Are you someone who’s always watching crime documentaries? If you are interested in what the serial killers thought or how did they become like this- we might have the perfect blog just for you! From famous crime documentaries to brand new ones- we have everything here just for you. Even some of the best lawyers and psychologists still wonder why they did this. Explore the minds of cold-blooded killers and satisfy your cravings with some of the best serial killer documentaries of all time. Warning: Don’t blame us if you cannot sleep tonight! So, here is our ultimate list of serial killer documentaries to get your hands on.
1. Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
- Director: Joe Berlinger
- Writer: Joe Berlinger
- Cast: Stephen Michaud, Bob Keppel, Kathleen McChesney, Ward Lucas.
- IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 56%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Ted Bundy is a name that kind of became a house-hold name in recent times. But, why is he so famous? He was found to be guilty of killing 30 women at least and showing absolutely no remorse about it. What makes him more savage is that he continued to brag about his killings like they were some sort of achievement. The four episodes of this documentary depict the life, crimes, and even the death of this man. His life was even made into a movie where Zac Efron portrayed the role of Ted Bundy.
Indulge in this true gem where the cold-blooded killer himself reveals his thoughts and actions, and experience the narcissism of this deranged killer. It will send chills down your spine.
2. I Survived BTK
- Director: Marc D. Levitz
- Writer: Marc D. Levitz, Steve Armstrong.
- Cast: Dennis Radar, Charlie Otero, Steve Relford.
- IMDb Ratings: 6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: N/A
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
‘I survived BTK’ or ‘Feast of the Assumption: BTK and the Otero Family Murders’ revolves around an unbelievable story of true crime. Charlie found out about the dead bodies of his family member in his teenage years. The cruelty which stands for “bind, torture, and kills” shocks the boy to his core.
Get on this journey of this documentary which will shake you. See how Charlie goes on this journey of self-healing. Is it even possible for someone to sit back tight and realize what happened to his family? Is it even possible to do that after knowing who exactly did the crime? Watch this blood-curdling documentary to find out the truth!
3. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files
- Director: Chris James Thompson
- Writer: Chris James Thompson
- Cast: Jeffrey Dahmer, Andrew Swant, Jeffrey Jentzen.
- IMDb Ratings: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Next in the list of our serial killer documentaries, we have ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer Files.’ This true-crime documentary uses actual archived videos and footage to prove its point. That is what makes it more chilling! This man, Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed almost 17 men that also included boys, was, in fact, a very normal looking person who lived a casual real life. No one predicted that he was even capable of doing such a grave deed.
The documentary deals with true crime content and some of the inside views of the life of the serial killer who went on killing people without a thought. The details have been described by one of Dahmer’s neighbors and a detective who was engaged in his case. This is one of the best serial killer documentaries out there that will make you wonder how a normal man does a mass murder without any motives.
4. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer
- Director: Nick Broomfield
- Writer: Nick Broomfield
- Cast: Aileen Wuornos, Jeb Bush.
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer, murdered seven men. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer is one of those true crime documentaries that will indeed make you question the sanity of these killers. They share the story of the men she murdered in cold blood between 1989 and 1990, and her motives were not clear either. Was she insane? Or, was she doing all this with a sane mind? But, if you look at her trials- it will make you question that she was indeed in declining health mentally. Is it insanity or just cruelty?
5. Tales of the Grim Sleeper
- Director: Nick Broomfield
- Writer: Nick Broomfield
- Cast: Grim Sleeper
- IMDb Ratings: 7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
- Streaming platform: Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO
The Grim Sleeper is an infamous serial killer in the Los Angeles area. Not much is known about this man, except for the fact that he killed women and girls for more than 25 years. The police could not catch him easily. After a while, he was caught after a DNA test that matched a victim of his and was brought to court. Tales of the Grim Sleeper depicts how he remained to stay anonymous for so long. See how the crime department failed to take measures quickly that led to the loss of so many lives!
6. Cropsey
- Director: Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio
- Writer: Joshua Zeman
- Cast: Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio, Bill Ellis.
- IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
A serial killer documentary based on an urban legend from New York- Cropsey revolves around a man who chose his victims from Staten Island. How did an urban legend like Boogeyman come into being? Find out more from this documentary. The victims consist of five kids who were nowhere to be found. Embark on this journey as the creators try to find out what were his motives and connections with the children. Why would one commit such crimes with the lives of such innocent children?
7. The Pig Farm
- Director: Malcolm Clarke
- Writer: Malcolm Clarke
- Cast: Maggie Huculak
- IMDb Ratings: 6.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: N/A
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
The Pig Farm is another one of the serial killer documentaries that will make you question the mindset of these ruthless people. Robert Pickton was a Canadian serial killer who went on killing humans without any rational motives, His only plan was to make his kill number at least 50. But, this is not all. He killed the people, smashed them, and fed their meat to the pigs on his farm. The stories will make you want to throw up as he even mixed the human meat with pork meat and sold it in the market.
8. This Is The Zodiac Speaking
- Director: David Prior
- Writer: David Prior
- Cast: Pierre Bidou, Russell T. Butterbach, Les Lundblad.
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
- Streaming Platform: Youtube, Amazon Prime
A serial killer under the pseudo name ‘Zodiac killer’ almost seven people in the era of the 1960s-70s. The victims were from the region of North Carolina where the killer went on with his killing rage. The man even sent a number of letters, riddles, and cryptograms without fearing to the media, but none could catch him. It still now remains unsolved, and a lot of famous detectives and tried taking up this case.
They were not able to find out who did it. This is the Zodiac Speaking is one of those serial killers’ stories that still remain open to this very day. Later on, a film on the Zodiac killer was made, where Jake Gyllenhal portrays the famous killer.
9. H.H. Holmes: America’s First Serial Killer
- Director: John Borowski
- Writer: John Borowski
- Cast: H. H. Holmes, Tony Jay
- IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
The next serial killer documentary H. H. Holmes might not be America’s first serial killer, but there is no doubt that this is one gruesome murder story. This documentary depicts the ways how he used to put his victims into torture chambers, and tortured them in the Nazi way. He did the acid treatment on them too, thereby killing them.
Instead of disposing of their leftovers or skeletons- he used to sell or donate these to different medical schools. His killing site was Chicago where he almost built a labyrinth to trap a man. He was a prolific serial killer. By killing men who were visiting the World’s fair of 1893, he can almost be called a criminal mastermind.
10. Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation
- Director: John Borowski
- Writer: John Borowski
- Cast: Oto Brezina, Tony Jay
- IMDb Ratings: 5.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 40%
- Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime
Albert Fish is a horrible serial killer who indulged himself in child abuse. ‘Albert Fish: In Sin, he Found Salvation’ is a true crime story that will give you goosebumps. His victims met with a cruel end. He is said to be a cannibal who killed children and devoured their flesh. So, he had various torture chambers where he showcased his sadism. He posed as a normal man and took people into his home where he did his deeds. This is how he always used to get away. Albert Fish is such a name that alone makes people scared.
11. Interview With A Serial Killer
- Director: Christopher Martin
- Writer: Christopher Martin
- Cast: Arthur Shawcross, Maggie Deming, Paul Dierdorf.
- IMDb Ratings: 5.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
This documentary portrays the story of one of the most prolific serial killers- Arthur Shawcross. It consists of a tape from his prison, where he casually discusses the barbaric things he has done in this life in detail. He has not only killed 14 women, but he also raped them before. There were even two children among these 14 heads. He was a mentally unstable mass murderer who, however, showed no remorse after murdering so many.
Many will find this documentary highly brutal and disturbing. But, if you are into these things- you will find it quite alluring. He also happened to be a cannibal who not only mutilated all the dead bodies but felt immense pleasure devouring them. He really cannot get any worse!
12. The Confession Killer
- Director: Robert Kenner
- Writer: Robert Kenner
- Cast: Nan Cuba, Bob Prince
- IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Henry Lee Lucas is the man in the main plot here. The strangest part about this documentary that has 5 episodes is that Henry confessed to all the crimes he committed. He went to the police telling them everything- from how he killed 11 humans cruelly and all other details.
He was even given a life sentence in prison. But, after a while, it finally came to light that his DNA was not matching the DNA which was found at the crime scene. There was no evidence of him doing the crimes other than his confession! Did he actually do them? Was he covering some other serial killers? Watch ‘The Confession Killer’ to discover the truth for yourself!
13. Killer Ratings
- Director: Daniel Bogado
- Writer: Daniel Bogado
- Cast: Wallace Souza
- IMDb Ratings: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Souza was a famous politician as well as a TV personality from Brazil. The police found him guilty of killing a number of men in order to get more ratings for his show or for making his show extremely popular. However, it took a while as no one was ready to say anything against him. The episodes show how the detectives worked together to build up this case and how the criminal mastermind planned everything on his own.
14. Making A Murderer
- Director: Laura Ricciardi
- Writer: Laura Ricciardi
- Cast: Steven Avery, Laura Nirider
- IMDb Ratings: 8.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
- Streaming Platform: Netflix
Steven Avery- an innocent guy, had to go through 18 years of jail time just for some wrong judgment. It is said that he was arrested as he was suspected of raping and killing a woman. But, in reality, he did no such thing. However, when he was let out- he went and committed the crime of killing someone- this time he really ended up doing this. The documentary will make you wonder- Are humans born criminals? Or, are we the ones making them that way?
15. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
- Director: Geno McDermott
- Writer: Geno McDermott
- Cast: Aaron Hernandez, Susan Candiotti
- IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 77%
- Streaming platform: Netflix
Hernandez was an American soccer player by profession. He was suspected of killing a lot of people, but the case that led to his own suicide was also the case for while he was arrested and sent to serve an entire life in prison. He was found guilty of killing Odin Lloyd.
Thus we conclude our list of ’15 Best Serial Killer Documentaries.’ These documentary episodes show the lives of some famous serial killers who went on committing crimes brutally. Each and every documentary are like those true crime shows where the killers share their crimes and confession. Watching these will only make you question about the mindset of these serial killers- Are they even mentally normal? Do these serial killers even understand the depth of the inhuman crimes they have committed? Decide for yourselves!
