7 Documentaries About Mind Boggling Mysteries
If you're looking for documentaries that will leave you gaping in shock every minute, documentaries about mysteries will satisfy that need. With the right editing, ambiguous reenactments, and detailed interviews, documentarians can unpack the most bizarre mysteries and lay them out in a way that will keep you thinking about them for days. Some mysteries are never solved, some are only solved years later, and others will drop a load of unanswered questions on you.
The Girl In The Picture
What started out as a supposed hit-and-run case turned into an unraveling horror show of abuse, murder, kidnapping, and aliases decades later. The Girl In The Picture details the mysterious case of Tonya Hughes in all its twists and turns, who was found dead on the side of a highway. With injuries that didn’t look like they were caused from a car accident, Hughes' husband, Clarence, became the main suspect, and their two year-old son was sent to foster care. Then, after fighting the foster home for custody, a paternity test revealed Clarence was not the father - after which he kidnapped the son. However, this was not the first mystery that deepened the case with unanswered questions. After calling Hughes’ mother, it was discovered that Hughes died as a toddler. With an unidentified victim, an ex-convict under the guise of a family man, and a kidnapping, the story only gets more horrific as the mystery unravels.
The Girl In The Picture on Wikipedia
The Invisible Pilot
The Invisible Pilot has enough twists and turns to cut into an entire suspense film, but this story already is stranger than fiction. As he was driving with his family, a pilot pulled over by a bridge and jumped to his supposed death. Grieving and confused, his family were left with unanswered questions, since he seemed happy as a family man with a fulfilling career as a pilot. After his body was nowhere to be found, the list of unanswered questions grew. The Invisible Pilot traces the mystery, revealing shocking details of a faked death, cults, hypnosis, and drug gangs. With interviews of the family recorded since 2009, the documentary gives you a unique perspective of the story.
👉 Watch The Invisible Pilot on Amazon Prime
The Phantom
The death penalty is a controversial topic, partly because of the risk of executing someone innocent. The Phantom opens this debate by exploring the doubt about Carlos DeLuna’s guilt - who was executed for murdering a gas station attendant. Even during the investigation questions were left unanswered (or rather ignored). His penalty was based on the fact that he was around the area of the murder at the time it happened with roughly the same amount of money that was stolen, and because he had a criminal record. The Phantom shines a light on evidence that overshadows this incriminating evidence, detailing the fact that he had no traces of blood on him, the police never took his alibi seriously, and that the eyewitnesses weren’t as reliable as they were made out to be. Featuring interviews from Deluna’s family, witnesses, and legal experts, the documentary will leave you sick with the harrowing feeling that an innocent man was executed.
👉 Watch The Phantom on Amazon Prime
👉 Buy The Phantom as DVD on Amazon
Out Of Thin Air
Just as the title suggests, Out Of Thin Air explores the mysterious disappearance of two men. The first disappearance was an 18-year-old, and the second - which occurred months later - was a 32-year-old father who was last seen in a cafe parking lot. The only similarities the two men shared is the fact that they both disappeared, and neither of their bodies were found. Subjected to extreme interrogation, the guilt fell upon a group of young people previously involved in an embezzlement scheme. Despite their confessions, there’s still questions about their guilt since the interrogation methods were akin to torture. Out Of Thin Air delves into these questions with archive footage and interviews. With visually stunning reenactments, the documentary conjures an unsettling atmosphere that evokes the eerie feeling of such a mysterious and horrendous crime occuring in the peaceful landscape of Iceland.
The Keepers
The seven episode Netflix docuseries examines the unsolved case of the murder of a nun, Cathy Cesnik, in 1969. With interviews from witnesses, police, members of the church, and former pupils of the church where Cesnik practised, The Keepers never fails to keep its detailed narrative from revealing shocking insights. The documentary plays detective by unfolding a string of sexual abuse crimes that occured within the walls of the church during Cesnik’s murder, all while the police remained complacent. As you binge The Keepers (which you probably will), you’ll be hounded with questions about the churches involvement with her murder. Beautifully shot with an emotional composition, the docuseries is crafted in a way that puts an emphasis on the fact that it is a documentary about real-life victims.
Wormwood
Government conspiracies are always a fascinating topic, and are often explored in fiction to fulfil the demand. However, Wormwood is no work of fiction, but an investigative look at the mysterious death of scientist Frankl Olson who worked for a government biological warfare program. Told from the point of view of his son, now in his seventies, the documentary unravels questions about a government conspiracy to cover up a death in order to keep secrets hidden. The Oscar-winning documentarian Eril Morris meticulously blends archive footage, interviews, and cinematic reenactments in a way that will make you forget your watching a documentary.
The Confession Tapes
Being struck in the gut with the suspicion that someone innocent is rotting in prison while the culprit is still lurking among us is an unsettling feeling. That’s what The Confession Tapes will do to you. Each episode dissects the interrogation of accused people that were likely coerced into confessing. The docuseries explores a gaping flaw in the criminal justice system, where suspects are often pressured into falsely confessing under unorthodox interrogation techniques.
