The 15 best serial killer documentaries to watch on Netflix

NETFLIX feels like the home for true crime and particularly serial killers.

The streaming service has a wide selection of bone-chilling, twisted and fascinating real life stories for you to sink your teeth into.

Here's some of our favourites.

1.The Confession Killer

14

The five-part American true crime documentary, which is directed by Rovert Kenner and Taki Oldham, is based on the 1983 case of Henry Lee Lucas. The serial killer's crimes spanned from 1960 to 1983 and he was convicted for murdering 11 people. He was condemned to death, but then it later changed to life in prison. During each 45 minute long episode, it unravels the truth behind the case with certain cast members involved from the original case.

2. I Am A Killer

14

I Am A Killer season one was originally released on August 3, 2018 and follows the stories of death row inmates. Season 2 was then released on Netflix earlier this year on January 31. The likes of Kenneth Foster, Justin Dickens, Miguel Angel Martinez, David Lewis and Joshua Nelson speak on camera about their crimes and what it's like to be serving a life sentence in prison as a murderer.

3. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

14

Ted Bundy, who died in an electric chair in Florida on January 24, 1989, confessed to killing 30 women in the 1970s. The documentary is based on the work of journalists Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth and uses hours of audio interviews they conducted with the killer while he was on death row in 1980. It also includes present-day interviews and archive footage. This unique series focuses on a man whose personality, good looks and social graces defied the serial-killer stereotype, allowing him to hide in plain sight as he committed the brutal sex-crime slayings of more than 30 women before being caught in 1978.

4. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer

14

The four part series tells the story of Richard Ramirez who went on a rampant killing spree across Los Angeles in the summer of 1985.

His crimes ranged from sexual assault to murder and he appeared indiscriminate when it came to his victims, who were from varied backgrounds, both young and old. The story of Ramirez, his crimes and his final imprisonment is told through first-person interviews, archive footage, photographs and reenactments. Ramirez ended up on death row but died in 2013 due to complications from B-cell lymphoma.

5. The Ripper

14

This documentary is made by the same team who gave us Netflix hit doc Don't F**k With Cats. It looks at how poverty, masculinity and misogyny, all contributed to the Ripper evading capture for so long. The series hears from the key people who played a part in bringing Peter Sutcliffe to justice. The Ripper features testimony from senior police officers, journalists and family members who were involved and affected by the killings.

6. The Sons Of Sam

14

The Son Of Sam shootings shook New York throughout 1976 and 1977 before killer David Berkowitz was finally arrested for his crimes.

However, investigative reporter Maury Terry became obsessed with the idea that he didn't act alone, and was actually part of a sadistic, countrywide cult that orchestrated the killings in order to start a class war.

Over the course of four episodes, using extracts from Terry's diary, we see how the reporter becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth - often at the expense of his own wellbeing as it became his life's work.

7. Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Aileen Wuornos was a notorious female serial killer who shot dead seven men. She became a household name after Charlize Theron portrayed her in her Oscar winning performance in monster.

The documentary follows the life of the sex worker turned serial killer who claimed the men she killed had tried to rape her and she was acting self-defence.

She was executed by the state of Florida with a lethal injection in 2002.

8. Catching Killers

14

A docu-series which examines not one, but three notorious serial killer cases, based on interviews with the detectives attempting to crack the case involved and the evidence uncovered.

There's the Green River Killer, the Aileen Wuornos case, and finally the Happy Face Killer case, which is covered over two episodes.

The four-part series kicks off with the Green River Killer who murdered over 49 young prostitutes and buried their bodies in woodland.

9. The Raincoat Killer

14

The series looks into a South Korean serial killer who bludgeoned his victims to death with a hammer throughout the 2000s.

The sex offender and self-confessed cannibal Yoo Young-chul, was notorious for killing sex workers and wealthy old women throughout Seoul's Central District.

Police were on the hunt for the prolific killer throughout 2003, who was finally unmasked by police wearing a bright yellow rain coat.

10. Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer

14

The Times Square Killer is the second installment following on from the hit series The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.

It looks into killer Richard Cottingham, who murdered at least 11 people in the New York and New Jersey area between 1967 and 1980.

He was nicknamed the Torso Killer because of the way he mutilated his victims - who were mostly sex workers - in the style of Jack The Ripper.

11. Indian Predator

14

In 2006, Delhi Police were dealt with a stomach-turning case of an unidentified man placing the mutilated body of his victim in front of the Tihar Jail. This daring stunt came following a number of body parts were found all across the city in what appeared to be linked mass murders. It appeared the killer was murdering those who were underprivileged with the documentary detailing how the police force responded to the shocking crimes and dealt with the situations as quickly as possible. The film and the crimes also shone an interesting light into India’s class divide.

12. Don't F**k With Cats

14

This 2019 three-part Netflix series was heralded as a huge success upon its release. The show deals with how quickly someone turns from being obsessed with killing animals to transfer this across to human murders. The series shows how the video recording of the cat killing were real and how the culprit Luka Magnotta eventually killed a Chinese international student Jun Lin.

13. Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes

14

The Nilsen tapes is a harrowing and haunting collection of audio recording made by the man behind the crimes  from the confines of his jail cell. Dennis Nilsen recount his life story in the tapes as well as giving new details surrounding his gruesome killings. He was arrested in 1983 after plumbers discovered the remains of human bodies in the drainage system of his small London flat. He eventually admitted to committing over 15 murders of boys and men during his killing spree.

14. The Women and The Murderer

14

In 90s Paris, a string of shocking murders took place. A total of seven women were all raped, tortured and murdered in a crime which shook the city of Paris to its core. The killer was Guy Georges, whom the French media dubbed the ‘Beast of Bastille’. The documentary features the voice of one of the victim’s mothers as well as from the first woman to lead one of France’s top investigating bodies related to the crimes. One of the co-directors Patricia Tourancheau had another interesting connection to the crimes as she covered them during her work as a crime and news reporter in the mid 90s.

15. Inside the Criminal Mind

14

This documentary series featured its opening episode dedicated to the life of serial killers. In the episode, the aim is  for the Criminal profilers and neurological experts to weigh in on what drives serial killers and ascertain whether certain people are predisposed to murder.