If comedy movies can make people laugh, drama movies can make people cry sometimes, or horror movies can trigger adrenaline, what about documentaries? Here are documentary movies recommendations that we guarantee will give you goosebumps.
Especially if the documentary is related to the disclosure of crimes or things that smell like mysticism.
Documentary Movies Recommendations
1. The Imposter
The first documentary movies recommendation is The Imposter. A man named Nicholas Barclay from Texas was reported missing in 1994. Every effort was made to find him, but Nico was still missing. His whereabouts became a mystery.
Until 1997, the police mentioned that Nico was in Spain. The family was enthusiastic and brought Nico home. But there was an oddity, Nico’s face was slightly different, looking older, the color of his eyes was different.
His family ignored this, they thought it was normal for Nico’s face to change somewhat after three years of disappearance and not seeing each other. But as it turned out, this person was not Nicholas Barclay.
Then, who is he? Where is Nicholas Barclay really? You better watch this documentary, guaranteed to make you nervous.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The Imposter |
| Director | Bart Layton |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime, Biography |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,5/10 |
2. American Murder: The Family Next Door
In 2018, there was an incident that shocked the American public. Shanan and her two children, who were rumored to have disappeared, were found in a petroleum area not far from her house.
The investigation revealed that Christoper Watts killed them. He is the perpetrator of the murder of his wife and two children.
The chilling sensation in this documentary is not in the facts that are eventually revealed, but in the clips and footage used in the movie. The videos from this movie are taken from original footage that Jenny Popplewel knitted into a movie. Making this movie very worthy to be included in our list of documentary film recommendations this time.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | American Murder: The Family Next Door |
| Director | Jenny Popplewell |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,2/10 |
3. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
This hotel located in America is already known as a hotel full of horrors. Many crimes have occurred in this hotel, ranging from acts of violence, suicide, to murder.
Then, mystery struck again after a woman named Elisa Lim was found dead in this centuries-old hotel. Many people were left wondering by the CCTV footage of Elisa in the elevator. What really happened to Elisa? Apart from being confused, you are guaranteed to get goosebumps watching this documentary.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel |
| Director | – |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime |
| IMDb Ratings | 6,0/10 |
4. The Bridge
This movie tells the story of a suicide that often occurs at the Golden Gate in San Francisco, United States. What gives goosebumps is that there is a scene where the camera highlights a man who freefalls into the waters below after previously climbing over the bridge railing.
Not only that, but the movie also presents tense photos before they jumped off the bridge.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The Bridge |
| Director | Eric Steel |
| Genre | Documentary, Drama |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,2/10 |
5. Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse
Although only 30 minutes long, this documentary recommendation is guaranteed to give you goosebumps. This movie contains the results of a psychologist’s interview with a girl named Beth. She was a victim of sexual violence by her biological father. Since the incident, she has been numb.
In the interview, Beth recounted the times when she killed small animals around her house, and she even almost killed her sister and parents. All of this was delivered casually without emotion and expression. Terrifying, isn’t it?
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse |
| Director | Arthur Ginsberg |
| Genre | Documentary |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,3/10 |
6. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
True crime fans should not miss this documentary movies recommendations. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is a documentary by director Joe Berlinger detailing the horrific acts of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.
The movie consists of 4 episodes that depict Ted Bundy’s life in detail. The director also included archival footage of Ted Bundy’s statements as well as some news coverage during the murder investigation.
This story is also based on testimonies from sources directly involved in the Ted Bundy serial murder case.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes |
| Director | Joe Berlinger |
| Genre | Documentary, Biography, Crime |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,7/10 |
7. The Ripper
The next documentary recommendation is The Ripper. This film refers to a series of gruesome murders targeting women in West Yorkshire and Manchester between 1975 and 1980, the culprit being Peter Sutcliffe. During this period, there was an increase in murders of women on their nightly activities.
The same characteristics are often found on the victims’ bodies, suggesting that the perpetrator of the murder is the same person who was still a mystery at the time.
The case shocked the British public at the time and reminded them of the legend of serial killer Jack the Ripper, who inspired the name of the case, The Ripper. Ongoing investigations by the police eventually uncovered shocking facts about the case.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The Ripper |
| Director | – |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,1/10 |
8. Worst Roommate Ever
The Worst Roommate Ever documentary series chronicles the various crimes committed by someone with the title of “roommate”.
The crimes range from stories of Dorothea Puente killing the homeless she was sheltering, roommates who were actually con artists, to being kicked out of their own homes by “squatters”.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Worst Roommate Ever |
| Director | – |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime, Thriller |
| IMDb Ratings | 7,0/10 |
9. Our Father
The last documentary movies recommendations is Our Father. This film is the documentary debut of Lucie Jourdan which focuses on the controversial case of Donald Cline, a fertility doctor from Indianapolis who secretly impregnated his patients with his own sperm.
Instead of using the samples requested by the patients, be it donor sperm or their husbands, Cline chose to use her own sperm, and this happened repeatedly. This case rocked the medical world in the United States.
Donald Cline’s unethical actions were first noticed by Jacoba Ballard, who became suspicious after conducting a 23andMe DNA test. Ballard then contacted Cline’s patients and found that there were too many matches between them.
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | Our Father |
| Director | Lucie Jourdan |
| Genre | Documentary, Crime |
| IMDb Ratings | 6,6/10 |
Those are 9 documentary movies recommendations that will give you goosebumps when watching it. Have you ever watched any of the 9 movies above? Comment below.
