Sick of Netflix’s Ted Bundy? Watch these true crime documentaries next
Serial killers get a lot of the attention within the true crime sphere. Netflix, for example, has several projects about the serial killer, Ted Bundy. If you’ve exhausted Netflix’s Ted Bundy listing, then you’re probably looking for a new true crime doc to binge. Whether it be a documentary film or a docuseries, so long as it’s about a crime, then you’re down.
You’re in luck because Netflix has a ton of true crime documentaries that don’t have to do with Ted Bundy or Tiger King. Here are some of the most addictive true crime docs on Netflix to draw you in.
Evil Genius
Evil Genius is a four-part Netflix docuseries that covers the Brian Wells case, which is so wild that you think it would be a plot on some of the more off the wall crime series. Now before we get too deep into the series, be forewarned you will see Wells die in the first 10 minutes of the series.
In 2003, Wells walked into a bank and robbed it. When the police showed up, Wells told them that he was being held hostage with a collar bomb around his neck. He died, on camera, before the bomb squad showed up when the bomb detonated.
Following this, we go down a bizarre rabbit hole of love triangles and who really is the mastermind behind the entire heist. More importantly, was Wells a hostage or involved with the crime? The docuseries goes into the weird twists and turns of the case, which involves love triangles, dead bodies, mental health issues, and more.
The Confession Killer
If you finished the Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix, then you should prepare yourself mentally before diving into The Confession Killer. Henry Lee Lucas was a man thought to be responsible for many murders in the 80s. That’s definitely true. How do we know this? Well, Henry Lee Lucas shocked authorities by confessing.
Even worse? Lucas did not to just confess to the murders that he was suspected of either, there are so many more, like possibly 600. The Confession Killer on Netflix documents it all in chilling detail. Oh boy, what you will hear and see will definitely turn your stomach.
Wild Wild Country
Tired of serial killers and want to get into the bizarre world of cults? Netflix has something for that as well. Wild Wild Country documents the first and only bioterroism attack on US soil back in the 1980s. While no one died, 700 people were infected with salmonella and 45 people ended up hospitalized. Why? Well, a cult wanted to influence an election in an Oregon county. Yes, really.
The Rajneesh movement set up a commune and took over a small town in Oregon. When they ran into issues with the local county government, the group decided to get on the county seat. In order to do so, one of the leaders of the movement Ma Anand Sheela got a group together to get the voters so sick they had to stay home on election day.
Wild Wild Country documents it all in bizarre and fascinating detail. There’s even interviews with Ma Anand Sheela, who has been paroled and is out and about today.
Casting JonBenet
If you want a different perspective on true crime, then Casting JonBenet is definitely it. The documentarians of this film aren’t looking to solve the famous murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Instead, they take a look at what the rest of us think of it, well, in a sense.
Casting JonBenet looks at how the story has permeated popular culture by asking actors auditioning for the dramatic reenactment roles of the Ramsey family that they think happened. The popular theories are told from these actors, who then do the reenactments.
It’s a really interesting take on a true crime documentary. Casting JonBenet makes us all wonder about these stories that we sensationalize and act as armchair detectives toward, especially some of the more famous cases that have appeared over the years.
