Documentaries are non-fiction films or videos that pertain to reality. They provide visual support for your imagination and represent unimaginable events. Many shocking documentaries are filmed about murder and killing, mysteries, child abuse, and other strange happenings that arouse your fear. But nevertheless; some of them are not too crazy and involve blissful happenings around us.
In short, documentaries also possess the power to entertain, enlighten, and horrify viewers. They can make you laugh, scare you and surprise you at the same time.
Here we present the 10 most shocking documentaries ever made those feature events that a normal human mind cannot accept easily. These are sure to blow your mind and make you question your perception.
10. Faces of Death
Faces of death are placed among the list of most shocking documentaries because this film brings a series of violent and explicit scenes. The movie showed the death of people in horrid ways that left its viewers disturbed.
The first movie was released in 1978 and since then many sequels were made. The question was raised that did it belong to fiction and express the facts. 40 percent of the movie was fake though sixty percent belonged to reality. Due to its explicit and disturbing nature, it was banned in some countries. As already told that its authenticity was questioned, and the question was raised that should it be even included in the list of real-life documentaries or not.
9. Shocking Documentaries on the Suicide Forest
The Aokigahara Forest is located on Mount Fuji in Japan with such thick and heavy vegetation. It is said that once you go into the forest, you will drown in the evergreen forest and will be vanished forever. It is infamous for its association with many suicidal events.
This documentary features a geologist who passes through the forest and films the unusual stuff present around in this dense forest that includes vacant cars in the parking, suicidal signs, and remnants of the human skeleton. It is one of the most horrifying documentaries and gets worse as you continue watching the hanging hotspot.
The forest is searched every year and nearly 100 dead bodies are found. The search is performed after 1 year because of the location and difficult patrolling in that area.
8. The Iceman’s Tape
The Iceman tapes were filmed in 1992 and are one of the most disturbing documentaries that depict the thinking process of Richard Kuklinski. He is a contact killer in America, was charged with the murder of five innocent people. The name Iceman is given to him because of his brutal way of killing in which he used to freeze his victim till his last breath and made him suffer in such a violent way to conceal the time of death.
The iceman’s tape is filmed in a way showing the interviewing session of Richard with a well-known psychologist Michael B. in this session he told the psychologist what he has inside his mind while performing such acts. He said in the documentary that he had called himself a person’s nightmare. There are not enough words to describe his ruthless, brutal, and violent attitude.
7. West of Memphis
This is one of the most shocking documentaries filmed in 2012 by Amy Berg. The documentary is based upon a criminal case in which three teenage criminals happened to murder three boys. The victims were innocent 8 years old boys. The three criminals, also called the West Memphis three were arrested for this brutal killing activity and spent 18 years in jail but no evidence was directly found of that murder.
However; the movie is criticized in the public and depicts the shortcomings of the judicial system. It is included in the shocking documentaries because the case remained unsolved at the end despite all investigations and convictions. The controversy of this case makes it infamous but still, you cannot avoid watching it.
6. Atomic Wound
Depicting the after-effects of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, this is one of the most shocking documentaries. We all have heard about this atomic war but the suffering of the people there is out of our imaginations. This documentary, Atomic wound not only showed the massive life losses but also filmed the misery of the survivors of this nuclear bomb.
The documentary told us about the lives of unlucky survivors who were suffered to wait for their deaths in the form of a short visit to those areas. It filmed Dr. Hida, one of the survivors of the massively violent event in human history in which she cared for her fellow sufferers. The documentary will bring you to tears and raise the question that how a fellow human can do this to other human beings.
5. Grizzly Man
The grizzly man was directed by Werner Herzog in the year 2005 and is one of the shocking documentaries that was filmed and was an event of the life till death of Timothy Treadwell. Timothy T. was known for his bear enthusiasm. To your surprise this environmentalist, spent 13 years of his life in Katmai National park and Reserve located in Alaska. The man spent these years with large gray-haired bears of that area and eventually his death took place when he became the victim of a bear along with his girlfriend in the year 2013.
The grizzly man was produced and narrated by Herog. The documentary features his confrontation with huge bears and the way he tackled and interacted with them. His co-workers and relatives were also filmed in the documentary telling us about him and his passion for bears. The movie also featured much breathtaking and amazing footage.
4. The killing of America
It is one of the most shocking documentaries that depict the decline of the USA. The killing of America was released in 1982 under the direction of Sheldon Renon and Leonard S. the documentary is based on reality including all the criminal activities going on and affecting the people in a devastating way. It filmed every type of criminal act ranging from riots to serial killing and brutal murders.
The violent activities reached their peak in the 1990s and showed the dark past of America. Since then such acts are under control but still, these are one of the major social problems in America. The documentary also features Thomas Nouchi, Los Angeles County coroner, and Ed Dorris, a retired Sergeant and recorded their interviews in it. Much murders footage, news, and killer’s interviews were also added in the documentary.
3. The Interview with a Cannibal
This is one of the most shocking documentaries that are based upon the act of cannibalism. Cannibalism is basically the act of eating human flesh and organs. This act is one of the most disturbing ones even it is difficult to read and imagine this. However; this documentary features Issei Sagawa who is infamous for his cannibalism. It is difficult for a normal man to accept this fact.
Issei Sagawa is a Japanese man, who killed his classmate, R. Hartvelt after inviting her to dinner and ate her. In the documentary, it was told that he chose to eat her because he wanted to become beautiful and healthy like her. He shot at the back of the woman and ripped her body with a knife to start with his eating plan. He also saved many parts of her body to use again. While disposing of the remaining body, he was caught by police but owing to his disturbed mental status he was released after 2 years. It is one of the worst documentaries that leave you startled.
2. Bulgaria’s Abandoned Child
To abandon a child is one of the most brutal activities. This is one of such documentary that will make you speechless. It shows the act of abandonment in Bulgaria which is infamous for this act. There are many institutions for disabled kids in Bulgaria. This documentary was made in an orphanage in Mongolia. A recording of 9 months was put in short clips in this video showing the miserable life of these abandoned children in a Bulgarian orphanage.
There are around 80 such abandoned children; most of them are not able to talk because they don’t know how to do it and some are severely disabled. Some children are deaf and some are blind. The documentary showed that they are neither treated nor trained. It featured many abandoned children like Didi, who was a young girl in her teenagers and has a lot of things to say but lived in miserable conditions. This documentary, on one hand, showed the dark side but on the other hand, it highlighted the issue, and many institutions were later on provided with basic education and medical treatment for these children.
1. Child of Rage
It is one of the most shocking and disturbing documentaries that depicts a child’s life affected by the brutal indigenous act of sexual abuse. This documentary is based on the life of a victim, Beth who was the victim of her father’s sexual violence. The documentary filmed several scenes and clips from her session with a psychiatrist. These brutal acts made her suffer from many psychological disorders. Several changes in her behavior have occurred including her living alone nature and having no emotional connections with anyone.
In the film, she concealed that she was involved in cruel and sometimes sadistic sexual acts with her siblings and she had attempted to kill her siblings as well. It is a sorrowful reality of our society that if found early can bring relief to innocent victims.
