10 documentaries about maniacs that will make you feel uncomfortable

10. Albert Fish: In sin he found salvation

Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation

• USA, 2007.
• Thriller, crime, historical.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.7.

The film tells about a criminal who lived in the United States during the Great Depression. Albert Fish, being no longer young, began to kill children. As it turned out later, he raped his victims, and then ate some of them.

Experts have not come to an unambiguous conclusion whether Fish was sane. The documentary film by John Borowski allows the viewer to decide for himself how to relate to the terrible atrocities of a maniac.

9. The Pig Farm

• Canada, 2011
• Thriller, detective, crime.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.0.

The picture tells about the activities of one of the most famous Canadian maniacs Robert Picton. Having inherited a pig farm, he killed women there. Moreover, the villain could not be caught for about 20 years.

In the film, several acquaintances of Pickton, as well as police officers, tell how the criminal managed to escape punishment for so long. All the fault of the deliberate concealment of evidence from the investigation.

8. Cropsy

Cropsey

• USA, 2009
• Horror, detective, crime.
• Duration: 84 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.3.

The film begins with the story of Cropsy, a creepy mystical character from urban legends. But then the plot switches to a real maniac - kidnapper and murderer Andre Rand.

The authors draw unusual parallels, showing how scary stories are born from real events. And at the same time they are trying to assess the true scale of Rand's crimes.

7. X. X. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer

H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer 

• USA, 2004
• Crime, historical.
• Duration: 64 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.3.

The painting by John Borowski recreates the biography of Henry Howard Holmes. This doctor at the end of the 19th century built a hotel in Chicago, which they called the "Castle". The house had many complex passages and hidden stairs. The villain lured his victims into the "Castle", tortured them in every possible way and killed them.

It is Holmes who is considered the first officially registered serial killer in the United States.

6. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files

• USA, 2012.
• Detective, crime.
• Duration: 76 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.4.

Maniac, rapist and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 people, before subjecting them to severe torture. After his arrest, the court sentenced him to an impossible 15 life sentences, since the death penalty was prohibited at that time.

The documentary picture restores the circumstances of these crimes. Moreover, the artistic reconstruction here is adjacent to the testimony of experts, which allows you to fully experience the horror of what happened.

5. Grim Sleeper Stories

Tales of the Grim Sleeper

• USA, 2014.
• Crime.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.0.

Documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield, best known for biographies of Whitney Houston and Tupac Shakur, made a film about Lonnie Franklin. This criminal was known under the nickname Grim Sleeper.

The villain began to operate in the 80s, raping and killing women. But one of his victims survived, and then the maniac hid for many years. He could only be caught in the 21st century.

4. Unmasking Jack the Ripper

• UK, 2005
• Thriller, detective, crime.
• Duration: 75 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.1.

Jack the Ripper is considered the first serial killer in history. The fact that the name of the maniac has not been revealed adds to the intrigue.

The filmmakers communicate with experts on the cases of Jack the Ripper and reconstruct the events that took place in the distant 19th century, right on real locations.

3. This Is the Zodiac Speaking

• USA, 2008.
• Crime.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.1.

The Zodiac, like Jack the Ripper, is a maniac whose identity has never been determined. Therefore, a terrible killer still excites the minds of lovers detective stories.

This film tells about the search for the Zodiac, and also includes interviews with investigators and surviving victims.

2. Eileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

• UK, USA, 2003.
• Crime.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.1.

The film is about Eileen Carol Wuornos, who murdered seven men in two years. The woman was engaged in prostitution and claimed that the victims themselves attacked her. The film is dedicated to the trial and execution of Wuornos, and also includes her last interview before her death.

This is the second part of Nick Broomfield's dilogy about a criminal. In the first film, "The Sale of a Serial Killer," the director tried to communicate with the maniac and showed her dubious surroundings.

1. American Murder: The Family Next Door

American Murder: The Family Next Door

• USA, 2020.
• Crime.
• Duration: 83 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.2.

The Watts family seemed to be a model of success and understanding. But in 2018, Shannon's wife and two daughters disappeared without a trace. Some time later, the husband confessed that he had killed them all.

One of the most popular documentaries Netflix includes home videos, social media posts and documents from the police. All of them reveal what really happened in the Watts family.

And what documentaries about maniacs do you remember?

Alexey Khromov