A shock site is a website that is intended to be offensive or disturbing to its viewers, though it can also contain elements of humor or evoke sexual arousal. Shock-oriented websites generally contain material such as pornographic, scatological, racist, antisemitic, sexist, graphically violent, insulting, vulgar, profane, or otherwise some other provocative nature. Websites that are primarily fixated on real death and graphic violence are particularly referred to as gore sites. Some shock sites display a single picture, animation, video clip or small gallery, and are circulated via email or disguised in posts to discussion sites as a prank. Steven Jones distinguishes these sites from those that collect galleries where users search for shocking content, such as Rotten.com. Gallery sites can contain beheadings, execution, electrocution, suicide, murder, stoning, torching, police brutality, hangings, terrorism, cartel violence, drowning, vehicular accidents, war victims, rape, necrophilia, genital mutilation and other sexual crimes.
A snuff film, snuff movie or snuff video is a type of film, often explicit, that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide.
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines a crime and details the actions of people associated with and affected by criminal events. It is a cultural phenomenon that can refer to the promotion of sensationalized and emotionally charged content around the subject of violent crime, for the general public.
Joseph Berlinger is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such films as Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Crude, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger and Intent To Destroy: Death, Denial and Depiction.
A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modeled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicting said crimes, and/or a live criminal model.
Last Chance for Animals (LCA) is an international non-profit organization that advocates for animal rights. It is known for its documentary, Dealing Dogs, and for its investigations against the use of animals for testing purposes.
In May 2012, Jun Lin, a university student, was fatally stabbed and dismembered in Montreal, Canada, by Luka Rocco Magnotta, who then mailed Lin's hands and feet to elementary schools and federal political party offices. After a video depicting the murder was posted online, Magnotta fled Canada, becoming the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and prompting an international manhunt. In June 2012, he was arrested in an internet café in Berlin. In December 2014, after eight days of deliberations, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Magnotta was given a mandatory life sentence and 19 years for other charges, to be served concurrently. Magnotta was previously sought by animal rights groups for uploading videos of himself killing kittens.
Shadow of Truth is a true-crime Israeli documentary television series that was created by directors Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines, and producer Mika Timor. The series was produced by Timor, Guendelman and Ben Giladi through their EGG Films and premiered on Israeli channel HOT8 in March 2016. It was subsequently sold by the producers to Netflix for worldwide distribution and was released with subtitles in over 190 countries on January 27, 2017. In 2018, the series was labeled as one of the most-watched true-crime shows on Netflix.
Killer Ratings is a true crime television documentary series that was released on Netflix on May 31, 2019, about the Brazilian television presenter and politician Wallace Souza, who was accused of ordering a series of murders to improve the ratings of his popular television news program Canal Livre.
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez is a 2020 American true crime documentary series about convicted murderer and former professional American football player Aaron Hernandez. The three-part documentary explores his conviction for the murder of Odin Lloyd, other murder cases in which he was a suspect, and the factors in his life that shaped his behavior. It premiered on Netflix on January 15, 2020.
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a 2020 American true crime documentary television series about the 2013 murder and abuse of Gabriel Fernandez, an eight-year-old boy from Palmdale, California. It was released on Netflix as a six-part miniseries on February 26, 2020.
The Confession Killer is a 2019 American true crime documentary miniseries directed by Robert Kenner and Taki Oldham. The plot revolves around the 1983 case of Henry Lee Lucas who confessed to over 200 murders in the United States. Years after his admissions, they turned out to be lies.
Trial 4 is a 2020 true crime documentary television series directed by Rémy Burkel. It tells the story of Sean K. Ellis, who was unjustly convicted as a teen in the 1993 killing of Boston police officer John J. Mulligan. Ellis fights for his freedom while exposing systemic racism and corruption within the justice system.
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer is a 2020 American true crime docuseries that premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 30, 2020. The 5-part miniseries was created and directed by Trish Wood. Many viewers who rated the film praised its emphasis on victims, while some objected to its focus on the feminist movement. The incorporation of feminist critique and social contextualization is akin to that seen in later episodes of the Netflix crime docuseries, The Ripper.
The Ripper is a British true crime docuseries directed by Jesse Vile and Ellena Wood, released on Netflix on 16 December 2020. The four-part miniseries recounts the events and investigation surrounding the murders of 13 women in West Yorkshire and Manchester, England between 1975 and 1980 by the serial killer Peter Sutcliffe. Journalists noted the similarities to the murders conducted by the notorious Jack the Ripper, and nicknamed the unknown perpetrator the Yorkshire Ripper. This series follows the chronology of events, told through interviews with investigators, journalists, survivors and family members of victims.
Peter Lambrinakos is a Canadian police officer and corporate security executive, currently serving as the first Chief of Police of the VIA Rail Canada Police Service and additionally as VIA Rail Canada’s Chief of Corporate Security since March 2015. He has held various senior positions leading the Organized Crime, Major Crime, Economic Crime and Intelligence units with the Montreal Police Service.
Murder Among the Mormons is an American true crime documentary television miniseries following Mark Hofmann, one of the most notable forgers in history, who created forgeries related to the Latter Day Saint movement. Joe Berlinger serves as an executive producer. It consists of three episodes and premiered on Netflix on March 3, 2021.
The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness is a 2021 docuseries that premiered on Netflix on May 5, 2021. The show profiles Maury Terry, a journalist who spent 40 years trying to prove that the notorious serial killer David Berkowitz did not act alone. The series is directed by Joshua Zeman and features Paul Giamatti as the voice of Maury Terry.
Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes is a limited true crime docuseries created and directed by Joe Berlinger for Netflix. It is the third installment in the Conversations with a Killer series and succeeds Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. The series depicts the murder spree of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered, dismembered and cannibalized 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 in Wisconsin. The story is told through archival audio footage recorded during Dahmer's incarceration. It was released on October 7, 2022.
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is a 2022 Netflix limited docuseries directed by Jessica Dimmock. It is the third installment in the Crime Scene documentary series, following Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer. The true crime series is centered around the unsolved murders of four women in Texas in the 80s and 90s in an area known as the Texas Killing Fields, located in League City, Texas. It was released on November 29, 2022.
