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 that is pornographic, scatological, racist, antisemitic, sexist, graphically violent, insulting, vulgar, profane, or otherwise of 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 theoretical type of film, produced for profit or financial gain, that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The victims are supposedly typically lured to their murders by false pretenses and their murder is then filmed and the video depicting it is sold to buyers.
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. Many works in this genre recount high-profile, sensational crimes such as the killing of JonBenét Ramsey, the O. J. Simpson murder case, and the Pamela Smart murder, while others are devoted to more obscure slayings.
Graphic violence refers to the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as film, television, and video games. It may be real, simulated live action, or animated.
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 Chinese 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 that showed Magnotta mutilating Lin's corpse was posted online, Magnotta fled Canada, becoming the subject of an Interpol Red Notice and prompting an international manhunt. In June 2012, he was apprehended in Berlin.
Haunted is a paranormal pseudo-documentary developed by Propagate. The anthology series focuses on horror stories in which individuals or groups of people talk about their paranormal experience. The six-episode first season premiered on Netflix on October 19, 2018. Season 2 was released on Netflix on October 11, 2019. Season 3 was released on Netflix on May 14, 2021.
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.
Carole Ann Baskin is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary. She has attracted the attention of local, national and international media outlets to the plight of captive big cats.
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.
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.
Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer is a 2021 American limited docuseries made for Netflix and directed by Joe Berlinger. It is the second installment in the Crime Scene documentary series, following Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel. Its story focuses on the series of 1970s-1980s murders that were carried out by American serial killer Richard Cottingham, also known as the Times Square Killer and the Torso Killer. The series was released on December 29, 2021.
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.
Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer is a 2024 Netflix limited docuseries directed by Joe Berlinger and written by Caroline Schaper. It is the fourth installment in the Crime Scene documentary series, following Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields. The three-part true crime docuseries charts the true story surrounding a series of murders that took place in Berlin, Germany in 2012, and how the police worked to track down the killer. It was released on April 3, 2024 on Netflix.
