrated
40:06a student
40:06named Rene Hartevelt.
40:08But,
40:08he was allowed
40:09to walk free
40:10thanks to a legal snafu
40:11between France
40:12and Japan.
40:13This documentary
40:14delves into
40:14Sagawa's crimes
40:15and the psychology
40:16behind his actions
40:17through interviews
40:18with Sagawa himself.
40:19Seeing this
40:20perturbing story
40:21get conveyed
40:22through the lens
40:22of the perpetrator
40:23can be skin-crawling.
40:25For many,
40:25it may prove
40:26too much to bear.
40:27You see the beautiful girls
40:29on the train
40:30in the summer
40:30and you see their legs,
40:32don't you?
40:33I think they look delicious.
40:34That much is true.
40:36Number 12.
40:36Wisconsin Death Trip
40:38Based on a non-fiction book
40:39of the same name,
40:40Wisconsin Death Trip
40:41is a sinister docudrama
40:43about a turbulent time
40:44in Wisconsin history.
40:45The story follows
40:46a series of disturbing
40:47occurrences that plagued
40:49the state
40:49in the late 19th century.
40:50The grave of Mrs. Sarah Smith
40:52was unearthed
40:54for the purpose
40:54of removing the remains
40:55and upon opening the coffin
40:58it was discovered
41:00that she'd been buried
41:01while in a trance.
41:03This includes
41:03the abandoning of children,
41:05homicides,
41:06arson,
41:06and supernatural delusion.
41:08As if the subject matter
41:10wasn't troubling enough,
41:11the docudrama
41:11is also shot
41:12in silent black and white
41:14to convey the style
41:15of old movies.
41:16The aged cinematography
41:17immediately puts viewers
41:19on edge.
41:20Meanwhile,
41:20the contemporary
41:21newspaper accounts
41:22are chillingly narrated
41:23by Ian Holm.
41:25The combined effect
41:26is one of deep
41:27and uncomfortable surrealism.
41:29We can say honestly
41:30that we know
41:31of few states
41:32or cities
41:33which offer
41:33the advantages
41:34of those enjoyed
41:35by Wisconsin
41:36and Black River Falls.
41:39Number 11.
41:40Eileen Wuornos
41:41The Selling
41:41of a Serial Killer
41:42Eileen Wuornos
41:43was a sex worker
41:44who killed seven clients
41:45between 1989
41:46and 1990.
41:48Two years later,
41:49Nick Broomfield
41:50made a documentary.
41:51Most of the film
41:52is centered around
41:53Broomfield's attempts
41:54at conducting an interview
41:55with Wuornos
41:56in prison.
41:56I was doing fine
41:57until Tara told me
41:58to start going
41:59to see strangers
42:00and make more money.
42:01That's how
42:02I wound up
42:03in the situation.
42:04As she discusses
42:05the case,
42:05viewers witness
42:06the troubling defense
42:07that she put forth
42:08and the implications
42:09that it represented.
42:10The interviews
42:11with Wuornos
42:12are also bone-chilling.
42:13It's clear
42:14that her life
42:15was full
42:15of extensive pain
42:16and suffering
42:17at every stage.
42:18Years later,
42:19the documentary
42:20became an enormous
42:21inspiration
42:22for Charlize Theron
42:22who would later
42:23win an Oscar
42:24for playing Wuornos
42:25in Monster.
42:26Yeah,
42:26I don't need a ride.
42:31Because I'm going
42:32to take your car.
42:33Number 10.
42:34The Imposter
42:34It gives you nightmares.
42:38It really does.
42:39In 1994,
42:4113-year-old
42:42Nicholas Barclay
42:42disappeared in Texas.
42:55Three years later,
42:57a man claiming
42:57to be Nicholas
42:58came forward.
42:59But this man
43:00wasn't Nicholas at all.
43:01He was
43:01Frédéric Bourdain,
43:02a French con artist.
43:04The Imposter
43:05explains how Bourdain
43:06was able to get away
43:06with it for so long,
43:07despite being
43:08significantly older
43:09than Nicholas
43:10and not looking
43:11anything like him.
43:12It's incredibly disturbing
43:13how Bourdain
43:14inserted himself
43:15into the Barclay family
43:16and tricked them
43:16into accepting him.
43:18Most remarkable
43:18of all, however,
43:19is the director
43:20Bart Layton
43:21conducted interviews
43:22with Bourdain himself,
43:23which makes the case
43:24even more complex
43:25as he somehow manages
43:26to come across
43:27as sympathetic.
43:28From as long as I remember,
43:31I wanted to be
43:31someone else.
43:32Number nine,
43:33Cropsey.
43:34Growing up on Staten Island,
43:36Barbara and I had often
43:37heard the legend
43:37of Cropsey.
43:40For the kids
43:41in our neighborhood,
43:43Cropsey was the
43:43escaped mental patient
43:44who lived in the tunnels
43:46beneath the old
43:47abandoned
43:47Willowbrook
43:48mental institution.
43:49A pair of filmmakers
43:50who grew up
43:51on Staten Island
43:52decided to take
43:53a closer look
43:53at the New York version
43:54of the boogeyman
43:55Cropsey
43:55and how or if
43:57this urban legend
43:57fits into the mysteries
43:58involving a series
43:59of kidnapped youth
44:00in the 70s and 80s.
44:02When your child disappears
44:03and you don't know
44:05where that child is,
44:07to a parent,
44:08the child is never dead.
44:09From the letters
44:10prime suspect
44:11Andre Rand
44:12sends the documentarians
44:13claiming his innocence
44:14to investigating
44:15the tunnels
44:16underneath the condemned
44:17Willowbrook State School
44:18for People with
44:18Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
44:20and finally theories
44:21about devil worshippers,
44:23Cropsey is sure
44:24to send a chill
44:25down your spine.
44:26Is there satanic cults,
44:27people that practice?
44:28Of course there is.
44:30But it's something
44:32that's kept very quiet,
44:33something that
44:33not many departments
44:37investigate.
44:38Number 8.
44:38The Bridge
44:39So then I cut over
44:40just to see
44:42or maybe possibly help.
44:44The Golden Gate Bridge
44:45may be one of America's
44:46most iconic landmarks
44:47and the image
44:48that comes to mind
44:49when you think
44:49of the city of San Francisco.
44:51But for many,
44:52its looming presence
44:53is a symbol of tragedy.
44:54This documentary
44:55takes a closer look
44:56at some of these
44:56tragic incidents in 2004,
44:58but it certainly
44:59isn't easy viewing.
45:00It remains controversial,
45:02with reports of bridge jumpers
45:03increasing after
45:04the documentary was released.
45:06And in 2015,
45:07it was even removed
45:08from Netflix in New Zealand.
45:09Gene had people
45:10in this world
45:11that loved him.
45:14And he hurt them.
45:16If I see him again,
45:20that's what I want to tell him.
45:22He hurt me.
45:23And I didn't think
45:24he would ever do that.
45:25Number 7.
45:26Holy Hell
45:26I thought I was capturing life
45:28and expressing love.
45:30While searching for a new home
45:31and a new purpose
45:32in the 1980s,
45:33film grad Will Allen
45:34fell in with the
45:35Buddhafield New Religious Movement,
45:37a cult based in West Hollywood
45:38at the time.
45:39It was all designed
45:40to show how devoted
45:42you really were.
45:43He wanted to control
45:45the social lives,
45:47the interactions of everybody,
45:49what they did.
45:50Allen became the group's
45:51documentarian
45:51and lived with them
45:53for 22 years,
45:54finally leaving in 2007.
45:56He became inspired
45:57to make a movie
45:58and used all the footage
45:59he had of his time
46:00with the Buddhafield cult
46:01and its leader,
46:02Michelle,
46:02to create Holy Hell.
46:04This direct look
46:04at the inner workings
46:05of a cult
46:06is both rare and creepy,
46:08made all the more unsettling
46:09by the fact that
46:10the cult continues
46:11to this day,
46:12now based in Hawaii.
46:13Even to this day,
46:14I just,
46:15I don't understand.
46:17Some people still stayed.
46:19Number 6,
46:20The Family I Had
46:21Originally intended
46:22to examine juvenile criminals
46:24in the U.S.,
46:24this documentary
46:25quickly shifted
46:26to focus on
46:27the personal tragedy
46:27faced by Charity Lee
46:29in February 2007
46:30involving her young daughter.
46:32She was...
46:33in a body bag.
46:39It follows Charity
46:40as she grapples
46:41with the reality
46:41of her son
46:42having killed her daughter
46:43as she mourns
46:44Ella's loss
46:44but refuses to abandon Paris,
46:46still visiting him
46:47in prison.
46:48It's difficult to know
46:49what to make
46:50of this uncomfortable watch
46:51as the film leans
46:52into the fact
46:52that with true crime,
46:54there are no easy answers.
46:55I try to keep everything
46:58as benign as possible.
47:02I don't want to do anything
47:03that's going to make Paris
47:04want to hurt him.
47:05Number 5,
47:06Titicut Follies
47:07One of the most disturbing films
47:15ever made,
47:15Titicut Follies was banned
47:17for over 20 years
47:18upon release.
47:19Shot in black and white
47:20with no narration,
47:21it's a raw expose
47:23of the injustices
47:24that Americans
47:24with mental health issues
47:26faced in the 1960s.
47:27Specifically centered
47:28on the Bridgewater State Hospital
47:29in Massachusetts,
47:31the film shows
47:31the gross mistreatment
47:32of the inmates,
47:33all people in need
47:35of real care
47:35who were dehumanized
47:37and abused
47:37by those tasked
47:38with looking after them.
47:39If I see enough
47:40improvement in you...
47:41But how can I improve
47:42if I'm getting worse?
47:43I'm trying to tell you,
47:44day by day,
47:45I am getting worse
47:46because of the circumstances,
47:48because of the situation.
47:49Despite being banned,
47:50the film was able
47:51to draw attention
47:52to these issues,
47:53though it still took
47:54decades for this to begin.
47:55Whatever sins you are committed
47:56by the use of your sense
47:58of touch, amen.
48:00Number 4.
48:01Jesus Camp
48:01Listen,
48:03we hold the keys.
48:07We can change the world.
48:09This look at a summer camp
48:10for one branch
48:11of evangelical Christians
48:12has been disturbing viewers
48:14around the world
48:14since its initial release.
48:16Seen by many
48:17as a damning portrayal
48:18of allegedly abusive practices
48:19at camps like the featured
48:20Kids on Fire
48:21School of Ministry,
48:22it played a role
48:23in getting the camp shut down.
48:25Father,
48:25we just washed them
48:26with the water of your word.
48:28We say no more,
48:29devil,
48:30no more.
48:31The camp pastor,
48:32Becky Fisher,
48:33was forced to close
48:33the retreat due to backlash.
48:35But it's arguably
48:36a credit to the directors
48:37that you can't necessarily
48:38tell where their own sympathies
48:39lie while watching this movie.
48:41It's down to the viewer
48:42to decide what's right
48:43and what's wrong.
48:44You could call it brainwashing,
48:46but I am radical
48:47and passionate
48:48in teaching children
48:49about their responsibility.
48:51Number 3,
48:52Dear Zachary,
48:53a letter to a son
48:54about his father.
48:55He called back
48:56to the Sunnyvale police station.
48:58So he gave me another number
48:59and then I got through
49:00to Sergeant Kulak
49:01and he said,
49:01your son is dead
49:02under suspicious circumstances.
49:04Have you got any idea
49:05why he was in the park?
49:06A harrowing watch,
49:07Dear Zachary follows
49:08Kurt Kenney
49:09as he makes a movie
49:10about Andrew Bagby,
49:11his lifelong friend
49:12who was allegedly murdered
49:13by his ex,
49:14Shirley Jane Turner.
49:15Turner revealed
49:16shortly after Andrew's death
49:17that she was pregnant
49:18with their child.
49:18But police had a difficult time
49:20pinning the murder on her.
49:21I have to tell you
49:22that Andrew is dead.
49:23Are you sure?
49:24Yes ma'am, I am.
49:25I'm absolutely sure.
49:26The movie is intended
49:27as an archive of Andrew,
49:29a widely loved person
49:30by all accounts
49:31for his son Zachary.
49:33But the project
49:33became more complex
49:34the longer it went on
49:35and by the time
49:36it was finished,
49:37it had become
49:38a fully fledged documentary.
49:40An examination
49:40of loss and grief,
49:42Dear Zachary
49:42is as poignant
49:43as it is upsetting.
49:44This film was no longer
49:45a letter to you.
49:47It was now a letter
49:48to someone else.
49:49Number 2.
49:50The Act of Killing
49:51With subject matter
50:02this heavy,
50:03The Act of Killing
50:04was always going to be
50:05a tough watch.
50:06In Indonesia,
50:07filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer
50:08interviews former executioners
50:10who took part
50:11in the Indonesian
50:12mass killings
50:12of 1965 to 66.
50:15They reenact the killings
50:16in a variety of genres,
50:17including westerns
50:18and musicals,
50:19while Oppenheimer
50:20asks them both
50:21about their artistic choices
50:22in the portrayals
50:23and about the events themselves.
50:24The fun reenactments
50:26juxtaposed
50:27with the horrific topics
50:28they portray
50:28is extremely disturbing.
50:30It's not hard to see
50:31why this documentary
50:32remains so controversial.
50:37Before we continue,
50:38be sure to subscribe
50:39to our channel
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50:47If you're on your phone,
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50:53Number 1.
50:54Abducted in Plain Sight
50:55She looked up at me,
50:57her eyes beaming,
50:59and I knew that I had found
51:00a little girl
51:00that I was searching for.
51:03Jan Broberg's story
51:04is particularly disturbing.
51:05When she was just an adolescent
51:07in the 1970s,
51:08one of the Broberg family's neighbors,
51:09Robert Birchtold,
51:11befriended Jan's parents
51:12and inserted himself
51:13into their lives.
51:14Twice Birchtold abducted Jan,
51:16including taking her to Mexico.
51:19His manipulation
51:20knew no bounds.
51:21Even after Jan
51:22was brought home
51:23the first time,
51:24her parents still allowed
51:25Birchtold to be around her,
51:26even letting him sleep
51:27in her bed.
51:28I don't think I can ever
51:30really forgive myself
51:33for letting that happen.
51:35By far the strangest detail
51:36is the recordings
51:37Birchtold made of aliens
51:39to further increase
51:40his influence on Jan.
51:42Thankfully,
51:42Jan and her family
51:43survived the long ordeal.
51:45And I immediately thought
51:46I'd been kidnapped
51:47by a UFO.
51:49Which of these documentaries
51:51is the most likely
51:52to keep you up at night?
51:53Let us know in the comments.
51:54I felt
51:55nothing.
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