The Best True Crime Stories on Netflix Right Now
Netflix is home to some brilliant true crime productions
As a nation, we Americans have long been obsessed with True Crime, but it took documentary and film makers a little while to catch on to the extent of our fascination. Thankfully they did and since then there have been hundreds of brilliant productions. We haven’t quite provided an exhaustive review of all of them, but these are just a handful of the crème de la crème. Oh and even better, they’re all available to watch on Netflix right now, so there’ll be no waiting for release dates, or paying out for a different subscription service.
Molly’s Game
Although you won’t be catching much about Molly Bloom on poker news at the moment, the star of Molly’s Game is based entirely on a real person. The film is dramatized for effect of course, but the most shocking details of the story are all true. Molly’s Game follows the story of an ex-Olympic skier who found she had a talent for organizing secret poker games. Though they started small, news of Molly’s games soon spread and before long her very small, relatively close-knit club started to be frequented by the rich and famous. Keeping a secret like this under wraps is difficult enough, but when you’ve got the FBI following you, it could become nearly impossible.
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Ted Bundy is one of the most infamous killers of the last century and certainly the most notorious of America’s serial killers. He was convicted of killing more than 30 women and is suspected of killing many more. This docuseries is sensitively put together from the original pieces of archival footage that were used to convict Bundy, as well as recordings made after his conviction as he sat on death row. As it turned out, Bundy was quite the fan of talking about himself and these hours of footage show a level of introspection that is chilling to watch. The series is in four-parts and can be difficult viewing at times owing to the severity of the crimes committed, but for true crime fans it is incredibly compulsive viewing. Director Joe Berlinger manages to tell a harrowing story without glamourizing the killer, yet still allowing the viewer a peak into the charming facade that Bundy could choose to portray.
Dirty John
Dirty John follows the story of a young couple who meet, fall in love and very swiftly get married. Up until this point it all seems golden. John dotes on Betty, spoiling her with surprises, professing his love for her and generally seeming to be everything anyone could want in a man. Betty adores John in the same way, so when we start to see him taking advantage of her good nature, it becomes more difficult to watch. John and Betty’s relationship changes as the pair progress in life. They have children and John’s career goes further. Then another woman becomes involved and everything starts to unravel. Betty is portrayed as a failing mother who can’t let go, but is John’s portrayal really fair? This series is dramatized, but is based on a true story of a woman who was pushed just a little too far.