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We all love a good documentary, but some stories are more difficult to stomach than others. However, these hard watches still bring in an audience and have only increased the popularity of this film genre. This has resulted in many disturbing documentaries scattered around the internet on streamers like (HBO)Max, Netflix, and Prime Video. Many of us have had to break up with some apps simply because no one can afford to subscribe to everything in this economy. So, we thought it was time to remind you of all the free sites that will give you access to some of the most unsettling documentaries streaming today. Here are 10 of the most disturbing documentaries you can watch for zero dollars right now.
Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
Where You Can Watch: Pluto TV
A naive family falls for a neighbor who abducts their 12-year-old daughter. The girl is returned home despite her family’s mishandling of the situation, only to be abducted by the neighbor again. I’m not a parent, but if that had been the path I had chosen, I would like to think I would put my child’s safety ahead of my own needs and wants. This documentary makes me so mad. It is also another reminder of how often children suffer because of their parent’s choices and beliefs.
Crazy Love (2007)
Where You Can Watch: Plex, Redbox, Sling TV, and Tubi
Burt Pugach and Linda Riss have an affair that takes a sinister turn. When Riss breaks up with her lover, he hires hitmen to throw lye on her, which leaves her blind. After Pugach serves only fourteen years for the crime, they rekindle their romance and get married. If you’re not afraid of dating after watching this film, you’re more metal than me. This story is confounding, bizarre, frustrating, and yet another disturbing tale of men getting away with awful crimes in America.
Cropsey (2009)
Where You Can Watch: Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
A pair of filmmakers look into the disappearance of five children in their hometown and the urban legend it inspired. It’s disturbing enough when children go missing. However, when their disappearances become part of an origin story for a boogeyman-like story, it’s a little extra unsettling. While the person suspected of abductions was convicted and will not be eligible for parole until 2037, this story is still beyond chilling.
Crumb (1994)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
This film sheds light on controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb’s traumatizing upbringing. Many of us often wonder what makes people the way they are. Not to absolve them of the shitty things they do as adults, but because we cannot help but be a little fascinated by what makes others tick. This documentary does exactly that, as it allows Crumb to continue being the offputting curmudgeon that people have come to expect him to be.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A doctor is shot dead by his ex-girlfriend, who escapes to Canada and then gives birth to his child. Her victim’s parents move to Canada and try to get custody of their grandson, but discover the justice system is just as broken in the North as it is in America. This tragic tale should’ve had a much different ending. Unfortunately, it is another story that will disturb your peace and haunt you.
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
Where You Can Watch: Freevee and Tubi
Oliver Grady used his position as a priest to molest the children of his parishioners. Although he is a convicted pedophile, and his superiors were aware of the abuse, no one has gone to jail. He’s currently living out his life as a free man in Ireland under the protection of the church. The thought of this film makes me want to throw something. However, the people who have watched him tell his story in this documentary cite it as one of the most disturbing things they have ever witnessed.
Grizzly Man (2005)
Where You Can Watch: Freevee, Plex, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi
Werner Herzog uses Timothy Treadwell’s footage to piece together his time living among grizzly bears in Alaska until one of the bears turns on him. We hear stories of the many people who underestimate how dangerous nature is. However, most of those cases don’t leave behind audio recordings of the gruesome end. This disturbing documentary will make you think twice before heading into the wilderness.
Jesus Camp (2006)
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
This documentary investigates a children’s summer camp where the main goal is to indoctrinate kids. I don’t know if it’s more upsetting listening to these people talk openly about their plan or that they want more Billy Grahams in the world. We all know that church camps are some of the most disturbing places to ever exist. However, to have one so blatantly proud of the damage they are doing to children is unsettling, to say the least.
The Nightmare (2015)
Where You Can Watch: The Roku Channel, Sling TV, and Tubi
The film follows eight people who suffer from sleep paralysis. Of all the sleeping ailments that many of us face, the inability to move, speak, or react while things are happening around us is possibly the most anxiety-inducing. This issue plagues thousands of people but is still a highly disturbing phenomenon. This project captures the anxiety of the situation and is such an uncomfortable watch.
The Wolfpack (2015)
Where You Can Watch: Fandango At Home, Plex, Sling TV, and Tubi
The Angulo siblings spend their youth locked inside a Manhattan apartment where they reenact their favorite movies. Relying on their imagination as a form of escape until one day, one of the brothers makes it outside on his own. This heartbreaking documentary is another film shedding light on a unique case of child abuse.
Have you seen all 10 of these films? Is your favorite disturbing documentary streaming for free and not on this list? Then let us know at @DreadCentral.
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