20 Darkest Moments in TV Documentaries

20 Darkest Moments in TV Documentaries

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at twenty of the darkest and most upsetting scenes in documentaries made for TV and streaming.

The Bloody Staircase

“The Staircase” (2004-13; 2018)

A French documentary about the trial of Michael Peterson, “The Staircase” in question refers to the bloody one in the Peterson home. The blood belongs to Kathleen Peterson, the late wife of Michael. Some claim she fell down the stairs. Others think she was attacked by an owl. Many think that Michael murdered her. Regardless, we see many different shots of the bloody staircase, the camera lingering on the splattered walls and soaked steps. It’s a highly disturbing visual, and by repeatedly going back to it, the documentary forces viewers to confront the brutal reality of Peterson’s death.

The Confession

“The Jinx” (2015; 2024)

Probably the most famous ending in true crime history belongs to “The Jinx,” the Emmy-winning documentary from HBO. After being confronted with damning evidence, Durst retreats to a bathroom, unaware that his microphone is still on. He then makes what many perceive as a confession, telling himself that he “killed them all.” The moment feels chilling not only because it suggests a spontaneous admission of multiple murders, but also because of its eerie intimacy - a private thought accidentally made public. Other people believe that the comment was misconstrued, but regardless, it was enough. The ending attracted huge attention - especially as Durst was arrested for Susan Berman’s murder just one day before it aired. He was convicted in 2021 for her murder.

Interviewing the Stabbers

“Beware the Slenderman” (2016)

Another HBO documentary, another disturbing act of violence. “Beware the Slenderman” chronicles the stabbing of Payton Leutner, who was attacked by Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser in order to appease the Slenderman. The stabbing itself is not seen, but the documentary focuses on the police interrogations of both Weier and Geyser, both of whom coldly and calmly describe the act of violence. The scenes are chilling, with the girls displaying a chilling combination of emotional detachment and child-like confusion. It exposes how fantasy can blur into delusion and serves as a haunting psychological portrait, equal parts horrifying and tragic.

The Therapy Sessions

“Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse” (1990)

Speaking of disturbing child interviews, it doesn’t get much worse than HBO’s “Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse.” The documentary consists of therapist-led interview segments with a girl named Beth Thomas, who is suffering from severe behavioural problems. The therapist asks Beth direct questions about the horrific abuse that she has endured and the cruelty that she inflicted on others, like sticking pins in her brother. Her flat, almost expressionless recounting of violent acts creates a disconcerting contrast with her childlike appearance, and her recounting of sordid details from her past are horrifically tragic. The interviews expose the raw, unfiltered trauma of a young child who is simultaneously victim and perpetrator, and it forces the viewer to confront how severely abuse can warp development.

The Stories

“Surviving R. Kelly” (2019-23)

We can’t pick just one - they’re all extremely painful. “Surviving R. Kelly” famously examines the allegations of abuse by the famous musician, featuring firsthand accounts from women who suffered under his control. Naturally, each and every one of these stories serves as an emotional gut-punch, going into lurid detail about what Kelly did and how he was able to do it for so long, despite repeated warnings and public accusations. The series explores how power, fame, and influence can be used to exploit others, and it also raises major questions about the responsibility of fans, the music industry, and society to hold powerful figures accountable for harmful actions. Luckily, we did hold Kelly accountable, and he has since been sentenced to 31 years in prison.

The Riot

“Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99” (2022)

The first in Netflix’s “Trainwreck” series, “Woodstock ‘99” chronicles, well, Woodstock ‘99. AKA one of the worst concerts ever. The documentary explores the exceedingly poor planning of the event, its unsanitary conditions, and the growing anger among attendees. But as aggressive acts like Limp Bizkit fuel the crowd’s rage, chaos erupts - property is destroyed, fires are set, and vendors are looted. There are even reports of sexual assaults, adding to the surreal horror. “Trainwreck” tells the story of this ghastly riot with firsthand accounts and frightening footage, both professional and amateur. No matter what lens it’s viewed through, the footage displays a nightmarish symbol of corporate greed, toxic masculinity, and the violent undercurrent of ‘90s youth culture spiraling out of control.

Beata’s Death

“Take Care of Maya” (2023)

A harrowing Netflix documentary, “Take Care of Maya” follows the story of Maya Kowalski, a nine-year-old kid diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome. After she’s taken to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, the staff come to the conclusion that Maya is a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy and that her mother Beata is abusing her. She is then taken into state custody. The Kowalskis vehemently fight this, uncovering a potential conspiracy regarding Johns Hopkins and privatized child welfare services. Unfortunately, there is no happy and tidy ending here - Beata loses several court hearings and at one point is rejected a single hug from her daughter. Despondent and believing that her daughter will never be free if she’s alive, Beata takes her own life.

Michelle’s Death

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (2020-21)

Released in the summer of 2020, HBO’s “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” follows true crime writer Michelle McNamara as she writes her nonfiction book of the same name. It chronicles the then-unsolved crimes of the Golden State Killer - a moniker that McNamara herself helped create. The introductory episodes follow McNamara’s obsessive search for the elusive killer, but the show soon throws us a devastating curveball - McNamara suddenly dies in her sleep, aged just 46. Of course, we knew about this going in, as the book was published posthumously. Still, hearing her distraught friends and family discuss her death is absolutely heartbreaking - especially when it comes to her grieving husband, Patton Oswalt.

Jonny’s Final Moments

“The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off” (2004)

In 2004, Channel 4 aired a widely acclaimed documentary called “The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off,” whose title alone promises some difficult viewing. The boy in question is Jonny Kennedy, a British man with a rare condition called dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. We watch in morbid curiosity as Kennedy grows sicker and sicker, including the traumatic final moments when he’s on the verge of death. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, Kennedy dies, the camera lingering on his pale and motionless corpse. The visuals of the sick Kennedy are sad enough, but for someone who has never seen a dead body, the images of Kennedy’s body may be way too hard to handle.

Recounting the Murder

“The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” (2020)

Anyone sensitive to crimes against children, be advised - stay well clear of Netflix’s “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.” The opening ten minutes or so are especially gruesome, as it recounts in horrifying detail the murder of Gabriel Fernandez. In September 2012, Fernandez was given to his biological mother, Pearl Fernandez, and Pearl’s boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, after years of living with his grandparents. He lived there for just eight months, and during that time, he endured unimaginably cruel treatment. He eventually died on May 24, 2013, a combination of blunt force trauma and malnutrition. The story is bad enough, but when combined with the documentary’s visuals, it proves downright nauseating.

Coming Clean

“American Murder: The Family Next Door” (2020)

A huge hit for Netflix, “American Murder” tells the story of the Watts family murders from 2018. Shanann Watts and her two children disappear, prompting pleas for help from her husband, Chris. Of course, suspicion quickly falls on Chris himself, owing mainly to his public behavior - specifically, his complete lack of emotion. In the documentary’s darkest scene, Chris fails a polygraph test and is accosted by investigators, where he eventually admits that he murdered both Shanann and the children and dumped their bodies at his remote job site. “The Family Next Door” is a great subtitle for the documentary, because as this spine-chilling sequence displays, real horror is often found in the unlikeliest and most unassuming of places.

The Bomb Goes Off

“Evil Genius” (2018)

Another popular Netflix documentary, “Evil Genius” is all about Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and her twisted, complex scheme to rob a bank, hire a hitman, kill her father, and claim her inheritance. And to rob a bank, she has a pizza delivery man Brian Wells kidnapped and strapped with a bomb collar, ordering him to rob the bank on her behalf. Like we said, complex scheme. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end well for poor Brian. In the opening episode, we see the poor delivery man sitting on the ground when the bomb collar goes off, immediately ending his life. Even by the loose standards of Netflix, the uncensored footage is extremely disturbing.

Magnotta’s Videos

“Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” (2019)

Even though we don’t see the full, uncut versions, the videos of Luka Magnotta still prove incredibly perturbing. The Netflix documentary covers the crimes of Canadian murderer Luka Magnotta, who posted a series of animal cruelty videos to the internet before graduating to human murder. The series includes clips from the videos that Magnotta posted to the internet, including many upsetting shots of animals in distress. As for the murder of Jun Lin, the video is either cropped or blurred so that we don’t see the gore. But the images that we do get are still very dismaying, as are the graphic depictions of the video spoken by those who were unfortunate enough to see it. This one isn’t for the faint of heart.

Recounting Cannibalism

“The Cannibal That Walked Free” (2007)

Want to watch something really messed up? Watch the Five documentary “The Cannibal That Walked Free.” The title alone is enough to infuriate. The short documentary covers the story of Issei Sagawa, a Japanese murderer who killed Renée Hartevelt back in 1981 and consumed her flesh. Against all odds, Sagawa walked free owing to a legal loophole between his native country of Japan and France, where the murder was committed. Not only was he free, but he was able to partake in documentaries like this one, where he explicitly conveys his acts of cannibalism. Needless to say, his calm demeanor and graphic storytelling are blood chilling. Blood chilling and infuriating in equal measure.

The Crime Scene

“Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” (1996)

A hugely popular documentary, “Paradise Lost” chronicles the frustrating story of the West Memphis Three, a group of Arkansas teenagers who were accused of murdering three young boys as part of a Satanic ritual. The crime scene sequences are enormously unsettling, and intentionally so. The footage comes from police recordings and news reports documenting where the boys were found, with close-up of evidence like bindings. But what’s most disturbing are the boys’ bodies, pale, bound with shoelaces, and bearing severe injuries. Unlike some true crime shows, “Paradise Lost” shows actual footage from the crime scene, not dramatizations, and the knowledge that you’re seeing real children’s remains gives it a visceral impact that most viewers simply aren’t prepared for.

Neglected Children

“The Dying Rooms” (1995)

Considered one of the most disturbing documentaries ever made, “The Dying Rooms” was secretly filmed inside Chinese state-run orphanages during the early 1990s, when China’s One-Child Policy was in force. As such, girls and disabled children were put into these orphanages, abandoned due to cultural pressures favoring male heirs. The footage is unimaginably horrible - rows of cribs filled with malnourished, motionless babies. Babies not reacting to sound or touch. And Mei Ming, an extremely skeletal toddler that had been tied to a bed and left alone for days, too weak even to cry. The continued imagery of silent, expressionless babies and the quiet acceptance of their deaths by neglectful adults is profoundly unsettling.

The Crash Scene

“There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane” (2011)

On July 26, 2009, Diane Schuler traveled nearly two miles down New York’s Taconic State Parkway in the wrong direction before colliding head-on with an SUV, killing eight people. This HBO documentary attempts to make sense of Schuler’s motivations, and as we know, HBO does not shy away from stark reality. The film includes tons of traumatic material, like distressing 911 calls relaying the incident in real time. But what really packs a punch are the post-crash photos, which depict obliterated vehicles and brief but mortifying shots of Schuler’s corpse. Many viewers argued that the shots were gratuitous and unnecessary; others argued they were important to the film’s honesty, preventing the film from sanitizing death and thereby softening the audience’s understanding of the tragedy.

Jonestown Footage

“Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” (2006)

There are few things more disturbing than seeing over 900 corpses littering the ground. Airing on PBS, “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple” is a 90 minute examination of Jim Jones and how he orchestrated one of the most infamous massacres of the 20th century. This story has been the subject of countless documentaries, but this one doesn’t shy away from the brutal aftermath. It focuses heavily on the grisly sight of Jonestown after the act, nearly 1,000 corpses laying in piles around the central pavilion. The bodies belong to all walks of life, showcasing just how calamitous the Jonestown massacre actually was. It emphasizes that the 909 dead at Jonestown aren’t just statistics - they were people.

The Holocaust

“The World at War” (1973-74)

ITV’s “The World at War” is considered the gold standard of World War II documentaries, and one episode in particular chronicles the Holocaust. The imagery remains, to this day, some of the most disturbing ever broadcast on television, with piles of emaciated corpses stacked like firewood, shambling, barely-alive survivors, and people being shot, burned, or any other manner or murdered. The film doesn’t shy away from the brutality, but it never sensationalizes it either. The editing is slow and deliberate, forcing the viewer to linger on each individual image. For many, these were the first bits of footage from the Holocaust they had ever seen. And even if you saw it back in 1974, the images are still indelibly burned into your memory.

Zachary’s Death

“Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” (2008)

Picked up by MSNBC and aired several times on the channel, “Dear Zachary” is considered by many to be the most disturbing documentary ever made. It begins as a tribute to the late Andrew Bagby, with his friends and family testifying about his good character for his unborn child, Zachary. The documentary was meant as a video letter for the child, but in a shocking twist, it chronicles the baby’s death at the hands of his mother. The film doesn’t dramatize this, but the information still leaves viewers in stunned disbelief. Not to mention tears. Kurt Kuenne, who had spent years assembling this tribute for Zachary, now found himself making a memorial for both father and son. The emotional whiplash is profoundly demoralizing.

What did you make of these moments? Let us know in the comments below!