5 chilling documentaries based on True Events
The 5 Best edge-of-seat documentaries on true events, you cannot miss.
Forget the scripted dramas- sometimes reality is more harrowing than fictional stories.
In the world, dark realities lurk beneath everyday life, avoiding the light of truth and shrouding in the layers of lies.
To step into the world of real-life drama is to explore unscripted twists, jaw-dropping revelations, nail-biting truth discovery.
These documentaries are not just simple stories brought to the light. These stories peel back the layers of truth riddled with emotional rollercoasters, moral conundrum, and human dilemmas.
Brace yourself for these 5 gripping and mind-boggling documentaries based on true events. This is your must-watch list!
1. The Mortician
Death is considered a sanctified return to the divine. What if the sanctified journey of the loved ones is violated by cremators. Sounds appalling right! Such mishandling of human remains have been brought to the light by HBO’s The Mortician.
The three-part documentary explores the chilling true story of a cremator, David Sconce, who was found guilty by exploiting the human remains’ valuables and deceiving their bereaved families.
It premiered on HBO on June 1, 2025, available for streaming on Max.
2. Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders
Have you thought about what happens when life-saving pills turn into life-taking poison? Clueless about this happening? Netflix's new addition, Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, revisits one of the most spine-chilling and unresolved crimes in American history.
The three-part series focuses on the ill-fated events followed by the death of seven people after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982 in the Chicago area.
The tylenol poisoning sparked nationwide panic and reshaped the pharmaceutical industry.
3. Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story
Hollywood is rife with serial-killer based stories. More than fiction, the true events based on grisly murders, sweep the audience with mind-boggling twists and dark secrets.
Netflix’s released three-episodic crime documentary, Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story, examines the chilling and horrible crimes committed by Fred and Rose West, two of Britain’s most notorious serial killers.
The documentary sheds light on different aspects of the infamous story through interviews with Fred West’s lawyer, law enforcement, and journalists involved in the most disturbing serial killer case.
4. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Childhood traumas and abuses rip the human personalities apart, leaving an enduring impact. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez who fatally shot their parents in cold-blooded murder in 1989.
The story touches highly sensitive issues of emotional traumas, sexual abuse, and toxic parenting, highlighting how trauma can manifest and affect decisions later in life.
During the trial, severely disturbing truths came to the fore, leaving the viewers baffled.
In its first week of release on Netflix, the series is reported to have had 12.3 million views.
5. A Deadly American Marriage
The last in the list is the violent true story, A Deadly American Marriage, that delves into the mysterious death of Jason Corbett, an Irish widower who tied the knot to Molly Martens just a month after losing his first wife.
Unfortunately, this beautiful beginning proved a dreadful end for Corbet, as he was brutally murdered in North Carolina home. After allegedly being accused of the murder, Martens and her family were the prime suspects.
This spine-chilling series sets out to shed light on the many unanswered questions, lingering since the night of murder.
So, buckle up, grab your seat in front of your laptop, and enjoy these mind-boggling & spine-chilling documentaries this summer.
