8 Disturbing Docos To Watch After ‘Keep Sweet: Pray And Obey’
There’s something about disturbing documentaries that are especially captivating: you’re horrified but you simultaneously can’t look away.
The latest doco that’s left viewers baffled is Netflix’s Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, which is legit one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever watched — and I’m not alone. The docuseries retells the story of Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamist cult based in Utah.
The church encouraged older men to marry underage girls, and during his reign at FLDS, Warren married over 20 teenage brides. Warren would eventually be found guilty of sexual assault of a minor and aggravated sexual assault against a child. He is currently serving a life sentence.
Despite the rather grim material covered in the docuseries, Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey has been sitting in the top 10 of Australian Netflix ever since it dropped. Whether we want to admit it or not, people are addicted to these kinds of stories.
We’ve rounded up some other equally disturbing documentaries to stream.
Some disturbing documentaries to watch after Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.
1. Secrets of Playboy (Binge)
This docuseries should have garnered more attention than it did, as it brings to light some truly disturbing allegations against Hugh Hefner and the Playboy brand. Every episode of this 12-part series gets more egregious, and features interviews with Hugh’s ex-partners and playmates: Holly Madison and Sondra Theodore.
The claims made by former female workers, bunnies, and the magazine’s models range from sexual assault and harassment, to grooming and drug trafficking.
2. Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (Netflix)
This two-part Netflix documentary timelines the making of a monster: the uncomfortable rise of television personality Jimmy Savile, a man accused of sexual abuse by over 500 people, some as young as two years old when they were allegedly victimised.
Most of the abuse claims came after Jimmy’s death in 2011, and the documentary confronts how the British media made allowances for Jimmy’s creepy behaviour over his career — due to his many charitable donations — when in hindsight, the warning signs were everywhere.
3. Lorena (Amazon Prime)
Now for something a little different, Lorena relays the story of Lorena Bobbitt, a woman who, in 1993, cut off her husband John’s penis while he was asleep in bed. For what it’s worth, the penis was later found and reattached.
Lorena would go on to become a spokesperson for domestic violence, as after she was arrested she accused John of physical abuse and marital rape. The four-part docuseries features interviews with both Lorena and John, as they look back at the news story and landmark trial that captivated the world in the ’90s.
4. Mommy Dead and Dearest (Binge)
This story is straight-up horrifying. For the unfamiliar, Mommy Dead and Dearest relays the bizarre case of Dee Dee Blanchard, a Missouri woman who pretended that her daughter, Gypsy Rose, had a whole range of medical conditions in one of the most infamous cases of Munchausen syndrome.
Dee Dee was able to live off the charitable donations she received to fund her daughter’s recovery, all the while keeping her daughter bound to a wheelchair and being fed through a feeding tube — despite being able-bodied and healthy.
In 2015, Dee Dee was found dead in her house, with Gypsy and her internet boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, nowhere to be found. I won’t spoil the rest but this documentary will have your jaw hanging from beginning to end.
5. Abducted In Plain Sight (Netflix)
File this one under: ‘Absolutely f*cking not’. This documentary left viewers baffled when it was added to Netflix in 2019. The movie chronicles how Idaho teen Jan Broberg was able to be kidnapped on multiple occasions by family friend and neighbour, Robert Berchtold, in the 1970s. Jan’s uber religious mother and father were manipulated and entrapped by Robert, who sexually assaulted Jan repeatedly.
It’s not just a disturbing story, but it’s also just infuriating to watch this young girl be victimised while her parents seemingly let it happen.
6. Seduced: Inside The NXIVM Cult (Stan)
This four-part Stan series examines the NXIVM cult and its insidious leader, Keith Raniere. NXIVM began as a a self-help organisation which eventually went off the rails when Keith and other organisation leaders started a ring of “slaves”, which was mostly comprised of young women.
These slaves would be subjected to tasks that included forced starvation, sleep deprivation, and various forms of abuse including being physically branded and blackmailed. The docuseries includes interviews with former cult members sharing their harrowing stories.
7. Wild Wild Country (Netflix)
Another day, another man exploiting his power and influence. This time around it was Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, an Indian guru who, in the 1980s, attempted to build a utopian society for his Rajneeshpuram followers in Oregon. Hint: it didn’t go well!
8. The Keepers (Netflix)
This is another story that will probably take a little piece of your soul with it. It follows the unsolved 1969 murder of nun, Catherine Cesnik. The nun taught at a Baltimore all-girls school and her body was found near a garbage dump. In the years since, suspicions have loomed that Sister Cathy’s death was a cover-up, as the nun had alleged that the school’s priest, Joseph Maskell, was sexually assaulting the students.
The series features interviews with former students who corroborate Sister Cathy’s claims several decades after her tragic death.