The point where fact ends and urban legend begins is often a difficult one to determine, but Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio attempt to do just that in their eerie documentary Cropsey, which seeks to uncover the mystery surrounding five missing New York children and the real-life monster linked to their disappearances...
The Iceman Tapes, 1992
Care to delve inside the twisted mind of a psychopath? That's exactly what The Iceman Tapes aims to do. Compiled from a series of interviews between contract killer Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski and his psychiatrist Michael Baden, the documentary is a chilling exploration into the causes and motives that lead someone to mercilessly kill over 100 people, as Kuklinski did in his role as a mafia hitman.
In his own words "I am what you call... a person't nightmare".
Deep Water, 2006
Deep Water tells the story of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst who in 1968 competed in a first-of-its-kind boat race around the world. With a lack of experience and an unfinished boat, the perilous race quickly overcame him. The tragic story, documented by the same team who made Touching the Void, offers a terrifying account of Crowhurst's attempted journey and subsequent spiral into isolation-fuelled madness...
Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, 2006
Among other things, Jonestown is an insight into the fatal charismatic charm of Jim Jones, the cult leader who led over 900 members of the Peoples Temple religious movement to commit mass suicide in their remote Guyana commune in1978.
With accounts from the loved ones of deceased members, and the few lucky enough to escape, this chilling documentary cuts to the dark heart of the utopia-turned-prison, showing the horrific truth behind Jim Jones's lie.
The Bridge 2006
Edited from 10,000 hours of footage filmed over 365 days, The Bridge documents 23 suicides on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Cutting between the footage itself and interviews with the loved ones of the "jumpers", filmmaker Eric Steel aims to uncover just why so many souls are drawn to the bridge to die.
Paradise Lost, 1996
13 years after three troubled teenage boys were convicted for the brutal ritual mutilation and murder of three children, directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky decided to investigate further into the case. Believing that the evidence on which the conviction was based was questionable at best, the grim investigation conducted in Paradise Lost eventually helped secure the release of the three former suspects.
The Imposter, 2012
How well do you know your loved ones? That's the question The Imposter asks its viewer. Three years after the kidnapping of Texas teenager Nicholas Barclay, a young man turns up at the door of the boy's family claiming to be Nicholas. It all seems too good to be true... especially when scary disparities between stories begin appearing, and doubts are suddenly cast over the real identity of the man living in the Barclays' house.
The Nightmare, 2015
Anyone who's read previous features on the site knows that we are terrified of sleep paralysis, which makes The Nightmare all the more spine-tingling. By following 8 regular sufferers of the phenomenon, director Rodney Ascher explores its potential causes, as well as recreating some of the terrifying scenarios his subjects experience.
