Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer on Netflix now

[skrskg]

Night Stalker: The Hunt for A Serial Killer is coming to Netflix January 13. Witness the story of one of the most vicious serial killers in American history, a real-life boogeyman that brought California to a standstill.

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This documentary (four episodes) is about Richard Ramirez, a serial killer and rapist, who was dubbed the Night Stalker by media in the middle of the 80's.

In 1989, he was convicted of thirteen counts of murder, five attempted murders, eleven sexual assaults and fourteen burglaries.

Here's a trailer.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Down for true crime all the time.

Liked that Cruel Summer cover, too.

 

[Obi Wan Jabroni]

This guy is as close to a genuine horror movie slasher as I think we've ever seen.

Even now, his face and general demeanor makes my skin crawl...

 

[Menx64]

holy that trailer is disturbing.

 

[Deleted member 1086]

I have a weird fascination with this case that I've never been fully able to articulate, so this is a must watch for sure.

 

[Labyrinthe]

Added to the list!

 

[skrskg]

Liked that Cruel Summer cover, too.

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Yeah, it's haunting. Here's the full track.

 

[Ant]

Will add to the list! Anyone have other decent true crime documentaries to recommend?

 

[shaneo632]

Gonna start this in a bit. Can't get enough of these morbid-ass documentaries right now.

 

[crienne]

Watching it right now and the production value is really good.

Will add to the list! Anyone have other decent true crime documentaries to recommend?

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If you have HBO Max, check out The Jinx. Watched it yesterday and can't stop thinking about it.

 

[Transistor]

Damn, I was hoping this was a Kolchak revival


Seriously, though, this look chilling and fantastic. I'm in.

 

[Lady Murasaki]

I liked a few Netflix docs but the Ted Bundy one irked me a bit, since I felt the victims weren't given enough time and the doc seemed kinda partial and too focused on the ''Ted Bundy handsome devil'' narrative (which I hate). Has anyone here watched this one and can say if it has a similar vibe? Or is this really new?

Also is this that guy who appeared on a dating show back when he was still active?

 

[crienne]

I liked a few Netflix docs but the Ted Bundy one irked me a bit, since I felt the victims weren't given enough time and the doc seemed kinda partial and too focused on the ''Ted Bundy handsome devil'' narrative (which I hate). Has anyone here watched this one and can say if it has a similar vibe? Or is this really new?

Also is this that guy who appeared on a dating show back when he was still active?

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I'm just over halfway through the first episode and so far the focus is exclusively on the detectives involved, the murders themselves, and there's even an interview with a survivor who was a child at the time. They've not talked about Ramirez's personal life much, if at all, so far.

It's very respectful so far too, going so far as to block out some of the more gruesome parts of the crime scene photos.

 

[Sylvestre]

Also is this that guy who appeared on a dating show back when he was still active?

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no

 

[Lady Murasaki]

I'm just over halfway through the first episode and so far the focus is exclusively on the detectives involved, the murders themselves, and there's even an interview with a survivor who was a child at the time. They've not talked about Ramirez's personal life much, if at all, so far.

It's very respectful so far too, going so far as to block out some of the more gruesome parts of the crime scene photos.

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Thanks! That sounds good, I will check it out!

 

[VE3TRO]

Rodney Alcala is the guy from the dating show.

 

[Lady Murasaki]

Rodney Alcala is the guy from the dating show.

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That's right, I ended up confusing the two of them.

 

[Ant]

If you have HBO Max, check out The Jinx. Watched it yesterday and can't stop thinking about it.

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Watched it after the episode of Its Always sunny parodied it! Those last 5-10 minutes! I was shouting at the screen!

 

[Mariachi507]

Been waiting for this all week. I'm going to have to play some Sun Kil Moon to celebrate.

Will add to the list! Anyone have other decent true crime documentaries to recommend?

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Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Atlanta's Missing and Murdered
I'll be gone in the dark is sometimes frustrating but worth it.

 

[Altazor]

Will add to the list! Anyone have other decent true crime documentaries to recommend?

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I'll be Gone in the Dark is very good, though it's more than "just" a true crime doc. It's also about obssession and how such a case can take its toll on one's psyche, it's about healing after traumatic events, it's about death (obviously) and survivors. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes quite emotional.

 

[OfficerRob]

I was a child who lived with a single mother in Southern California during the time of the Night Stalker, that shit was frightening

 

[OneThirtyEight]

Oh no...i was just about to go to sleep....hnnnnng! I gotta see this....

 

[CaptainNuevo]

I'll be Gone in the Dark is very good, though it's more than "just" a true crime doc. It's also about obssession and how such a case can take its toll on one's psyche, it's about healing after traumatic events, it's about death (obviously) and survivors. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes quite emotional.

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Wait the documentary version of that came out? The book was good, but I'm honestly not sure I could watch a whole show about that, reading it got kinda bad.

 

[skrskg]

Will add to the list! Anyone have other decent true crime documentaries to recommend?

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There's a lot of good true crime on Netflix. "The Confession Killer" is fantastic. I'd also recommend "The Yorkshire Ripper" and "The Keepers", to name but a few.

 

[Ant]

Been waiting for this all week. I'm going to have to play some Sun Kil Moon to celebrate.



Tales of the Grim Sleeper
Atlanta's Missing and Murdered
I'll be gone in the dark is sometimes frustrating but worth it.

Click to shrink...

I'll be Gone in the Dark is very good, though it's more than "just" a true crime doc. It's also about obssession and how such a case can take its toll on one's psyche, it's about healing after traumatic events, it's about death (obviously) and survivors. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes quite emotional.

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There's a lot of good true crime on Netflix. "The Confession Killer" is fantastic. I'd also recommend "The Yorkshire Ripper" and "The Keepers", to name but a few.

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Thanks for the recommendations! I just finished the Heavens Gate: Cult of Cults documentary, well worth a watch too.

 

[Altazor]

Wait the documentary version of that came out? The book was good, but I'm honestly not sure I could watch a whole show about that, reading it got kinda bad.

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yeah, aired from the end of june to early august 2020 on HBO!

I haven't read the book so I can't comment on that but what was "bad" about it? I assume the series kinda complements it (it's about the Golden State Killer murders as much as it is about writing the book itself and McNamara's life)

 

[mattlikewhoa]

My friend has been talking about this for a few days now. I play to watch this sometime this weekend.

There's a lot of good true crime on Netflix. "The Confession Killer" is fantastic. I'd also recommend "The Yorkshire Ripper" and "The Keepers", to name but a few.

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I'll be checking these out as well, so thank you for the suggestions! ✌🏾

 

[Agnostic]

I lived in Illinois and was a child during this time, but I remember the moral panic of AC/DC corrupting all the children because of the killings. I didn't learn about the gruesome shit until I was older.

 

[CaptainNuevo]

yeah, aired from the end of june to early august 2020 on HBO!

I haven't read the book so I can't comment on that but what was "bad" about it? I assume the series kinda complements it (it's about the Golden State Killer murders as much as it is about writing the book itself and McNamara's life)

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Not bad in a written sense, just the general feeling and reading all the details of what happened and how the attacks worked. The OG Nightstalker was a disgusting person.

The book itself is well written though, and covered a lot of the similar grounds of being both about the crimes as well as McNamara's personal investigation and quest.

 

[Badgerst]

Thx Op. just started this. Good stuff.

 

[Altazor]

Not bad in a written sense, just the general feeling and reading all the details of what happened and how the attacks worked. The OG Nightstalker was a disgusting person.

The book itself is well written though, and covered a lot of the similar grounds of being both about the crimes as well as McNamara's personal investigation and quest.

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oh, yeah, totally get you. He's absolutely disgusting. Thankfully he got caught (in no small part due to McNamara's investigation), late as that happened. Better late than never. And survivors could finally get some measure of justice.

 

[Radiophonic]

The Yorkshire Ripper series is excellent because it pays almost no attention to the shitstain that committed the crimes and instead focuses on the victims and the police department's rampant incompetence and misogyny.

 

[shaneo632]

Enjoyed the first episode but some of the B-roll footage is suuuuper tacky.

 

[Mariachi507]

The Yorkshire Ripper series is excellent because it pays almost no attention to the shitstain that committed the crimes and instead focuses on the victims and the police department's rampant incompetence and misogyny.

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I'll have to watch it too. I saw one review tearing it apart for its depiction of sex workers but haven't heard much else.

 

[Radiophonic]

I'll have to watch it too. I saw one review tearing it apart for its depiction of sex workers but haven't heard much else.

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I just read one on Salon which might be the one you read. I guess I see where they're coming from; I didn't feel sex workers were being belittled, but it wasn't something I was looking for while watching.

 

[TAJ]

I was nine years old and living in SoCal when this guy was on his spree. It's crazy how the adults in my life took him like a hundred times more seriously then than they do COVID-19 now.

 

[Mariachi507]

I just read one on Salon which might be the one you read. I guess I see where they're coming from; I didn't feel sex workers were being belittled, but it wasn't something I was looking for while watching.

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It probably was. I'll watch it after I finish this. I don't know much about that case so it should be good.

 

[Ultima_5]

Damn, I was hoping this was a Kolchak revival


Seriously, though, this look chilling and fantastic. I'm in.

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Did you see the bad one that came out in the 00s which was mostly about werewolves or something?

 

[Zekes]

Watched the first episode with my girlfriend and largely enjoyed it. Something about the title drop at the end with the 80's synth bop bugged the shit outta me though. Felt kind of inappropriate and tone deaf. Like, this was real life, it's not fucking Drive. I dunno, maybe it's just me

 

[Mcfrank]

It probably was. I'll watch it after I finish this. I don't know much about that case so it should be good.

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I feel like it was basically presenting things from the police's perspective intentionally when they were belittling sex-workers. The show makes a point to come back around and say how wrong they were. If you only watched a few episodes I could see how you would think that, but it was more of an intentional narrative device.

 

[Mariachi507]

Watched the first episode with my girlfriend and largely enjoyed it. Something about the title drop at the end with the 80's synth bop bugged the shit outta me though. Felt kind of inappropriate and tone deaf. Like, this was real life, it's not fucking Drive. I dunno, maybe it's just me

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Wasn't just you at all, I audibly said "whose bright idea was this shit?".

I'm two episodes in, it's good so far. High and unique production values that do a great job of selling how horrifying these crimes were. They veer from just going over the top at times with it, but yeah this is a good watch. I'm hooked.

I feel like it was basically presenting things from the police's perspective intentionally when they were belittling sex-workers. The show makes a point to come back around and say how wrong they were. If you only watched a few episodes I could see how you would think that, but it was more of an intentional narrative device.

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That thought crossed my mind as well. These types of stories can vary greatly simply based on perspective. Which can put people off for not getting the kind of story they wanted.

 

[Transistor]

Did you see the bad one that came out in the 00s which was mostly about werewolves or something?

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Rings a bell, but I must have purged it from my memory.

 

[Zekes]

Wasn't just you at all, I audibly said "whose bright idea was this shit?".

I'm two episodes in, it's good so far. High and unique production values that do a great job of selling how horrifying these crimes were. They veer from just going over the top at times with it, but yeah this is a good watch. I'm hooked.

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Glad it wasn't just me, haha. Really pulled me out of an otherwise well produced true crime doc. Looking forward to watching more though

 

[Prison_mike]

Better have a Hotel Cecil scene!

 

[Firewithin]

started watching this last night. ive been aware of this before but watching it and living here in socal for my whole life i was around 1yr old when this was going on and never realized just how close this really was happening to where i lived.

 

[Jombie]

Enjoyed the first episode but some of the B-roll footage is suuuuper tacky.

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Yeah.. these things should never resemble an edgy heavy metal music video. Ramirez laughing from beyond the grave.

 

[Astro Cat]

Watched the first episode yesterday, it was alright but nothing special so far. It's definitely no The Jinx, Atlanta's Missing, or I'll Be Gone though.

Still waaaay better then the Heavens Gate doc and especially Yorkshire Ripper which was supremely annoying in the way it treated sex workers.

 

[Masterz1337]

Just finished this, pretty crazy how much terrible shit he got away with that we know of, my guess is he killed a lot more. They're just lucky they got him with the tips in the end or it would have gotten a lot worse.

 

[John Rabbit]

Watched the first 2 episodes last night. This is as close to a third season of Mindhunter as we're likely to get. Really enjoying it so far.

 

[thenexus6]

Enjoyed it. NF are hit and miss with their films, but I tend to always enjoy the crime / killer / mystery content.