Crime documentaries have a massive viewership among the audience. They shed light on some of the darkest and most gruesome aspects of certain humans that leave us shocked. Especially this year has marked some of the most popular documentaries that left a deep impact and started much discourse. Therefore, we have curated the 10 Best Netflix Crime Documentaries of 2022 that you might want to add to your watchlist.
10 Best Netflix Crime Documentaries of 2022
Girl in the Picture
Girl in the Picture is a Netflix documentary which investigates the mysterious case of Sharon Marshall and her troubled life which lead to her chilling death. It is based on the international bestseller A Beautiful Child and its follow-up, Finding Sharon, written by the award-winning investigative journalist Matt Birkbeck.
In this documentary, a woman found dying by a road leaves behind a son, a man claiming to be her husband — and a mystery that unfolds like a nightmare. It investigates the story of Sharon Marshall, as she goes from being an ambitious teenager with a scholarship to Georgia Tech to a woman with a 2-year-old son, forced by her abusive husband to work as a stripper. Her eventual tragic murder leads to an investigation of her true identity and the federal fugitive who happened to be at the centre of it all.
Watch this documentary film on Netflix and read our review here.
Killer Sally
Killer Sally is the story of bodybuilding’s most notorious crime. On Valentine’s Day 1995, national bodybuilding champion, Ray McNeil, was choking his bodybuilder wife, Sally, when she grabbed a gun and fatally shot him twice. With a documented history of domestic abuse, Sally claimed it was self-defence, a split-second decision to save her life.
The prosecution argued it was premeditated murder, the revenge of a jealous and aggressive wife. They called her a thug, a bully, a monster. The media referred to her as the brawny bride and the pumped-up princess. Sally says she spent her life doing whatever it took to survive, caught in a cycle of violence that began in childhood and ended with Ray’s death. This complex true crime story examines domestic violence, gender roles, and the world of bodybuilding.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Our Father
This documentary follows Jacoba Ballard, an only child conceived via donor sperm, who always dreamed of having a brother or sister. An at-home DNA test led her to the discovery of not one but seven half-siblings – a number that defied best practices in fertility medicine. As the group set out to learn more about their curious family tree, they soon discovered the sickening truth.
Their parents’ fertility doctor had been inseminating his patients with his own sperm – without their knowledge or consent. As Ballard and her newfound siblings realized they’ve barely begun to untangle his dark web of deceit, their pursuit of justice lies at the heart of this profoundly unsettling story about an unimaginable breach of trust.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Indian Predator: The Butcher of Delhi
Indian Predator The Butcher of Delhi follows the events of the year 2006 when a series of mutilated bodies and taunting notes left outside a Delhi jail sends police hunting for a seasoned killer with a grudge against the system. It traces the story of a notorious serial killer who ruthlessly dismembered his victims and scattered their body parts around the city.
There are more documentaries in the Indian Predator series like – Indian Predator The Diary of a Serial Killer, and Indian Predator Murder in a Courtroom Review.
Watch the series on Netflix and read our review here.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
In 2008, a dramatic raid at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in West Texas generated attention around the world, as law enforcement agents uncovered evidence of sexual, physical and psychological abuse and took 400+ children into custody. The documentary gives viewers an in-depth look into the secretive polygamous sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) and the rise of self-professed prophet Warren Jeffs.
It features never-before-seen archival footage and harrowing personal stories from some of the courageous women and men who escaped. From forced underage marriage and pregnancy to a complete unravelling into an oppressive criminal cult under Warren Jeffs’ rule, the story uncovers extraordinary bravery in battling tyrannical control in modern America.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
Jimmy Savile rose to prominence in a career spanning decades in the entertainment industry in the UK. He had raised millions for charity, been knighted by the Queen and achieved national treasure status by the time he died on the 29th of October 2011. His funeral was broadcast live on the BBC. Since his death, independent investigations and those made by Scotland Yard uncovered that Savile had been a prolific and predatory sex offender, abusing hundreds of people, some as young as 5.
To date, more than 450 allegations of sexual assault and abuse have been made against him. The documentary examines, through extensive archive footage, Savile’s relationship with the British people, the establishment and the media to understand how he managed to fool an entire nation for so long.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Also Read: Kangaroo Valley Review: Mala’s Story of Survival Through the Changing Seasons
The Most Hated Man on the Internet
The Most Hated Man on the Internet tells the story of one mother’s mission against the self-styled ‘King of Revenge Porn’, after nude photos of her daughter are posted online. Hunter Moore was a self-proclaimed ‘professional life ruiner’ who found fame in the early 2010s by founding IsAnyoneUp.com, a notorious revenge porn hub.
The site posted explicit photos of women and men, often without their permission and with devastating results. He built a cult following of those who hung on his every raunchy move. Featuring poignant, exclusive interviews with multiple women and men who fought to have their images taken down, law enforcement agents who worked the case and the crusaders who fought to take Moore down.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
The Tinder Swindler
The Tinder Swindler tells the story of a prolific conman who posed as a billionaire playboy on Tinder and the women who set out to bring him down. Taking a step back from gruesome crime documentaries, in this film, when Cecilie matches with a handsome billionaire playboy, she can’t quite believe it when he turns out to be the man of her dreams.
But dreams aren’t reality and by the time she discovers this international businessman isn’t who he says he is, it’s too late. He’s taken her for everything. Where this fairytale ends, a revenge thriller begins. Cecilie discovers his other targets and once they band together, they’re victims no more because the swindler will meet all his matches.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Worst Roommate Ever
Worst Roommate Ever highlights four harrowing tales of seemingly harmless roommates turning into real-life nightmares for their unsuspecting victims when their malevolent and sometimes violent intentions are revealed. These unsettling true stories chronicle the masked menace that can be lurking right down the hall.
Watch the series on Netflix and read our review here.
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Serial killer John Wayne Gacy was an aspiring politician, beloved local contractor, and part-time clown-for-hire who murdered 33 young men between 1972 and 1976. The majority of his victims were found buried under his house, in the quiet northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Fifty years later, DNA scientists are still trying to identify all of his victims, but thanks to 60 hours of unearthed audio between Gacy and his defence team, we have a fresh perspective on the narcissistic mindset of the murderer and a deeper understanding of how he operated for so long with impunity.
Watch it on Netflix and read our review here.
Which of the above-mentioned crime documentaries will you be adding to your watch list? Let us know in the comment section below.
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