It’s about to get real.
Summer is almost here and while that means ample opportunity to go frolic in the sunshine, it also means it’s hot. It’s the perfect excuse to stay inside and watch some movies. And the best way to spend a summer day indoors is with a few disturbing and upsetting documentaries! It’s even better if they’re streaming for free. So, we did the work for you and put together a list of ten such documentaries you can watch from the comfort of your air conditioning.
The 2019 documentary Rewind is a devastating look at how filmmaker Sasha Neulinger’s reckons with his own abuse. He digs through hours of home videos from his childhood to expose and come to terms with the trauma he endured throughout his life. His life before, during, and after the abuse is all captured on camera. It’s a harrowing portrait of what this does not only to a child, but to an entire family.
Then, there’s Werner Herzog’s infamous documentary Grizzly Man, which tells the story of Timothy Treadwell, a man who decided to live with grizzly bears. Unfortunately, this also led to his violent demise, which was captured on camera. Herzog takes Treadwell’s footage to put together a fascinating look at the man’s life. It’s not as outwardly disturbing as others on this list, but something about it really gets under your skin.
Here are 10 harrowing documentaries streaming for free right now:
- Rewind (Tubi)
- The Act of Killing (Tubi)
- Grizzly Man (Tubi)
- Josef Fritzl’s Horrifying Crime (YouTube)
- A Certain Kind of Death (YouTube)
- This Is The Zodiac Speaking (Dailymotion)
- Madness in the Fast Lane (Dailymotion)
- A Murder in the Family (YouTube)
- The Atomic Cafe (Tubi)
- The House In Between (Tubi)
If you’re looking for something a little more standard true crime, the Madness in the Fast Lane is for you. It’s a fascinating look at twins Ursula and Sabina Eriksson who suffered from a rare case of folie à deux, or shared psychosis. It’s believed their hallucinations were shared back and forth which causes them to go on a crime spree in England.
Which of these are you checking out this weekend? Let me know over on Twitter @mbmcandrews.
