There’s nothing more visceral to experience on the screen than watching the horrors of real life unfold. There’s a type of unsettling documentary that has the power to evoke an intense emotional reaction or terrify you to the point that you lose sleep—a documentary as chilling as the scariest of movies. The “dark doc” category is eclectic in terms of topics—true crime, cults, human impact on the environment, animals and wildlife, the justice system, drugs, death, and religion. The limit truly does not exist in terms of explorations. What makes dark documentaries stand out from the rest is that they remind us that perhaps humans are the most monstrous of all.
Curated here are docs in the vein of the aforementioned films—documentaries so brutal that betcha you can them watch once.
Timothy Treadwell loved bears, but the bears did not love him back as the dark ending of Grizzly Man shows.
Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard were passionate grizzly bear activists and wildlife preservationists who lived among the endangered grizzlies in Alaska during long camping trips. German director Werner Herzog relays their devastating story in Grizzly Man. He uses actual footage shot by Timothy over the last five years of his life to piece together the documentary, as well as interviews with those who knew him. This doc makes it to this list for one specific part—you don’t see anything, but you hear a little bit of what the filmmaker is listening to and it’s immensely traumatizing.
Huge, huge, huge trigger warning! The film crew of this controversial documentary spent an entire year filming the Golden Gate bridge and capturing actual people taking their lives. Be cognizant that a lot of this horrific footage ended up in the documentary, which makes it one of the heaviest on this list. It features interviews with the families of some of the identified persons who jumped from the bridge. While the film caused uproar and sparked debate about the ethics of intervention, others praised it for highlighting mental health. Jim Emerson writes for Roger Ebert:
The Bridge is neither a well-intentioned humanitarian project, nor a voyeuristic snuff film. It succeeds because it is honest about exhibiting undeniable elements of both. It’s a profoundly affecting work of art that peers into an abyss that most of us are terrified to face—not just the waters of the bay, but the human mind—and reflects on the unanswerable question: What makes someone take that leap into the void?
While not as macabre as other films on this list, Jesus Camp will deeply disturb you.
Jesus Camp highlights the horrors of Christian indoctrination and American Evangelism. The documentary takes the viewer into the lives of children attending Kids on Fire School of Ministry, where they’re taught that they have special gifts and must fight to “take back America for Christ.” As stated in the doc, this community holds the firm and dangerous belief that “there are two kinds of people in this world, people who love Jesus and people who don’t.” The main subject is 12-year-old Levi who aspires to one day become a preacher. It also focuses on the camp’s horrific founder, Becky Fischer. The camp was actually shut down after the release of the film. It’s no surprise, given the abuse these kids were subject to.
If you’re an avid fan of film, then you have experienced the immense pain associated with sitting through this documentary by Kurt Kuenne—and the incurable sadness that followed after. If you haven’t seen it, then know that the less you know going in, the more its message will resonate. Be warned that it’s not a documentary to be watched when one isn’t in their optimal mental and emotional state. It’s a piece of work that guts you and forever stays with you.
This documentary might make you sleep with the lights on.
Cropsey follows a couple of investigators looking into the disappearances of five children from their hometown and the urban legend associated with them. Supposedly, Cropsey was a homicidal maniac that escaped from a mental asylum and had a hook for a hand. According to legend, he hunted children and took them to the tunnel system beneath the abandoned Seaview Hospital in Staten Island. The documentary takes you on a wild ride and leaves you with an unsettling and heartbreaking conclusion. Don’t look too much into it before watching.
Filmmaker Alex Gibney explores the terrible crimes committed against children by priests and the Roman Catholic Church’s involvement in covering up these heinous offenses. The primary focus is on a group of men who were abused as kids at a school for children with hearing disabilities run by the church. The victims are Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Pat Kuehn, and Arthur Budzinski—voiced by actors Jamey Sheridan, Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke, and John Slattery, respectively. The doc also showcases the public protest they brought forth, which led to the sexual abuse scandal in the Milwaukee Archdiocese. Priest Lawrence Murphy is believed to have abused over 200 children at that school. It’s difficult to watch, but incredibly important.
A mother talks about what happened after her 13-years-old son killed his little sister in The Family I Had.
In The Family I Had, filmmakers Carlye Rubin and Katie Green highlight an inmate who was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of his little sister. He was only 13 years old at the time of the brutal crime. It’s a painfully hard documentary to get through because the wickedness depicted here comes from a child. The mother relays the horrific series of events that imploded her seemingly idyllic family. It’s a powerful story of grief, love, forgiveness, and the juvenile justice system—one that reaches deep into the soul.
Natalia is a writer, poet, and collage artist living in Houston, Texas. Her favorite scary movies include Pearl, Midsommar, and Jennifer’s Body. In her spare time, she enjoys writing “good for her” horror fiction.
