Top 10 Must-Watch True Crime Documentaries

We wish these were fiction... Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be looking at the best feature-length documentaries about real-life crimes—no multi-part series, please. And there will be spoilers! Our countdown includes documentaries “The Imposter”, “Amanda Knox”, “The Invisible War” and more! Welcome to Viralworld Magazine, and today we’ll be looking at the best feature-length documentaries about real-life crimes—no multi-part series, please. And there will be spoilers! Which true crime documentary was truly better than any fiction? Let us know in the comments down below! #10: “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal” (2021) This documentary tells a tale of corruption and fraud in American education. Wealthy parents were charged with bribing universities to accept their children. Among the 50 charged were famous actors like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. At the heart of the scam was former coach William “Rick” Singer and John Vandemoer. Director Chris Smith used wiretap transcripts and blogs to piece together the story, along with reenactments. Smith also got the participation of Singer’s former business associate to find out information on the coach.. All in all, this documentary is eye-opening in exposing the ways the wealthy game the system. #9: “Tales of the Grim Sleeper” (2014) Documentaries about serial killers are not unusual, but director Nick Broomfield’s film about the murderer called the Grim Sleeper also highlights perceived indifference by the police in capturing the killer. Relating the story of Lonnie Franklin Jr., eventually charged in 2010 with murdering 10 young Black women, it includes activists who claimed police weren’t motivated because many of the victims were poor drug users or sex workers. Franklin took a 14-year hiatus from killing, earning him the nickname “Grim Sleeper” when he resumed. Eventually, he was arrested on a felony charge unrelated to his murders - but that gave the department a DNA sample which finally led to his arrest. Broomfeld’s film reveals this chilling but all-too-familiar tale of murder, systemic indifference, and racial bigotry. #8: “The Invisible War” (2012) #7: “Athlete A” (2020) Systemic abuse and cover-ups are not just confined to the military. This documentary follows the crimes of Larry Nassar, a doctor who sexually assaulted hundreds of women, many of them young female gymnasts. Starting in 2015, Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, and Jessica Howard, among other gymnasts, accuse Nassar of mistreatment. It turned out that allegations of carnal assault went back years, covered up by Steve Penny, the USA Gymnastics CEO. Penny was eventually charged with evidence tampering, though the charges were later dismissed. Directors Bonni Cohen and John Shenk follow reporters for “The Indianapolis Star” as they investigate the case against Nassar. By the time Nassar was convicted, more than 260 victims had accused Nassar of gross mistreatment. #6: “Amanda Knox” (2016) It was a case that had captivated the whole world. Amanda Knox, an American exchange student living in Italy, was convicted twice of murdering her roommate. In this documentary, directors Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn allow Knox to tell her own side of the story. Despite evidence suggesting another perpetrator, the Italian police investigated Knox and her then-boyfriend for their unusual behaviors. Tabloids followed suit, demonizing Knox as a femme fatale obsessed with sex and the occult. And as it turned out, chief prosecutor Giuliano Mignini had a history of baseless and sexist theorizing, as well as abuses of power. In the end, Knox spent four years in Italian prison before she was finally acquitted in 2015. #5: “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley” (2019) There are some crimes that are truly so bizarre they are stranger than fiction. The murder of Dee Dee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy Rose Blanchard was the result of some truly horrific abuse. Blanchard convinced people that her daughter was ill, when in fact Gypsy Rose was in perfect health. Blanchard went so far as to insert a feeding tube into her daughter and consign her to a wheelchair. Desperate to escape, Gypsy Rose and her then-boyfriend carried out the murder. Dee Dee Blanchard was so unstable that her own relatives were not at all sad to see her go. Gypsy Rose is now out on parole, no doubt scarred by her ordeal.