5 True Crime Documentaries With Twists You Won’t See Coming

Twists are normally relegated to fiction. After all, we generally see life coming, right?

Wrong. Real life can be just as twisty as your favorite movies or books. Case in point: The true crime genre. Whether it’s murder, catfishing, or dastardly schemes, real people can create some real havoc. The following five true crime documentaries have surprise endings that will leave your jaw on the floor. Don’t worry about spoilers though: I’d never ruin the ending for you. You’ll just have to watch to find out what happens next.

Unknown Number: The High School Catfish (2025)

Lauryn and her boyfriend Owen were your normal small-town high school couple. That all changed once they started getting terrorizing and increasingly explicit texts from an unknown number. What followed was a two-year investigation into who in their school could be the culprit. The results of the investigation will leave you gobsmacked.

Tickled (2016)

The tagline to this movie, which delves deep into the world of tickling videos, exclaims “It’s not what you think,” and they’re right. An Australian documentary crew just want to talk to the men who were featured in the videos, but soon they get threats that reveal a much darker truth behind supposedly lighthearted tickling.

Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father (2008)

The less you know about this one, the better. It isn’t just the end that will shock you; it’s every last bit of it. But I can at least give you the premise. After a man dies, leaving behind his baby son, his friend decides to create a documentary about how great he was so his son can watch it when he gets older. Watch this one right now.

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

What if you learned one day that you had a long-lost twin? And then, as you toured talk shows discussing this wild development, a third identical person comes forward. You’re a part of triplets and had no idea! That’s how Three Identical Strangers starts, but you’ll never goes where it ends up.

Abducted In Plain Sight (2017)

This documentary follows the abductions of a young girl in the 1970s and the increasingly shocking revelations that came from her search. It shows just how much you don’t know about the people around you. Prepare to get mad.