While we continue to be fascinated by the heinous actions of a relatively small portion of the population, enjoying true crime documentaries is still an unusual pastime. This is the stuff of water cooler talk and of nightmares. Some of them are cautionary tales, while still others involve seemingly unavoidable situations – and somehow every new one that comes out makes us give strangers the side-eye even harder than we were before.
These are the ten agreed-upon best of the genre.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2020)
Between 1974 and 1986, a masked intruder was breaking into homes and committing various acts, including rape, ransacking, burglary, and murder. Because he operated in different counties in California, committing clusters of crimes in each area with varying M.O.’s, he had multiple monikers – including the Visalia Ransacker, the East Area Rapist, the Night Stalker, and the Original Night Stalker. At the time, it wasn’t obvious that all of these were the same person.
Michelle McNamara was investigating the crimes for her book when she named him the Golden State Killer. She would sadly die before seeing Joseph James DeAngelo charged on April 24, 2018.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is also the title of Michelle’s book, published posthumously. The title refers to a threat DeAngelo once whispered in his victim’s ear, “You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark.”
The Vow (2020)
The 2020 release of The Vow couldn’t have come at a better time. As we all waited in lockdown to see what would become of us as a society, we binged this series in horror and disgust and wondered how these educated, articulate people were taken in by the creepy motormouth Keith Raniere.
Raniere’s cult, NXIVM, was in operation from 1998 to 2018, and had the financial support of Seagram’s heirs Sara and Clare Bronfman, and even at one time the (supposed) endorsement from the Dalai Lama.
What started out as a self-help organization became a front for human trafficking and a harem of sorts for Raniere, who was found guilty of sex trafficking conspiracy, forced labor conspiracy, racketeering conspiracy, and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as various crimes — sexual and otherwise — against minors, and was sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined $1.75 million.
The Keepers (2017)
At the beginning of the episodic The Keepers, it’s not immediately obvious that this will be yet another story of rape and molestation whose prosecution was scuttled by the secretive leadership of the Catholic Church; it starts out as an investigation of the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland in 1969.
The investigation was being conducted by former students of Cesnik – Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub.
What follows is a story of corruption, a cover-up, and suppressed memories and trauma of a long-ago silenced witness, and long-since dead perpetrators.
Sins of Our Mother (2022)
By all accounts, Lori Vallow was a loving mother and church-devoted wife, until she met Chad Daybell in 2018. Daybell was the author of a series of books called Standing in Holy Places that resonated with Lori. The fictional series concerns itself with a family of Latter-Day Saints who accept a calling and must flee to Independence, Missouri to start a new society and fulfill prophecies to prepare for the Second Coming.
So captivated by Daybell’s message was Lori, she left her husband, married Daybell, and eventually was convinced to murder her children to “free their souls.”
We became aware of the Daybells when a nationwide search began for the missing children. What slowly unfolded was an incredibly tragic story that would leave 5 people dead, and as of today, Lori Vallow has been sentenced to multiple life terms for the murder of her two children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon “JJ” Vallow.
Jonestown The Life & Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Reverend Jim Jones has the highest body count of any known cult leader – On November 18, 1978, Jones succeeded in convincing 909 of his followers to drink cyanide-laced Flavor-Aid, to commit one of the largest mass suicides in American history.
Believing that a U.S. nuclear attack was imminent, Jones and his followers relocated the Peoples Temple to Georgetown, Guyana, South America in December of 1974. Thus began the period of true indoctrination and mind-control of his congregation.
The commune was able to operate in secrecy, and remained under the radar until a group of defectors formed the “Concerned Relatives” to attempt to get their loved ones released who they claimed were being held against their will. Their efforts got the attention of California Congressman Leo Ryan, who started a chain of events resulting in his own murder and that of the entire congregation in Guyana.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
Before Leah Remini’s acclaimed series, Scientology and the Aftermath, was Lawrence Wright’s ground-breaking book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief. So powerful is the Church of Scientology, families are destroyed, lives are destroyed, and people eliminated. The Church and its members have been seemingly untouchable until recent events have shed light on the goings-on in Scientology and its goofy beliefs.
Founded in 1953 by sci-fi author L. Ron Hubbard, the Church has amassed some “11,000 churches, missions and groups in 184 nations, and the movement welcomes more than 4.4 million new people each year.”
The documentary, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief follows eight former Scientologists, who relay their experience in the Church, leaving the Church, and their lives outside of it.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
In May of 1993, three 8-year-old boys — Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch — were found murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. Under pressure by the local media and citizens of West Memphis, investigators targeted three teenagers – Jessie Misskelley Jr., Damien Echols, and Jason Baldwin. The “West Memphis 3” would be convicted based on flimsy evidence — aided by the “satanic panic” of the era — and a slipshod investigation, and held for 18 years. Indeed, the only way they were released was to sign an “Alfred Plea” — wherein the defendant “does not admit to committing the crime but agrees that the prosecution has enough evidence to obtain a conviction” — basically pleading guilty to a crime they did not commit.
This documentary follows the arrest and trials of the boys. There is currently an active petition to officially clear the names of the West Memphis 3 once and for all.
Dear Zachary (2008)
Andrew Bagby was a well-loved, charismatic, funny, and intelligent young man on his way to becoming a successful doctor. The story is told by his lifelong best friend, American filmmaker and composer Kurt Kuenne. There’s no shortage of footage of Andrew in action, we see his childhood, his best groomsman’s speech, his Boy Scouts’ Flag Collection, and numerous other activities in the life of man endlessly engaged in the business of living his life to the fullest.
If not for an ill-fated relationship with one Shirley Turner, there would be much more footage of the magnanimous Dr. Bagby.
Shirley and Andrew met in 1999 at the Memorial University in Newfoundland. They tried to maintain a long distance relationship after he graduated and moved into a family practice residency in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The relationship wasn’t working out, however, and Andrew broke up with her. She apparently was not accepting of the split, so she shot and killed him at Keystone State Park on Nov. 5, 2001.
Shirley evaded prison with various legal technicalities and Andrew’s parents were later informed that Shirley was pregnant. For no reason discernible to anyone involved in the case, Shirley later committed a murder/suicide with Baby Zachary, getting the last word and proving that evil prevails.
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (2013)
Featuring a stellar voice cast consisting of Cate Blanchett, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Kretschmann, Diane Kruger, Connie Nielsen, Josh Radnor, and Gustaf Skarsgård, the story of Dr. Fredrich Ritter and his lover Dore Strauch is one of a pair of extremely eccentric expatriates whose paradise is disrupted by unwanted guests and an alluring Austrian “empress.”
Luckily for filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine — and us — the empress had made a short film of her experience in the Galapagos, The Empress of Floreana.
The ample footage and gorgeous landscape set the tone for infidelity and murder in the 1930s Galapagos.
Helter Skelter: An American Myth (2020)
The puppet master of the Tate/La Bianca murders, Charles Manson made friends easily and effortlessly attracted followers. Helter Skelter: An American Myth features interviews with Manson’s “family,” who give firsthand accounts of the charisma of Manson. We see the lifestyle of squalor of the family at the Spahn Ranch, and get better acquainted with each member.
There’s been renewed interest as of late with the women of Manson’s cult, as Leslie Van Houten has recently been released from prison after 53 years, and Debra Tate — sister of Manson family murder victim Sharon Tate — has spoken out against it. Van Houten admitted to her involvement in the murder of Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, and claims to be reformed.
