7 True Crime Docs to Watch on Netflix
Within the nuanced fascination of the unsolved lies our appreciation for justice–just watch these true-crime docs
Words Randolf Maala-Resueño
Photos Netflix
March 26, 2025
True crime documentaries are not for the faint of heart. They unravel unsettling yet gripping real-life tales of murder cases, cults, and heists. The riveting sense of danger, mystery, and intrigue lingers in ultimately cemented the genre's appeal as a cultural phenomenon.
Documentaries and docuseries abound on the Netflix stratosphere, provoking a variety of reactions influenced by public opinion. Nonetheless, the streaming service caters to all preferences: from full-length documentaries to series-long investigations, each featuring compelling narratives that shape viewers’ beliefs. True to their name, these true-crime offerings will genuinely leave you seething with concern—either to prevent such events or to solve them.
Making a Murderer (2015)
Making a Murderer follows the case of Steven Avery’s murder trials across two cases. Avery served 18 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen, then later exonerated in 2003. After many years, Avery was charged (and later convicted) with the rape and murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach along with his then-16-year-old nephew Brendan Dassey.
Making a Murderer jump-started Netflix’s fame in true docs media. The 10-part documentary magnified issues in the US criminal justice system, wherein Avery’s attorney Kathleen Zellner, in Season 2, eventually asserted that the proceedings were “a case of gross, extreme, egregious prosecutorial misconduct.”
Amanda Kox (2016)
Produced by the makers of Making a Murderer, this docu film features one of the most transfixing murder trials of the 21st century. Offering a glimpse into the 2007 murder trials, appeals, and eventual acquittal of Amanda Knox for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher, the film features how media sensationalism, fueled by tabloid journalism and international intrigue, shapes public perception.
The Keepers (2017)
Hell hath no fury like an all-girls Catholic high school unearthing the mysterious death of their beloved nun teacher. In The Keepers, Sister Cathy Cesnak, whose death in 1969 was deemed a cold case by the Baltimore police, was further investigated by her students. The series follows cover-up stories of sexual abuse and interviews from detectives and Cesnak’s students herself in pursuit of this egregious crime alleged covered up by the church.
Don't F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
When a video was posted online in 2010 of a man killing two kittens, Internet sleuths began an international manhunt to locate the perpetrator. In this three-part documentary, internet users worked against the clock as the perpetrator, stimulated by the attention they were having, had crossed their intentions to murder. Don’t F**k With Cats is an awakening to view the Internet for either good or worse.
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (2021)
It’s a race against the clock in 1985 Los Angeles, California, as Richard Ramirez, aka the Night Stalker, is terrorizing the locals. Convicted of 13 murders, 11 sexual assaults, five attempted murders, and 14 burglaries in 1989, Ramirez was sentenced to death. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer attests to Ramirez’s cold cases as the flipside of L.A.’s sunlit glamor.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (2022)
“To stand up against a multi-million-dollar church, you’re going up against a lifetime of conditioning and fear.”
This 4-part docu-series exposes the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and the abuses inflicted by its polygamous sect leader, Warren Jeffs. From psychological control to extreme religious doctrine, the series follows the struggles of Jeff’s survivors through interviews and archival footage, peeking through the mind conditioning of organized religion.
American Nightmare (2024)
Just when you thought Gone Girl was crazy.
In 2015, an assailant drugged and tied Denise Huskins before abducting her from her boyfriend Aaron Quinn's house.
After 48 hours, she was freed uninjured, but the authorities, inspired by the odd nature of the crime, suspected the pair of fabricating the event, comparing it to the narrative of the 2014 film Gone Girl. American Nightmare delves into the mental devastation the couple experienced, the media frenzy, and police blunders. The truth eventually came out through a similar crime that resulted in the arrest of Matthew Muller, a former Marine and Harvard-educated lawyer, identifying him as the true offender.
American Nightmare, through interviews, interrogation footage, and news snippets, highlighted the catastrophic consequences of not being believed, shortcomings of the law, and the horrific reality of home invasions.
The craze as a call
The Keepers (2017)
The wide panorama of real crime media spoils viewers with millions of complex material that caters to everyone's interests. But let us not forget that the true crime phenomenon remains a cry to humanity within, on which our sense of justice is not satisfied only by watching and discussing but rather by taking collective steps against the grisly crime and mystique that fuels these riveting, real-life narratives.
